COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN'S RIGHTS TAKES UP REPORT OF REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Press Release
HR/4280
COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN'S RIGHTS TAKES UP REPORT OF REPUBLIC OF KOREA
19960118 GENEVA, 18 January (UN Information Service) -- The Republic of Korea's reservations to children's right to maintain personal relations in cases of divorce was among the issues discussed by the Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon, as it began to discuss the initial report of that country. The Committe is charged with how the Convention on the Rights of the Child is implemented by States parties.The members of the Committee urged the Government of the Republic of Korea to withdraw its reservations to provisions of the Convention in order to upgrade protection of the child. The delegation of that country told the experts that, while thus far there was no major impediment to the implementation of the provisions of the Convention, the withdrawal of the reservations might be positively considered. Nevertheless, the delegation underlined the difficulties encountered in attempting to revise the country's Constitution to comply with the subjects of the reservations.
Introduction of Report
SEUNG HO (Republic of Korea), introducing the initial report, said his country had traditionally made strenuous efforts to promote children's rights. National policies for children and youth were formulated by the relevant government ministries and national authorities. As a result of the efforts of the Government, there had been much progress in the field of basic healthcare and education for children. Rising income, improved housing and hygienic conditions, and increased dietary and nutritional awareness had contributed to that progress, he said.
Children in the Republic of Korea enjoyed vast educational opportunities, he continued. Every citizen had the right to receive a six-year elementary school education, as well as a three-year middle school education. However, the full enjoyment of a child's civil and political rights still tended to be restricted by a growth-oriented national policy whose priorities were based on quantitative economic goals. Children's rights to enjoy proper leisure, recreation and cultural activities were hampered, to a considerable extent, by the entrance examination-oriented education system. Furthermore, young people were constantly under pressure from a social atmosphere which placed special emphasis on higher academic careers, he said.
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He went on to assure the Committee that the Government was considering withdrawing its reservations to the Convention concerning the child's right to visit and maintain a relationship with both parents in the case of their separation or divorce. The Civil Code provided only for the parents' right to maintain a relationship with their children.
With regard to adoption, the Civil Code stipulated that when a child's parents agreed to an adoption, separate permission from a family court was not necessary. But the Convention demanded that the adoption should be authorized only by competent authorities. In addition, the child continuously had a legal relationship with its own parents and blood relatives even after the adoption. The adoption relationship might be dissolved if the child was treated unreasonably or if it was difficult for either party to continue the adoptive relationship. Concerning the right to reassessment of a court decision, which was guaranteed by the Convention, the single-trial system in a military trial was allowed when the State was governed my martial law. Such a trial was very limited in its scope.
Youth were not discriminated against on the basis of family background, gender, school attainment or physical condition, he said. There were 7,112 members of the Child Welfare Committee at the community level who investigated, studied and deliberated on issues of child-welfare policy, the improvement of child-care facilities, and the sound development of underprivileged children. They also monitored the implementation of all rights of the child recognized by the Convention.
Last year, the Government had set up the National Committee on the Rights of the Child with the aim of disseminating the Convention among adults and children alike and to train professional groups, such as social workers, doctors, lawyers, judges, teachers and law enforcement officials, about the principles of the Convention, he stated. The country's committee for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was also very active in disseminating the spirit of the Convention.
Asked why there were three kinds of committees for the same purpose of promoting the rights of the child, the delegation replied that the National Committee on the Rights of the Child was composed of non-governmental organizations, universities and government ministries, while the committee for UNICEF comprised private individuals. Although they all promoted the rights of the child, there was diversity in their approach and practices.
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