In the case of sexual abuse by diplomatic missions abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs directs

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is brushing his hair at a ceremony for the appointment of the new president of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA, KOICA), Son Hyuk-sang, held in the reception room from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Doryum-dong, Seoul on the 3rd. Newsis

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has designed a plan to raise the level of response to successive incidents of sexual abuse of missionaries abroad. The main essence is to unify the handling of sexual abuse cases, which have been tried by each mission level, at headquarters, and to systematically establish the “principle of zero tolerance” for the perpetrators. However, given the peculiarities of missions abroad, some say we have to see how effective the measures will be.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 8th that it will promulgate and amend the guidelines for the prevention and treatment of sexual harassment and sexual violence, ordered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as of January 1 of next year. Foreign Ministry spokesman Choi Young-sam explained the background: “This is to reaffirm the zero tolerance principle that there can be no tolerance for at least sexual abuse issues, and to establish a basis and procedure more effective and robust response “.

First, guidelines for the prevention and handling of incidents of sexual abuse by diplomatic missions abroad were recently created. Until now, diplomatic missions have also followed the guidelines of the Foreign Ministry headquarters, but by promulgating separate guidelines, they will stipulate details such as the responsibility of the mission officer and the role of a complaints counselor. Consequently, diplomatic missions abroad must report to the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately after receiving a case of sexual abuse and receiving command. This is to avoid cases where the local consulate in Los Angeles (LA) and the Nigerian embassy do not go through official procedures and are not properly disciplinary.

It should also be noted that a new provision for the protection of victims has been added. Immediately after the sexual abuse incident occurred, the perpetrator and victim were physically separated for working from home, and the perpetrator was prevented from participating in the incident. In the case of sexual harassment of a local employee of a Korean diplomat at the Korean Embassy in New Zealand in late 2017, many pointed out that the separation between the perpetrator and the victim was not properly established, resulting in additional damages.

Sanctions against perpetrators have also been strengthened. Employees who have been disciplined for sexual misconduct receive the lowest rating in the current year, not only in performance rating but also in personnel rating, which is the basis for career management in the office public. In addition, the number of external experts, such as lawyers participating in the Complaints Committee for Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence, will be expanded from the existing three to five to block the controversy about ‘covering my family’ by the Ministry of Relations Exteriors. Education for the prevention of sexual harassment and sexual violence for all employees was also increased from once a year to four.

This revision of the guidelines was conducted in accordance with the recommendation of the National Human Rights Commission to improve the guidelines for sexual harassment investigation and handling procedures at the Korean Embassy in New Zealand in relation to sexual harassment cases. . The day before, the Korean Embassy in New Zealand said, “We have recently negotiated an autograph arbitration agreement with the victim and reached an agreement.” The New Zealand police, who issued an arrest warrant for a diplomat who was allegedly the perpetrator in February, announced in a press release that “we have decided not to request the extradition of the Korean diplomats.”

Kang yubin reporter [email protected]

You can also watch the Naver Et news edited by Hankook Ilbo.