A United Nations committee on human rights expressed its concern Friday about South Korea's punitive rules against nationals who refuse to serve in the military.
The Human Rights Committee, one of the seven U.N.-linked human rights treaty bodies, recommended that South Korea stop discriminating against those who refuse to serve their mandatory military service for religious or other personal reasons.
Under the current law, those who refuse can be jailed for up to three years. They also get a criminal record and can be banned from working at government agencies.
The review, a human rights report South Korea submitted in 2004, also expressed regret over Korea's insufficient information in relation to counter-terrorism legislation, and over the punishment of those responsible for domestic violence.
But the committee appreciated South Korea's establishment of the National Human Rights Commission and the Ministry of Gender Equality in recent years.
Geneva, Nov. 3 (Yonhap News)
U.N. panel urges S. Korea not to penalize those who refuse military service |