My work as a Member of the UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
by Tae-Ung Baik
Published on 13 December 2022
I just concluded my seven-year term as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (Working Group) on April 30, 2022. I started as a member in 2015, and served as Vice-Chair during 2018-2020 and then as the Chair-Rapporteur for 2020-2021. It was my great honour to work along with four other excellent human rights experts at the Working Group. The Working Group, established in 1980 as the first special procedure of the UN human rights body, assists in determining the fate or whereabouts of individuals who have reportedly disappeared, and it serves as a channel of communication between family members of victims of enforced disappearance and the governments concerned.
An enforced disappearance is defined as a human rights violation that occurs when persons are arrested, detained or abducted against their will or otherwise deprived of their liberty by officials of different branches or levels in government, organized groups, or private individuals acting on behalf of, or with the support of, direct or indirect consent or acquiescence of, the government. This is followed by a refusal to disclose the fate or whereabouts of the persons concerned or a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of their liberty, which places such persons outside the protection of the law.
It is considered one of the most serious forms of human rights violations, because it leads to various other violations such as torture, arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killing and so forth. Since its inception, the Working Group has transmitted a total of 58,606 enforced disappearance cases to 109 States. However, the number of cases under active consideration stands at 46,271 in a total of 92 States as of 2021.
The absence of an independent judiciary and a limited scope for action by lawyers, human rights defenders, and civil society actors, along with the culture of impunity, often aggravates the conditions in many countries. One of the most tragic dimensions of this crime is that the pain of family members does not end until they find out the fate or whereabouts of their loved ones. It is an endless chain of tragedy that continues today. Although I ended my term, I don’t think my efforts to eradicate these human rights violations should stop.
My activities with human rights date back to the 1980s. Although South Korea is considered a democracy today, the country used to suffer under a military dictatorship. I was imprisoned twice during the course of fights against the military regimes. My first imprisonment was in 1984 for my actions as the President of the Seoul National University Students Association. My second imprisonment began in 1992. I originally faced the death penalty and then was sentenced to life imprisonment, and my sentence was later commuted to fifteen years. Amnesty International designated me as a prisoner of conscience and campaigned for my release. My life in prison was arduous but not a waste of time. I think this period helped me to become a more poised person. Prison gave me time to think more about issues such as social transformation, international dynamics involved in accomplishing a democratic transition, the reunification of Korea, and the creation of human rights systems around the world. These experiences contributed to my academic training making me what I am today, and helped me to better understand the meaning of law and justice.
I was released after serving over six years in solitary confinement following a presidential pardon in 1998. Full amnesty was later granted which completely reinstated my civic rights. The Korean government recognized my efforts to promote democracy by awarding me an official certificate in 2009, acknowledging my activities contributed to the establishment of a democratic constitutional order and the restoration and promotion of freedom and human rights.
My activism and subsequent study led me to develop a career as a human rights law expert. I worked for Human Rights Watch as a research intern/consultant with a focus on human rights in the two Koreas and the issues of Korean refugees in China. I developed a good understanding of UN human rights systems and procedures during my work as a legal advisor assisting the South Korean Delegation and Representative Chin-Sung Chung in 2004 at the 56th Sub-Commission on Human Rights. My experiences as a member of the Working Group was very helpful for me to deepen my understanding of the reality of human rights work, combining theory with actual practice. Although I have experienced a lot of turbulence in my short life, I think I am a lucky individual who owes much to the world.
Almost every day, we hear reports of human rights violations that are happening in many parts of the world through various forms of media. Especially in Asia, human rights conditions are going backwards along with challenges to democracy and the resurgence of authoritarian regimes. Human rights violations are being committed by actors such as the military, police, governmental officials, secret agents and, sometimes, non-state actors. Some of them are happening in the context of domestic and international conflicts, civil wars and military activities. In some countries, counter-terrorism campaigns and public emergencies or security challenges serve as grounds for the violations. It is worrisome that many of the violations are targeting minority groups, activists, human rights defenders and the most vulnerable groups in a society.
Nevertheless, we cannot watch these developments helplessly. I consider human rights as normative values that gain a life only when they are combined with social movements. In South Korea, when we were involved with democratization movements in the 1980s and 1990s, we did not expect that a change to democracy could come in such a short period of time. However, the transition from authoritarian regimes to a democracy was in fact happening when people worked together with a goal to achieve these changes toward a system with human rights and democracy.
We need to fight for the protection of human rights and democracy. We should eradicate the practice of enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killing and other human rights violations. We maintain our dignity as human beings by joining the march to preserve the highest moral values and standards of a society.
Tae-Ung Baik is Professor of Law at the William S. Richardson School of Law, and Director of the Center for Korean Studies at the University of Hawaii at, Manoa.