Past Country Work
South Korea: Amnesty International reaches out to authorities and civil society to promote a human rights compliant approach in the policing of assemblies in Korea
The Police and Human Rights Programme together with Amnesty International Korea undertook a range of activities that sought to explore how the policing of assemblies in Korea can be brought in line with international human rights law and standards. Meetings took place with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, the civil society movement People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, as well as members of the Security and Public Administration Committee of the National Assembly of Korea.
On Friday, 24 March Amnesty International Korea co-hosted together with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, as well as members of the National Assembly of Korea, of the Minjoo Party and of The People’s Party an ‘International Conference to Identify New Approaches for Policing Assemblies: the state’s role in facilitating freedom of peaceful assembly’ at the main conference room of the National Assembly. The conference was attended by more than 100 participants from police, members of the National Assembly and different political parties, civil society as well as media representatives.
In all activities, Amnesty International was joined by two international police experts, Roger Ekenstedt of the Swedish Dialogue Police and Prof. Dr. Otto Adang of the Police Academy of the Netherlands.
The key areas of discussions in meetings and the conference were related to the current domestic legislation, the Assembly and Demonstration Act, as well as the general policing approach in relation to assemblies in Korea. The main problems identified were: the restrictive legislation that actual turns the fundamental human right to freedom of peaceful assembly into a privilege that can easily be restricted and has to step back behind a wide range of other considerations including smooth flow of traffic; and the excessive practice of banning, restricting and dispersing assemblies by the Korean police.
Given the strong need for people being able to gather in public to make their voices heard, the importance of a facilitative approach by police was highlighted: facilitating assemblies through a supportive, constructive approach and dialogue between police and demonstrators were found to play an important role in maintaining public order, while a restrictive policing approach that rather prevents people from achieving their goal is actually likely to generate anger, disorder and even violence. Research and peer review experiences in a range of countries were presented by Prof. Dr. Adang to support that conclusion. The presentation of Roger Ekenstedt on the Swedish Dialogue police served as an illustration, that such an approach actually works and contributes to assemblies taking place in a smooth and peaceful manner. Amnesty International hopes that these activities serve to nurture and stimulate legislative and operational reform processes regarding the policing of assemblies.
Policing Assemblies: Workshop with AI South Korea in Seoul
From 18 until 20 April 2016, PHRP conducted a workshop in Seoul, Republic of Korea, which was attended by 7 staff member of Amnesty Korea. The policing of assemblies, the use of force and police accountability in the Republic of Korea were analysed in light of the international human rights law and standards applicable to policing. The workshop resulted in a clear identification of the shortcomings in existing laws and regulations and in the definition of crucial issues that would need change in order to ensure full respect and protection of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly as well as human rights compliant policing of assemblies.
Launch of Amnesty International’s report, “Deadly Force: Police Use of Lethal Force in The United States”
The use of lethal force continues to make the headlines in the United States, since the public outcry on the killing of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri in August 2014. Too often, lethal force is used against unarmed, non-threatening persons, with law enforcement officials not being held accountable for taking life in such circumstances. One of the causes that contribute to this situation is the domestic legislation, granting excessive powers to law enforcement officials, in particular with regard to the use of lethal force. PHRP has been closely cooperating with AI USA in the analysis of domestic legislation of all 50 states and Washington DC governing the use of lethal force. In June 2015 AI USA released the report Lees ook: Read the report: Deadly Force: Police Use of Lethal Force in The United States . The main conclusion of this report is that legislation in all 50 states and Washington DC fails to comply with international law and standards, with nine states and Washington DC even having no laws at all on the use of lethal force by law enforcement officers.
Launch of Amnesty International’s report, Spain: The right to protest under threat
In April, the PHRP participated in the launch of the report Lees ook: Read the report: Spain: The right to protest under threat in Madrid. The report exposed violations by police against demonstrators, the lack of accountability for these violations and the determination of the Spanish authorities to strengthen repressive legislation. During the press conference and in various meetings with authorities, the dangerous vicious circle of violence taking place in Spain as a consequence of police excessive use of force was particularly highlighted. PHRP referred the problematic experiences from other countries such as Turkey or Brazil, to illustrate the potential dangers of excessive use of force by the police, and also referred to other experiences where on many occasions across the world, police – through an approach of facilitation and dialogue – managed to prevent violence from occurring. This reference sought to demonstrate that authorities, including and in particular the Spanish police indeed have the choice and the possibility to turn around this dangerous circle of violence.
