The human rights regime to realize universal human rights is penetrating from the international community to the state level and now to the local governments and companies (so-called 'human rights management'), and developing into “human rights city” movement.

Over the last decade, the human rights regime of local governments in Korea has developed in many forms. For example, a number of local governments have enacted human rights ordinances, and have established human rights committees, human rights departments, human rights centers, and human rights officer systems which prescribed in the ordinances. Just as the National Human Rights Commission of Korea holds the central government to account, local human rights organizations may be a burdensome for local governments, however, from the residents’ perspective, it is a useful system that guarantees the effectiveness and prompt execution of human rights protection.

At the local governments’ level as of the end of July 2019, around 110 of the 243 local governments (about 45%) have enacted human rights ordinances, and established special commissions and administrative organizations dedicated to human rights. In terms of the content apart from external growth, however, the human rights regime of the local governments is doubtful whether they have secured effective system for the protection of human rights.

In this respect, it needs to be discussed what are the factors that must be considered in order for the human rights system that is spreading to local governments to take root and be effective and the tasks in operating the human rights system.

The key word of this year’s WHRCF is “Local Government and Human Rights.” The WHARF has been annually held in Gwangju, South Korea since 2011. This year’s event is to review accomplishments that we have made and summarize assessments regarding ‘human rights cities.’

Today, there is an ever-increasing demand for institutionalization of human rights. So far, the forum has been responding to the local communities’ voices for rights. In recent years, however, we witnessed rapidly growing groups that undermine our anti-discrimination efforts while propagate hatred. These two forces continue to confront each other under the existing human rights frameworks, and this faceoff has resulted in an introduction of new policies on the one hand, and a repeal of existing ordinances on the other hand.

Human rights organizations have exerted their best efforts to protect existing human rights systems and to prevent any institutionalization of inappropriate systems. Unfortunately, however, inherent limitations of a local government system do not permit institutionalization processes to be disseminated to neighboring localities. Consequently, best practices of a particular locality cannot be shared with others. In this regard, this session will attempt to discuss an institutionalization of human rights protection and its implication to the human rights activities at the local level.

As Incheon completes to set up its own bodies, 17 provincial & metropolitan governments have human rights institutions, including Human Rights Commission and Human Rights Center. It is truly remarkable and inspiring.

Now, we have to think about what we have to do to tackle obstacles. As the forerunner, Seoul has a broad range of experiences, and its 6-year operation of a human rights institution will be helpful for other localities.

Local governments can help each other by sharing their own experiences. However, their trajectories may vary depending on situations they have involved in. This is also found in two decades of stories of the National Human Rights Commission, established in 2001.

It is necessary to sum up experiences of human rights institutions and envisage a new direction. Let us ask ourselves what do we find? and where do we start?

It is time for us all to get back to basics. The Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions, or commonly known as “Paris Principles” define the role, composition, status and functions of human rights institutions. This workshop is to determine what types of human rights institutions meet the Paris Principles, and also to review whether the National Human Rights Commission complies with these basic principles.

In this session, we will attempt to define challenges we have to overcome, by sharing our experiences in and related to human rights institution operations, investigations on human rights violation cases, human rights education. Like candlelight in the darkness, this workshop will lead us to a better way to uphold human rights.