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[Press Release]UN, call for Japanese government to make reparation to the “Comfort Women” |
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[Press Release] The Korean Council
June 10, 2010
UN, call for Japanese government to make reparation to the “Comfort Women”
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡Human Rights Council 14th session
The call for the Japanese government to resolve the “Comfort Women” issue was raised once again at the 14th UN Human Rights Council, being held in Geneva, Switjzerland from May 13th-June 18th,
On the afternoon of June 7th, the issue of “Comfort Women” was discussed again during interactive dialogue between the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health, and the Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty.
In April, Rashida Manjoo, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, submitted her report on reparation to women who have been subjected to violence in contexts of both peace and post-conflict to the Human Rights Council. Manjoo stated in the report that the traditional neglect of women in the reparations domain is best exemplified by the largely unsuccessful movement for reparations for the so-called “comfort women”. Meanwhile, she reported “the single most organized and well-documented movement for reparations for women is that for the so-called “comfort women”. Since the late 1980s, survivors have come forward to bear witness and mobilize international public opinion, asking for an official apology and reparation. Survivors have rejected financial aid gestures as inadequate and reiterated their desire for a formal apology and individual compensation through public funds rather than a welfare- or benevolence-type of assistance based on socio-economic needs. As victims of sexual crimes, they do not want to receive economic compensation without an official apology and official recognition of State responsibility”.
Kim Dong-jo, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, said, “the report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women clarified the concepts of international human rights and the liability of the state to make reparations to victims, but the Japanese government still has not resolved this issue. Since this matter had not been adequately addressed by the Japanese government, the Republic of Korea called upon the Japanese government to take appropriate measures to resolve the issue of comfort women in response to the Special Rapporteur's recommendations of both taking measures of symbolic recognition and making substantive reparations to the victims.” Kim further emphasized that “the repeated violence that took place against women in the context of war or armed conflict was a fundamental infringement of human rights, but despite its gravity, the issue has remained unresolved and is a cause of profound concern for the international community”.
On the other hand, Japanese Ambassador, Akio Isomata said, “On the issue of so-called comfort women, the Government had conducted a study with the utmost rigor, and released the findings, at which point the Government issued a statement saying that this was a situation which damaged the honor and dignity of many women, and apologized.” In addition, he stated, “the Government and the people of Japan jointly discussed the issue, and established the Asian Women's Fund in order to provide aid to the surviving women, in the form of reparations and medical support, among other programs.¡¡A letter was sent to each victim from the Prime Minister, apologizing sincerely and expressing remorse”. Finally, Isomata stated, “the country was painfully aware of its moral responsibility and faced it squarely".
Ambassador Kim responded by stated that reparations need to be made and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) had recently pointed out that this issue remained unresolved and the Republic of Korea asked the Government of Japan to address this matter urgently.
Ambassador Akio responded by stating that the Government of Japan had already expressed its “sincere remorse and apologized.”¡¡Additionally, he stated, “as for the problems of reparations, property and other World War Two claims, Japan would not repeat what it had said before.”
The attitude of Japanese government during the interactive debate shows that it has been constantly denying the state responsibility recommended from the UN. The Japanese government has presented their positive outcome through the AWF. However UN along with the ILO and other organizations, have already concluded that the AWF ‘does not meet the expectations of victims’ and ‘non-state compensation is an inadequate compensatory measure’ and called for the rapid resolution of this issue by the Japanese government.
Special Rapporteur Manjoo stated clearly that the survivors do not want inadequate and benevolence-type compensation as the AWF but an official apology and reparation based on state responsibility. The Japanese government should recognize it and implement the responsibilities at a soonest time. Without such corrective measures the Japanese government’s perspective that they are aware of its responsibility, is simply a lie.
Even though Japan established a new government after 54 years of conservative rule, it is disappointing to say the least that the Japanese government repeatedly refuses the recommendations of the international community and the requests of the survivors and continues to stick firm to its position on this issue.
The UN Human Rights Council evaluated the report of Special Rapporteur on violence against women and its discussion as the start of a process on reparations through a gender lens. It is expected to have an accumulative effect and encourage more active discussions within the UN regarding compensation for victims of violence against women.¡¡
* Attached:¡¡Excerpts from the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women report and an excerpt from the transcript of the interactive dialogue
The Korean Council for the Women Drafted
for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan
The 3rd Fl, Yeongeondong 195-15, Jongnogu,
Seoul 110-460, Korea
www.womenandwar.net / war_women@naver.com
T/ 82-2-365-4016
F/ 82-2-365-4017
Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo(A/HRC/14/22)
25. There are signs that the traditional neglect of women in the reparations domain, best exemplified by the largely unsuccessful movement for reparations for the so-called “"comfort women”", is ending. The international legal response to violence against women over the past 15 years and the explicit recognition of violence against women as a human rights concern within the United Nations serve as indicators. Furthermore, the inroads of feminism in international criminal law, crystallizing in the inclusion of some forms of gender violence as war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, were accompanied by relevant discussions about how other transitional justice mechanisms, and not just criminal courts, could be rendered more inclusive to women.
(…)
71. The single most organized and well-documented movement for reparations for women is that for the so-called “"comfort women”". Since the late 1980s, survivors have come forward to bear witness and mobilize international public opinion, asking for an official apology and reparation. Survivors have rejected financial aid gestures as inadequate and reiterated their desire for a formal apology and individual compensation through public funds rather than a welfare- or benevolence-type of assistance based on socio-economic needs. As victims of sexual crimes, they do not want to receive economic compensation without an official apology and official recognition of State responsibility.
Human Rights Council concludes Interactive dialogue on Right to Health, Human Rights and Extreme Poverty, and Violence against Women (UN press release)
Human Rights Council
AFTERNOON7June2010
The Human Rights Council this afternoon concluded its interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health, the Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty, and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences.
Rashida Manjoo, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, in concluding remarks, thanked everyone for the constructive engagement on the report on reparations. This was the start of a process on reparations through a gender lens, which all should be discussing. Violence against women was both a cause and a consequence of women's inequality, both in policy and practice, and redress could help to reach other societal goals, repairing also structural and systemic violence, and not just individual incidents. A compilation of best practices on reparations would prove effective. It had been a very productive interactive dialogue, and an affirmation on this very important topic.
(…)
Concerning violence against women, speakers said violence against women remained one of most under-reported and undocumented human rights violations and believed that there was need for this Council to focus even more on discrimination and violence against women and girls. The Special Rapporteur on violence against women had clarified the concepts and practices relating to victims' rights to remedies, with a special focus on violence against women. Her analysis called for renewed attention to the responsibility of States to make reparations based on international human rights principles. Speakers urged all States to create a system of reparations for women victims of violence. A list of good practices would also be helpful in this regard.
Speaking in the interactive debate were Norway, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Botswana, Saudi Arabia, France, China, Austria, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Iran, Sweden, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Chile, Australia, Hungary, Bolivia, Belgium, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Sudan, Nepal, Japan, Canada, Morocco, Viet Nam, Guatemala, Denmark, Thailand, Panama, Slovenia, Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Yemen, Tunisia, Ecuador and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.
The following national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations also took the floor: National Human Rights Commission of India, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Federation for Women and Family Planning, Amnesty International, European Disability Forum, CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Centre for Reproductive Rights, International ATD Fourth World, Save the Children and the General Arab Women Federation.
Haiti, the Republic of Korea and Japan spoke in right of reply.
When the Council meets at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, 8 June, it will hear an introductory statement by the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights on the thematic reports of the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which will be followed by a general debate on its agenda item on the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development.
Interactive Debate on the Right to Health, Human Rights and Extreme Poverty, and Violence against Women
KIM DONG-JO (Republic of Korea) said that the report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women clarified the concepts and practices relating to victims' right to remedies, with a special focus on violence against women. Her analysis called for renewed attention to the responsibility of States to make reparations based on international human rights principles. The Republic of Korea welcomed the Special Rapporteur's raising of the issue of women who had been subjected to systematic violations, especially the so-called "comfort women" of the Second World War. Since this matter had not been adequately addressed by the Government concerned, the Republic of Korea called upon the Government to take appropriate measures to resolve the issue of comfort women in response to the Special Rapporteur's recommendations of both taking measures of symbolic recognition and making substantive reparations to the victims. The repeated violence that took place against women in the context of war or armed conflict was a fundamental infringement of human rights and an affront to human dignity and integrity. Despite its gravity, the issue remained unresolved and was a cause of profound concern for the international community.
AKIO ISOMATA (Japan) said Japan thanked the mandate-holders for their reports, and with regard to the report on violence against women, the Government attached great importance to this issue, including providing remedies to the women victims. On the issue of so-called comfort women, the Government had conducted a study with the utmost rigour, and had released the findings in August 1993, at which point the Government had issued a statement saying that this was a situation which damaged the honour and dignity of many women, and apologised. This was the position of the Government and had remained so, as the Government wished to deal with this issue in good faith. The Government and the people of Japan had jointly discussed the issue, and established, in 1995, the Asian Women's Fund, to provide aid to the surviving women, in the form of housing projects and atonement money, among others, such as medical and social programmes. A letter was sent to each victim from the Prime Minister, apologising sincerely and expressing remorse for the incurable physical and psychological wounds. The country was painfully aware of its moral responsibility, and faced it squarely.
KIM DONG-JO (Republic of Korea), speaking in a right of reply, wished to respond to earlier comments made by the State of Japan on the issue of the comfort women. Reparations needed to be made. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women had recently pointed out that this issue remained unresolved and the Republic of Korea asked the Government of Japan to address this matter urgently.
YUJI YAMAMOTO (Japan), speaking in a right of reply, said the Government of Japan recognized the issue of comfort women as one that severely injured the honour and dignity of many women and the Government had expressed its sincere remorse and apologised. As for the problems of repatriations, property and other World War Two claims, Japan would not repeat what it had said before.
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