Page 288 - 2020 Defence White Paper

establishment of the military human rights protection office, the MND will actively
work together with the relevant authorities in the legislative process. A mutual
cooperation system will be established with the military human rights protection
office to guarantee its authority such as visits to military units and investigation
rights, thereby strengthening the human rights protection function for service-
members.

Reinforcing Human Rights The goal of human rights education in the
Education for Military Personnel military is to raise awareness of service-
members regarding their rights and res-
ponsibilities as "citizens in uniform" and spread a barracks culture driven by respect
for human rights. To this end, the MND as well as each military service and the
National Human Rights Commission of Korea have been implementing systematic
education policies based on close cooperation. Specific policies include: human
rights education tailored to individual service cycles and individual units;
invitational lectures by human rights experts for commanding officers; on the job

17) training for human rights workers and instructors in the healthcare, investigation,
It is an integrated
national defense human correction, judge advocate, and discipline sectors; promotion of online human rights
rights system where
servicemembers can education; and development and distribution of human rights education contents that
apply for human rights involve the participation of servicemembers. In particular, the MND plans to develop
counseling and file a
petition for investigations. and distribute tailored teaching plans in cooperation with the National Human
Servicemembers are
allowed to request Rights Commission of Korea to use them for human rights education of
counseling or investigation
with regard to any servicemembers in each unit. Through these efforts, the MND plans to foster a
human rights violation or
discrimination and confirm barracks culture that respects the dignity and rights of military personnel.
the progress and results
thereof.
* How to apply for
counseling and Improving Human Rights Protection In keeping with the changes in how
investigation: Use the
"Military Human Rights Systems for Servicemembers servicemembers regard human rights,
Guardian" linked through
the MND website on the the MND, while pursuing cooperation
Internet or Intranet
I
• nternet (currently with civil society, strives to revise relevant statutes and improve the human rights
available in Korean
only): MND website protection system that is currently in place. A human rights impact assessment,
→ Go straight to Key which had been conducted only when statutes and administrative rules related to
Information → Military
Human Rights Guardian human rights were revised, has been further expanded to cover policies and systems.
→ Click "Apply for Human
Rights Counseling and As such, the Military Human Rights Guardian system was launched to allow
17)
Investigation"
• ntranet: National Defense servicemembers to easily request human rights counseling and file a petition for
I
Hub → Counseling/
Proposal → Military investigation. To eliminate blind spots, the MND runs the National Defense Human
Human Rights Guardian
→ Click "Human Rights Monitoring Group and conducts surveys on the human rights status of
Rights Counseling and
Investigation" servicemembers, and promotes the improvement of human rights policies in line

286 2020 Defense White Paper