The Korean name of the nation’s immigration detention facilities includes the word for “protection.” But it has long been pointed out that the facilities, which temporarily house asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants who face deportation or are under investigation, do not meet the demands of a place for protecting and sheltering people who are going through a difficult ordeal.
Nevertheless, a recent report by the National Human Rights Commission that found numerous cases of human rights violations and poor living conditions at three major immigration detention centers should cause a big concern.
The NHRC said that under relevant laws and international conventions, the immigration detention centers should be run differently from other detention facilities.
But on-site inspections and interviews conducted by commission officials uncovered that it was not the case at the facilities in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province; Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province; and Yeosu, South Jeolla Province.
Most of all, they impose too restrictive policies on the people held there. For instance, they are generally allowed little individual freedom except when they engage in physical exercise ― for one hour, three times a week ― and religious services.
Mental pressure and stress from the restrictions make inmates feel “more under detention than under protection,” the report said.
Mental problems pose health and security risks, with 41.7 percent suffering from mental illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, alcoholism, and even suicidal impulses.
As the NHRC suggested, the Justice Ministry ought to establish an emergency response system for mentally ill people and run mental health promotion programs for the inmates.
The report pointed out that the facilities offer poor living conditions and they are vulnerable to infringing human rights and the privacy of the inmates.
Toilets and shower facilities are not properly partitioned so that inmates suffer from odor and noises, and privacy is not well protected when inmates change their clothes, according to the report.
In view of what functions the immigration detention centers should perform, it is understandable that officials need a certain level of surveillance to prevent possible accidents or security lapses, but this should not allow them to ignore the inmates’ rights to privacy.
Officials said the NHRC inspection found that a 3-year-old child stayed with his parents for three months at one of the facilities, which is a violation of a U.N. convention on children’s rights.
The Justice Ministry should heed the commission’s suggestion that the government run facilities for accommodating children, pregnant women, and people with illnesses.
The number of foreign residents in the country, which stood at 1.2 million won in 2008 increased to 1.76 million as of November last year. The Justice Ministry estimates that about 203,000 or 11.6 percent of them are here illegally. In addition, the number of asylum seekers has also grown rapidly in recent years.
We will definitely need more immigration detention facilities in the years to come. There is no question about the need to weed out immigrants who shouldn’t be here, but not to be dismissed is the legal and moral obligation to provide decent shelters to those being confined.
