SEOUL– South Korea’s parliament on Thursday ratified a United Nations convention aimed at protecting people from enforced disappearance.
The National Assembly passed the ratification motion for the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CPED), according to the foreign ministry.
The convention is one of the U.N.’s nine core human rights instruments along with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The CPED was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in December 2006 and went into effect in December 2010.
The U.N. recommended South Korea join the convention in 2017, but the ratification was delayed, as the country did not stipulate enforced disappearance as a crime under domestic laws.
The foreign ministry said the government plans to discuss legislating domestic laws needed to implement the CPED.
“Joining the CPED means South Korea is willing to actively participate in efforts to eradicate enforced disappearances and promote universal respect for human rights and basic freedom as a member of the international community,” the ministry said.
The Assembly also ratified the U.N.’s Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
Under the protocol, individuals can file complaints over alleged violations of the CRPD by states to the related U.N. committee. South Korea joined the CRPD in 2008.
Source: Yonhap News Agency