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| Migrants and local activists protest in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, urging local governments to provide disaster relief funds to foreign residents, April 26. Yonhap |
By Lee Hyo-jin
The national human rights agency's recent decision not to recognize the exclusion of foreigners from the state disaster relief fund plan as discrimination has drawn a backlash from migrants' rights groups, Tuesday.
A coalition of such groups from across the country issued a statement expressing deep disappointment in the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) for its dismissal of a petition filed in May, demanding the central government to provide equal financial support to foreign residents.
"The commission's decision runs counter to its previous recommendations to municipal governments advising them to include all foreign residents in their relief fund plans. We do not understand why it has given different responses depending on the government bodies," read the statement.
The commission had advised the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Gyeonggi Provincial Government in May to subsidize all registered foreign residents with COVID-19 disaster relief money, a lump-sum payment handed out to residents in a bid to ease economic hardships from the pandemic.
However, it has found that the central government's earlier decision to exclude foreign nationals from the universal emergency relief plan cannot be seen as discriminative due to the lack of a legal basis, said Rep. Kang Eun-mi of the minor opposition Justice Party, disclosing the statement from the commission.
"Unlike local governments that are obliged to provide equal administrative benefits to all residents under the Local Autonomy Law, the central government has the right to decide the range of beneficiaries and to whom it will provide the monetary support," the commission said.
"If the reason for their decision was lack of legal grounds, the human rights watchdog could have given a different opinion from a broader perspective based on international human rights standards or constitutional law, for instance," said Jeong Young-seop, a member of the Alliance for Migrant Equality and Human Rights.
Shekh al Mamun, a member of the migrants' union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), pointed out that the commission should have focused more on inconsistent policies which differ across central and regional governments leading to confusion and discrimination even among foreign nationals.
"Since Ansan and Bucheon are the only cities in Gyeonggi Province giving out relief money to all foreigners in the area, people living in other regions may have felt it was unfair," Mamun said.
"Also, limiting beneficiaries only to permanent residents and marriage migrants can be perceived as discrimination towards other tax-paying foreigners, for example, legal immigrant workers who have been staying longer in the country under the employment permit system (EPS)."
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