군인 인권침해에 관한 국가인권위원회 결정례 분석-병사를 대상으로 한 최근 결정례를 중심으로-

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the violations of soldiers’ human rights within the Korean military and to provide suggestions to secure the human rights of the soldiers. To do so, the study analyzed five cases of human rights violations that were filed with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, out of the judgments issued by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea in 2019. The study revealed five types of soldiers’ human rights: the violation of the right to rest as an aspect of the right to pursue happiness, by excessively limiting outings and sleeping out; violation of personal rights through cursing and abusive language; violation of the rights of personal freedom due to inadequate medical treatment for gunshot wounds, locking the soldiers in detention rooms, and not protecting safety rights; and violation of personal information and privacy by publicly posting disciplinary charges and disciplinary actions without the consent of the soldiers. The perpetrators of the human rights violations were all commissioned officers such as commanders. To secure the human rights of the soldiers, it is necessary to develop the human rights sensitivity of the soldiers so that they can claim their own human rights. In addition, it is necessary to develop the human rights sensitivity of commissioned officers such as commanders who direct the soldiers, so that the military will be more human rights-friendly. Furthermore, the relief systems within and outside the military should be reinforced so that the systems will be effective in cases of human rights violation. To secure actual human rights with the relief systems within the army, the system should be independent from the military so that it will be outside the control of the military, and the National Human Rights Commission of Korea should change the current recommendations that have no actual effects on jurisdictions with legal effects. Moreover, there should be omnidirectional surveillance systems to protect the human rights of the soldiers in cooperation with military-related non-governmental organizations.