Human Rights Commission: "Government's 'Disabled Persons De-institutionalization Roadmap' Positive... Some Shortcomings Noted"

Policy Recommendation 'Partial Acceptance' Decision Announcement

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The National Human Rights Commission pointed out on the 13th that there are some shortcomings in the government's established 'Roadmap for Deinstitutionalization of Persons with Disabilities' and requested improvements.

In August 2019, the Human Rights Commission formed the 'Task Force for Deinstitutionalization of Persons with Disabilities,' involving both government and private sectors, to enable persons with disabilities to live independently in the community rather than in residential facilities. The commission recommended the Prime Minister to prepare a roadmap for deinstitutionalization of persons with disabilities, including 11 elements such as policy direction, goals, implementation schedule, and budget.

In response, the Office for Government Policy Coordination held the Disability Policy Coordination Committee chaired by the Prime Minister and finalized the 'Roadmap for Community Independence Support for Deinstitutionalized Persons with Disabilities,' and reported this to the Human Rights Commission.

The Human Rights Commission confirmed that the government's roadmap included the elements recommended by the commission, such as ▲establishing policy direction and goals for deinstitutionalization ▲setting up dedicated organizations and departments for deinstitutionalization ▲expanding community transition housing and community welfare services, and positively evaluated the government's commitment to the deinstitutionalization policy for persons with disabilities.

However, it pointed out deficiencies in establishing a monitoring system for deinstitutionalization policies, preparing principles and guidelines for local governments' deinstitutionalization planning, and strategies for deinstitutionalization of persons with disabilities residing in other types of facilities such as homeless shelters and psychiatric nursing facilities.

The Human Rights Commission judged that some recommendations were partially accepted and emphasized the need for follow-up measures on the insufficient parts. The commission stated, "We plan to continuously monitor the implementation of the government's roadmap."

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