Gyeonggi-do Expands Human Rights Monitoring Team to 1,000 Members

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province is significantly expanding its Human Rights Monitoring Group to 1,000 members.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 27th that to implement a human rights-friendly Gyeonggi administration, it will increase the '2nd Gyeonggi Province Residents Human Rights Monitoring Group' from the existing 30 members to 1,000 members, and will publicly recruit 666 residents.

The Gyeonggi Province Human Rights Monitoring Group was launched last November with 30 residents who showed great interest or expertise in human rights, selected through public recruitment and recommendations, to report human rights violations and discriminatory acts in the public sector, and to participate in and promote key human rights policies.

Although activities were limited due to the spread of COVID-19 and delays in revising the 'Ordinance on the Guarantee and Promotion of Human Rights in Gyeonggi Province,' the full revision of the human rights ordinance in July this year established the basis for the composition and operation of the Human Rights Monitoring Group, providing grounds for members' activities. Accordingly, in September, a new plan was established to activate operations, including expanding the number of members for the 2nd Residents Human Rights Monitoring Group, strengthening their duties, and computerizing monitoring activities, and full-scale activities have begun.

Those selected for the Human Rights Monitoring Group will be given opportunities to enhance their capabilities regarding human rights policies through training to strengthen human rights activity skills, and members who actively participate in the province's human rights policies will receive a modest activity allowance.

Public recruitment is open to anyone who is a resident of Gyeonggi Province or someone based in Gyeonggi Province interested in the province's human rights administrative system. However, to ensure substantive human rights monitoring activities, priority will be given to those who have completed human rights-related training hosted by public institutions or have experience participating in human rights activities.

Kang Sung-moon, the province's human rights officer, stated, "Through this project for guaranteeing and promoting residents' human rights, we hope that Gyeonggi Province's human rights administration will be operated more substantively with the interest and participation of residents."