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PERMANENT MISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA GENEVA
19th Session of the Human Rights Council <Check against delivery>
Item 6: Universal Periodic Review General Debate
Geneva, 16 March 2012
Statement by the Republic of Korea
Thank you, Madame President.
The Government of Republic of Korea welcomes the successful completion of the first cycle of the Universal Periodic Review. The UPR mechanism has indeed raised the level of cooperation between State members and has given all of us an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights both at the international and national levels, and to improve our own human rights situation in an inclusive manner through dialogue with their peers.
This year a new phase is beginning for the Human Rights Council and now is the time to strengthen the UPR mechanism, by taking a step forward from the previous cycle and focusing on follow up measures which have real impact on the ground. In fact, as we conclude the first cycle of the UPR and celebrate the submission and adoption of all working group reports today, we should remind ourselves that this is only the beginning of our long term engagement to improve our own human rights records, not the end. As High Commissioner Madame Navi Pillay has pointed out earlier in the session, the second cycle would (really) test the UPR mechanism’s value and credibility.
We strongly encourage all member states to continue their efforts to deliver on the recommendations and commitments made during the first cycle of the UPR process. The implementation of recommendations requires time, resources, determination and strong commitments. In this regard, we believe that technical assistance provided by the international community will be of great help to those member states which participated in the UPR process in a sincere manner and have expressed a willingness to respond to peers’
recommendations despite the various national challenges they face.
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In this light, we were pleased to co-sponsor the HRC resolution 18/18, which decided to hold a thematic discussion during the current session of the Council on “sharing of best practices and promoting technical cooperation,” in particular, with a view to preparing for the second cycle of the UPR. We hope that the discussion will be both constructive and forward-looking, and that such an exchange of ideas, experiences and commitments will continue throughout the second cycle of the UPR and beyond.
The Republic of Korea also commends the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on its efforts to provide assistance to countries for effective and holistic implementation of UPR recommendations.
Madame President,
The Republic of Korea will work earnestly on its own second review to be held later this year.
Our government will engage constructively with other partners and relevant stakeholders and actively seek to incorporate the interest of many including those at the grass-roots level in our preparations for the review. We will also continue to cooperate closely with other member states and the Secretariat to make the UPR a more effective mechanism in the future.
Once again, the Government of Republic of Korea would like to express our confidence in and high expectations for the UPR mechanism that it can and will contribute to bring real changes on the ground for the promotion and protection of human rights world-wide.
Thank you. /End/
