1. On the sidelines of the high-level segment of the 37th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with special procedures of the Human Rights Council on February 27, and discussed key human rights issues in the international community.

o Among participants in the meeting were Karima Bennoune, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Leilani Farha, Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, Meskerem Techane, a member of the Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice, and Beatriz Chamorro, Chief of the Special Procedures Branch at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

※ Special procedures from the ROK are Lee Yang-hee, Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Hong Seong-phil, a member of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and Baik Tae-ung, a member of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.

2. Minister Kang said that special procedures’ dedication and hard work contributed significantly to making the Human Rights Council a key organization in the protection and promotion of human rights around the world for a short ten-year period. The Minister also said that the ROK government is stepping up efforts to improve the overall human rights situation at home, including the human rights of women, and expressed the ROK government’s commitment to actively participating in the international community’s efforts to improve the human rights situation in close cooperation with UN human rights special procedures.

※ ROK’s acceptance of requests to visit from special procedures

- The ROK extended a standing invitation to special procedures in 2008.

- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression (1995, 2010), Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants (2006), Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders (2013), Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance (2014), Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes (October 2015), Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association (January 2016), Working Group on Business and Human Rights (May 2016), Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances’ meeting in Seoul (February 2017), etc.

- The ROK also accepts requests to visit from the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea twice a year.

3. The special procedures said that the ROK’s promotion of democracy and human rights is becoming a model for the international community, and expressed appreciation for the ROK government’s active cooperation with the UN human rights mechanisms, especially support for activities by special procedures. They also expected the ROK to play a larger role in the international community’s efforts to protect and promote human rights.

4. Furthermore, the special procedures said that it is necessary to approach a range of human rights issues, including housing, culture, education and women, comprehensively, as they are linked to each other, adding that it is also necessary to strengthen efforts to facilitate cooperation and coordination among special procedures. They especially asked for the ROK government’s continued interest and support in the areas of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

5. Minister Kang’s participation in the high-level segment of the Human Rights Council and her keynote address at the meeting was an opportunity to express the ROK’s position on the human rights situations around the world and the issue of human rights. In addition, the Minister’s robust engagements with the leaders of the UN human rights mechanisms and human rights experts at the meeting are expected to help elevate the ROK government’s status in the areas of democracy and human rights.

* unofficial translation