(Source: UN CEDAW website, https://www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/cedaw)
On October 29(Geneva, Switzerland), the Concluding Observations on the 9th periodic report of Japan by the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was released. The committee reiterated the responsibility of the Japanese government that the "efforts (regarding the Japanese military "Comfort Women" victims) need to be sustained and expanded to ensure the rights of victims/survivors to truth, justice, and reparations."
Before the review, the State party(Japanese government) stated in the report submitted in December 2021, "It is the basic view of Japan that it is not appropriate to raise the issue of comfort women in the report on the implementation of the Convention as the Convention does not apply retroactively to any issues that occurred prior to Japan’s conclusion thereof" (1985).
However, this year's concluding observation refuted the claim that " the State party to the fact that ECOSOC adopted Resolution 1158 (XLI)confirms that, in international law, “the principle that there is no period of limitation for war crimes and crimes against humanity" must be accepted.
The Committee also recalled the Concluding observations on the combined seventh and eighth periodic reports of Japan, which expressed concern that the '2015 Korea-Japan 'comfort women' agreement' does not fully adopt a victim-centered approach. The committee also recommended that the State party should "expand and strengthen its efforts to effectively implement its obligations under international human rights laws with regard to the “comfort women” to ensure the rights of victims/survivors are holistically addressed."
The Education section of LoIPR(List of issues prior to reporting) also mentioned the Japanese military sexual slavery issue, expressing concern to "Reports that references to “comfort women” have been deleted in textbooks by publishers who have flexibility as to how they reflect historical issues;"
The committee recommended that the State party "Ensure that federal guidelines on textbook publication call for the adequate reflection of historical lived experiences of women, including “comfort women” in textbooks so that historical facts are objectively presented to students and the general public, and monitor the extent to which publishers respect this guideline in order to ensure accuracy and standardization of textbook in all educational institutions;"
The Japanese government has claimed that the issue of Japanese military sexual slavery has been finally and irreversibly resolved by the Asian Women's Fund and '2015 Korea-Japan "comfort women" agreement.' However, the Committee's concluding observations reaffirm that Japanese military sexual slavery is a war crime and a crime against humanity under international law and reemphasize that the Japanese government has failed to fulfill the rights of victims/survivors to truth, justice, reparation, and guarantee of non-recurrence as international standards.
With the current situation of serious historical distortion and defaming the victims/survivors, the Korean Council strongly urges the Japanese government to accept the recommendation of CEDAW and to fulfill its legal responsibility for reparations by implementing the Seoul High Court's November 23, 2023 ruling on the claim for damages against the State of Japan. The Korean Council also reiterates our call for correct historical education for future generations in order to regulate hate speech by far-rights and politicians in Japa and prevent its recurrence.
*Click the purple text in article to download original documents
(Source: UN CEDAW website, https://www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/cedaw)
On October 29(Geneva, Switzerland), the Concluding Observations on the 9th periodic report of Japan by the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was released. The committee reiterated the responsibility of the Japanese government that the "efforts (regarding the Japanese military "Comfort Women" victims) need to be sustained and expanded to ensure the rights of victims/survivors to truth, justice, and reparations."
Before the review, the State party(Japanese government) stated in the report submitted in December 2021, "It is the basic view of Japan that it is not appropriate to raise the issue of comfort women in the report on the implementation of the Convention as the Convention does not apply retroactively to any issues that occurred prior to Japan’s conclusion thereof" (1985).
However, this year's concluding observation refuted the claim that " the State party to the fact that ECOSOC adopted Resolution 1158 (XLI)confirms that, in international law, “the principle that there is no period of limitation for war crimes and crimes against humanity" must be accepted.
The Committee also recalled the Concluding observations on the combined seventh and eighth periodic reports of Japan, which expressed concern that the '2015 Korea-Japan 'comfort women' agreement' does not fully adopt a victim-centered approach. The committee also recommended that the State party should "expand and strengthen its efforts to effectively implement its obligations under international human rights laws with regard to the “comfort women” to ensure the rights of victims/survivors are holistically addressed."
The Education section of LoIPR(List of issues prior to reporting) also mentioned the Japanese military sexual slavery issue, expressing concern to "Reports that references to “comfort women” have been deleted in textbooks by publishers who have flexibility as to how they reflect historical issues;"
The committee recommended that the State party "Ensure that federal guidelines on textbook publication call for the adequate reflection of historical lived experiences of women, including “comfort women” in textbooks so that historical facts are objectively presented to students and the general public, and monitor the extent to which publishers respect this guideline in order to ensure accuracy and standardization of textbook in all educational institutions;"
The Japanese government has claimed that the issue of Japanese military sexual slavery has been finally and irreversibly resolved by the Asian Women's Fund and '2015 Korea-Japan "comfort women" agreement.' However, the Committee's concluding observations reaffirm that Japanese military sexual slavery is a war crime and a crime against humanity under international law and reemphasize that the Japanese government has failed to fulfill the rights of victims/survivors to truth, justice, reparation, and guarantee of non-recurrence as international standards.
With the current situation of serious historical distortion and defaming the victims/survivors, the Korean Council strongly urges the Japanese government to accept the recommendation of CEDAW and to fulfill its legal responsibility for reparations by implementing the Seoul High Court's November 23, 2023 ruling on the claim for damages against the State of Japan. The Korean Council also reiterates our call for correct historical education for future generations in order to regulate hate speech by far-rights and politicians in Japa and prevent its recurrence.
*Click the purple text in article to download original documents