From: "Queer Montclair" Subject: Fwd: Censorship of Gay/Lesbian Themes in Republic of Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 03:09:01 PST >Subject: Censorship of Gay/Lesbian Themes in Republic of korea/UNESCO >Date: Thu, 01 Jan 1998 10:13:23 PST > >The Magnus Hirschfeld Centre for Human Rights >Crosswicks House >551 Valley Road, Suite 169 >Upper Montclair, New Jersey USA 07043-1832 > >Telephone: 201-237-3406 >Facsimile: 973-746-3147 >E-Mail: Crosswix@hotmail.com > >Dear Friends/Colleagues/Readers, > >Please find an attachment with this message comprising the Centre's >recent filing before UNESCO's Committee on Conventions & Recommednations >relating to this past September's planned Seoul (Korea) Queer Film & >Video Festival. > >I hope it will be of interest. > >Best wishes for a happy and productive 1998. > >Sincerely yours, > >Bill Courson > >______________________________________________________ THE MAGNUS HIRSCHFELD CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS C/O CROSSWICKS HOUSE 551 VALLEY ROAD, SUITE 169 UPPER MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY U.S.A. 07043 TELEPHONE: (201) 237-3406 FACSIMILE: (973) 746-3147 E-MAIL: CROSSWIX@Hotmail.Com December 26, 1997 The Hon. Federico Mayor The Director-General United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization / UNESCO 7 Place de la Fontenoy 75700 Paris, France RE: Communication regarding violations by the Government of the Republic of Korea of Certain Human Rights Normative Standards within UNESCO's Purview Pursuant to Executive Board Decision 104/EX (3.3) Dear Director-General Mayor: It is the Petitioner's desire that the instant communication concerning the above-captioned matter be brought to the attention of the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (hereinafter, UNESCO) Committee on Conventions & Recommendations for its examination and the ultimate issuance of its recommendation to the respondent State Party captioned above, in accordance with the provisions of the Decision of the UNESCO Executive Board, (3.#), 104th Session (Paris, 24 April - 9 June 1978, hereinafter cited as Decision 104/EX or the Decision). Article 10(a) of the aforecited Decision calls upon UNESCO to examine alleged violations of human rights normative standards falling within its sphere of competence and interest, viz., in the areas of education, culture, scientific development and matters relating to the dispersal of information and the communications media, including educational and academic institutions. It is the Petitioner's belief that in the instant matter there has been and continues to be an ongoing and substantive violation of human rights normative standards as exemplified inter alia by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, by the general principles underlying UNESCO's scope and functions and by other conventions and standards relating to the observance by States of standards of human and civil rights, particularly in respect of the rights of free expression, and to education and participation in cultural affairs. In conformity with the requirements for admissibility of communications as set forth in Decision 104/Ex, Article 14(a)(i) through (x), the Petitioner states as follows: I. That the full name of the Petitioner is William A. Courson, aged forty-five years and a citizen of the United States and of the Republic of Ireland. The Petitioner brings the instant to the attention of the Committee on Conventions & Recommendations in his capacity as executive director of the Magnus Hirschfeld Centre for Human Rights, a non-governmental organization concerned with the promotion of human rights standards internationally, and the address of which is Crosswicks House, 551 Valley Road, Suite 169, Upper Montclair, New Jersey 07043-1832, U.S.A. II. That the Petitioner has reliable knowledge of the ongoing violations described hereinafter in connection with Article 14(a)(iii) of the aforecited Decision 104/EX, said violations falling within UNESCO's sphere of competence as they embrace matters relating ot the same. III. The Petitioner states that the parties in interest to the instant matter are: Hon. Kim Dae Jung President of the Republic of Korea Chong Wa Dae 1, Sejong-no, Chongno-ku, Seoul, Republic of Korea The Hon. Lee Soo-Sung, Prime Minister 77, Sejong-no, Chongno-ku, Seoul, Republic of Korea Hon. Gong Ro-Myung The Minister of Foreign Affairs 77, Sejong-no, Chongno-ku, Seoul, Republic of Korea Hon. Ahn Byung-Young The Minister of Education 77, Sejong-no, Chongno-ku, Seoul 110-760, Republic of Korea Hon. Ahn Woo Man Minister of Justice 1, Jungang-dong, Gwachon City, Kyonggi Province Republic of Korea Hon. Kim Woo Suk Minister of Home Affairs 77, Sejong-no, Chongno-ku, Seoul, Republic of Korea Hon. Kim Young-Soo Minister of Culture 82-1, Sejong-no, Chongno-ku, Seoul 110-050, Republic of Korea Dr. Se Hee Ahn, President Yonsei University 134, Shinchon-dong Soedaemun-ku, , Seoul 120, Republic of Korea Dr. Young Hoon-Kim Dean of the University Yonsei University 134, Shinchon-dong Soedaemun-ku, , Seoul 120, Republic of Korea Dr. Young Sik Park Dean of Students Yonsei University 134, Shinchon-dong Soedaemun-ku, , Seoul 120, Republic of Korea IV. To the petitioner's best knowledge, information and belief, the victims of the actions hereinafter described made no approach to the domestic juridical apparatus for the purpose of effectuating a remedy under municipal law, inasmuch as the extremely brief interval of time between the Government's actions giving rise to the breach of standards and the event the government successfully sought to prohibit by its actions was so short as to not permit any such attempt. V. Further, the Petitioner says that the events giving rise to the instant matter are as set forth in detailed statements by observers and participants therein, which follow. There was to have been on 19th -25th September 1997, in Seoul, Korea, the first Seoul Queer Film & Video Festival, on the grounds of Yonsei University. On 11th August, the Korean Public Performance Ethics Committee prohibited the screening of three of the four films submitted for censorship by Festival's organizers; these were consequently withdrawn in an effort to regularize the Festival's status under Korean law; however, on 18th September, Korean government authorities took action against the festival, effectively preventing it from occurring. This action took the form of local government officials in the Soedaemun District of Seoul (where Yonsei University and where the performance was to have occurred) posted a notice on the door of the theater which was to have been the Festival's venue declaring the event illegal, threatening to seize all screening equipment and materials to be screened, and also threatening the organizers with the prospect of a 20 million Korean won (approx. US$22,000) fine and a three year sentence of imprisonment. The events connected with the instant matter are detailed by the following statements, which are incorporated into this communication. STATEMENT BY MR. BYUN EUN-MI (Journalist, reporting in the Korea Herald) Nobody seems to be more angered by Korean censors' banning of an award-winning Hong Kong movie ``Happy Together'' last month on the grounds of its portrayal of homosexual relationships than Suh Dong-jin. The gay activist is one of the key organizers of an upcoming film show to feature a cluster of gay and lesbian movies for the first time in Korea. The Seoul Queer Film & Video Festival is scheduled for September 19-25 in Seoul. As expected, the festival has recently hit a snag as the Korean Public Performance Ethics Committee on August 11 prohibited the public screening of three of the four films which were submitted for approval. "The works which we have submitted for approval are moderate in sexual description and content by any standard of movies dealing with homosexuality," the 31-year-old Suh said. The reasons for the ban were the explicit love scenes and the depiction of genitals and pubic hair, which are forbidden by Korean bureaucratic standards. But the festival organizers are protesting that applying the regular standards to gay films, which promote the gay rights movement, is not fair and the scenes in question are crucial in delivering the message. One of the reasons the organizers only submitted four movies for censoring was the high deliberation fee that the KPPEC charged _ 50,000 won per five minutes of a movie. "In order to submit all the movies for screening, we have to pay an exorbitant amount of money. We can't afford to pay it," said Suh. The film festival is scheduled to screen about 80 features and short films, except for five Korean films the rest are foreign. It was uncertain from the outset whether the festival will get the official go-ahead, so the organizers had difficulties in finding sponsors. They only received meager support, mostly in the form of donations from sympathetic individuals. In as much as the banning was expected, Suh looked unaffected by the ruling, though not without a hint of bitterness. ``The ruling reflects Koreans' perceptions of homosexuals. It is a pity that there is no means for a sexual minority group to make their voices heard,'' he said. Suh said that regardless of official approval or not, he plans to go ahead with the festival. ``We will go ahead with festival even if it's illegal,'' said Suh. ``I am determined to fight this decision and stand for my rights,'' said Suh. But to hold the festival legally, they were forced to make some crucial changes including scaling-down, which they acknowledged would be a serious blow to the event. The venues which were set at two public theaters were relocated to an obscure place in Shinchon, a small hall at the Yonsei University Alumni Center, Suh's alma mater. All films will be shown in video form because the original rented films could be confiscated by the law-enforcement authorities. ``All these arrangements have been made to protect the movie theater owners and film distributors from possible legal punishments,'' Suh said. Those changes mean that the festival will be accessible to only a limited audience to the chagrin of the organizers. ``I hoped that the festival would raise a public debate on homosexuals _ it could have helped raise the awareness of homosexuality in Korea,'' he said. Psychologists agree that homosexuality is a matter of sexual preference, not sexual deviant behavior. But in Korea, homosexuals have long been treated as people with psychological problems. It is no wonder that most of them choose to keep their silence and lead secret lives. Under the past authoritarian governments, homosexuality remained a taboo in Korean media. Even though the gay rights movement has barely gotten off the ground here, it is due to a few gays like Suh, who breaking their silence, came forward to publicly reveal their sexual identity. But gaining acceptance from others has proved to be a hard obstacle to overcome. The experience that Suh, leader of a gay rights advocacy group ``Come Together,'' went through attests to this. After he put an announcement in his school newspaper two years ago for the first meeting of the group, he was bombarded with hate mail from his fellow Yonsei students, curses were left on his pager and he has received many death threats. STATEMENT OF MR. SEO DONGJIN (Program Organizer, First Seoul Queer Film & Video Festival) 19th September 1997 had been scheduled as the opening night of the 1st Seoul Gay & Lesbian Film & Video Festival at the Tongmun Theater on Yonsei University Campus, Seoul, Korea. The festival was due to run until 25th September, and was to have included 85 films from all over the world. However, on 18th September, Korean government authorities took action against the festival, effectively preventing it from occurring. Firstly, the local government officials in the Soedaemun District of Seoul where Yonsei University is located posted a notice on the door of the theater which was to have been the Festival's venue declaring the event illegal. They threatened to seize all screening equipment and materials to be screened, and also threatened the organizers with a 20 million Korean won (approx. US$22,000) fine and a 3 year sentence of imprisonment. Secondly, Yonsei University withdrew its official support from the event, threatening to turn off the electricity supply in the building. According to reports, Yonsei University officials had come under pressure from alumni, whose funds were used to build the theater in question, as well as pressure applied by functionaries of the local government. The Seoul Queer Film and Video Festival staff and volunteers had expended thousands of hours of work not only to organize the festival but also to endeavor to find a way to conduct the Festival legally. Over the last few months great difficulty has been encountered with homophobic national censorship authorities. Korean artist Wong Kar-Wai's latest film HAPPY TOGETHER has been banned in Korea, with authorities stating that it is "not relevant to the emotional life of the Korean people," and on that basis prohibiting the screening of the film. The same authorities stated that they would not permit the Queer Film and Video Festival to import and screen film prints. In these circumstances, the festival was forced to attempt a technique used by other festivals in similar circumstances, namely to screen videos only on a university campus. In the present instance, that attempt had as well resulted in failure. The Queer Film and Video Festival's difficulties raise serious questions about civil rights and freedom of expression for all Koreans. In the organizers' words, "We believe that our struggle is of importance to all organizers of film festivals, all organizers of cultural events, and to Korean audiences in general." On the evening of 18 September, the festival staff, volunteers and audience members who had come for the opening night gathered in a bar nearby. One by one, everyone present took the stage to express their feelings. Among those who spoke were members of all sectors of the gay, lesbian and queer communities, including cyberspace bulletin board organizers, members of the film culture community, university teachers, and university and high school students. Everyone agreed that the struggle to find a way to hold the 1st Seoul Queer Film and Video Festival must go on. The festival will now try to find an alternative legal venue to hold the festival in a few weeks time, and will also continue to demand reasonable censorship procedures to allow it hold a legal public event. (It should be noted that since the time of Mr. Seo Dongjin's statement, the organizers of the aforecited event have been unable to obtain the necessary authorizations to stage the event in conformity with the law). VI. As an aid to the Committee's examination of the instant, the Petitioner states that he believes the following standards of Korean substantive law as well as international norms relative to human rights that are within the Organization's sphere of interest and activity, have been violated by the actions and omissions of the government of the Republic of Korea: THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA { Adopted: 17 July 1948 / Status: 29 Oct 1987 } Article 6 [Treaties, Foreigners] (1) Treaties duly concluded and promulgated under the Constitution and the generally recognized rule of international law have the same effect as the domestic laws of the Republic of Korea. Article 10 [Dignity, Pursuit of Happiness] All citizens are assured of human worth and dignity and have the right to pursue happiness. It is the duty of the State to confirm and guarantee the fundamental and inviolable human rights of individuals. Article 21 [Speech, Press, Assembly, Association, Honor, Public Morals] (1) All citizens enjoy the freedom of speech and the press, and of assembly and association. (2) Licensing or censorship of speech and the press, and licensing of assembly and association may not be recognized. Article 22 [Learning, Intellectual Rights] (1) All citizens enjoy the freedom of learning and the arts. (2) The rights of authors, inventors, scientists, engineers, and artists are protected by law. Article 31 [Education] (4) Independence, professionalism, and political impartiality of education and the autonomy of institutions of higher learning are guaranteed under the conditions as prescribed by law. Article 37 [Restriction, No Infringement of Essentials] (1) Freedoms and rights of citizens may not be neglected on the grounds that they are not enumerated in the Constitution. (2) The freedoms and rights of citizens may be restricted by law only when necessary for national security, the maintenance of law and order, or for public welfare. Even when such restriction is imposed, no essential aspect of the freedom or right shall be violated. THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (UN General Assembly, G.A. res. 217A (III), U.N. Doc A/810 at 71 [1948]) Article 19 Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Article 20 (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS (UN general Assembly, G.A. res. 2200A (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 52, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 999 U.N.T.S. 171, entered into force Mar. 23, 1976) (Ratified by the Republic of Korea on 10th April 1990) Article 2 (1) Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Article 19 (1) Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference. (2) Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice. (3) The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary: (a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others; (b) For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals Article 21 The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. Article 22 (1) Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests. (2) No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those which are prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. This article shall not prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions on members of the armed forces and of the police in their exercise of this right. THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS (UN General Assembly, G.A. res.2200A (XXI), 21 U.N.GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 49, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 993 U.N.T.S. 3, entered into force Jan. 3, 1976) (Ratified by the Republic of Korea on 10th April 1990) Article 5 (1) Nothing in the present Covenant may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights or freedoms recognized herein, or at their limitation to a greater extent than is provided for in the present Covenant. (2) No restriction upon or derogation from any of the fundamental human rights recognized or existing in any country in virtue of law, conventions, regulations or custom shall be admitted on the pretext that the present Covenant does not recognize such rights or that it recognizes them to a lesser extent. Article 15 (1) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone: (a) To take part in cultural life; (b) To enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications; (c) To benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author. (2) The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for the conservation, the development and the diffusion of science and culture. (3) The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to respect the freedom indispensable for scientific research and creative activity. (4) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the benefits to be derived from the encouragement and development of international contacts and co-operation in the scientific and cultural fields. VII. On the basis of the Republic of Korea's obligations under international law relative to human rights matters, the petitioner respectfully draws the Committee's attention to the following issues: (a) While there can be no reasonable argument that it is not the right of every state to undertake measures to protect public morals, such measures, to meet the test of international law relative to human rights, must be (1) absolutely necessary, and not merely prudent, advantageous or expedient for the state party to enforce; and (2) must not, in their scope of application, exceed the bredth absolutely required to achieve their aims. The foregoing interpretation is supported both by the traveaux preparatoires of the aforecited instruments as well as the decisions embodied in the case law of the respective bodies charged with their interpretation. It is the petitioner's belief that the actions of the Republic of Korea fail to satisfy either of the two foregoing requirements in justification of its actions. (b) The population group most concerned with the instant matter, viz., the homosexual community in the Republic of Korea, is historically one particularly vulnerable to public hostility, marginalization and prejudice. The actions of the Republic of Korea further emphasize that status, remmoving the possibilities for that marginalized population group to remedy present, and the effects of past, intolerance. In consideration of the foregoing, the Petitioner respectfully requests: That the instant communication be deemed admissible to the consideration of the Committee on Conventions & Recommendations under the provisions of Decision 104/EX, Article 14(d); That the instant communication be communicated to the respondent State Party under the provisions of Article 14(b)(iii) of the aforecited Decision; and, That pursuant to the provisions of Article 14(k) of the aforecited Decision, the Committee on Conventions & Recommendations take action forthwith to bring about an amicable settlement of and resolution to the violations referred to hereinabove in such a fashion as to advance the promotion of the observance of human rights normative standards falling within UNESCO's sphere of competence. It is the Petitioner's understanding that the Director-General will acknowledge receipt of the instant communication pursuant to the provisions of Articles 13 and 14(b)(i) of the aforecited Decision. Respectfully submitted, Your SIgnature Your Name Typed Executive Director THE MAGNUS HIRSCHFELD CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Cc: Hon. Park Soo Gil, Ambassador Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 300 New York, New York USA 10017 (Via Facsimile: 212-371-8873) Hon. Kun Woo Park, Ambassador Embassy of the Republic of Korea 2450 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC, USA 20008 (Via Facsimile: 202-797-0595) Mr. Solomon Hailu Director of the Executive Office UNESCO 7 place de Fontenoy 75352 Paris, France Mr. Hedayat Ahmed, Director Principal Regional Office for Asia UNESCO 920 Sukhumvit Road, P.O. Box 967 Prakanong Post Office Bangkok 10110, Thailand Mr. Juan Carolso Tedesco, Director International Bureau of Education UNESCO P.O. Box 199 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland Dr. Youn Sook Moh, President Dr. Jung Kee Lee, Executive Secretary Lorean PEN Centre 163 Ankuk-dong Chongno-ku, Seoul 110, Republic of Korea Rev. Lee Kwae Jae, General Secretary Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea 810, Christian Building 136-46, Yunchi-dong, Chongno-ku, Seoul 110-701, Republic of Korea Rev. Chung Bok Yang, Moderator Rev. Kim Sang Hak, General Secretary The Presbyterian Church of Korea 135, Yunchi-dong, Chongno-ku, CPO Box 1125 Seoul 110, Republic of Korea Min Byung Il, Editor The Korea Herald 1-12, 3-ka, Hoehyon-dong Chung-ku, Seoul, Republic of Korea Kim Myong Sik, Managing Editor The Korea Times 17-11, Chunghak-dong Chongno-ku, Seoul 110-792, Republic of Korea Buddhist Committee for Human Rights Cho-ke Temple 45, Kyunji-dong, Chongno-ku, Seoul, Republic of Korea International Human Rights League of Korea Daihan-Ilbo Building 7F, #340, Taepyung-ro 2 ga, Chung-ru, Seoul 100-102, Republic of Korea International Korean Alliance for Peace & Democracy 2530 1/2 South Crenshaw Blvd. Los Angeles, California USA 90026 (Via Facsimile: 213-733-1415 Korean Institute for Human Rights 1101 North Highland Street, Room 411 Arlington, Virginia USA 22201 Korea Information & Resource Centre 1314 14th Street, NW, Suite #5 Washington, DC, USA 20005 (Via Facsimile: 202-387-2984) Korea Church Coalition for Peace, Justice & Reunification 475 Riverside Drive, Room 634 New York, New York USA 10115 (Via Facsimile: 212-870-2881) International PEN Centre 9/10 Charter House Buildings Goswell Road London EC1M 7AT, England (Via Facsimile: 011-44-71-253-5711) Article 19 International Centre Against Censorship 90, Borough High Street London SE1 1LL, England (Via Facsimile: 011-44-71-403-1943) Chingusai Kwang-hwa-moon Post Office Box 1246 Seoul 110-612, Republic of Korea Kirikiri Kwang-hwa-moon Post Office Box 1816 Seoul 110-618, Republic of Korea Chingusai - Los Angeles Post Office Box 741666 Los Angeles, California 90004-1666 International Freedom of Expression Exchange IFEX Clearing House. 490 Adelaide St. W., suite 205 Toronto, Ontario M5V 1T2 CANADA