Bandie Communication to: UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls August 20, 2020
Communication
to: UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls:
Expert Members Ms. Elizabeth Broderick, Ms. AldaFacio, Ms. Ivana Radačić, Ms.
MeskeremGesetTechane, and Ms. Melissa Upreti
From: Bandie,
Global Network for Movement on Japanese Military “Comfort Women” Issues[1] bandieforjustice@gmail.com
We
submit this communication for your consideration and request the WGDAWG to
speak out on two issues of urgent concern: 1) to the government of the Republic
of Korea: regarding the harassment by prosecution and media against women’s
human rights organizations working to resolve Japanese military sexual slavery
issue; 2) and to the government of Japan: regarding their effort to redress the
Japanese military sexual slavery issue and invigorate discourses that would
contribute to this effort.
This
communication is issued in response to current urgent issues that have emerged
recently in regard to the movement for justice for survivors of Military Sexual
Slavery by Japan.
Background
and Summary of Issue
In
March of 2020, Yoon Meehyang, who was the Chair of the Board of the Korean
Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery
by Japan, stepped down from her position in order to run for the National
Assembly. She was elected on April 15th and has been in office since
May 30th. Lee Yong-soo, who has worked since 1992 with the Korean
Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan and the
Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual
Slavery by Japan, held a press conference on May 7th, 2020.[2] She
expressed the sense of a painful void provoked by having her long-time colleague
Yoon Meehyang leave the Korean Council as she was elected to the National
Assembly of the Republic of Korea, and shared her vision for the movement’s
future.
Korean
right-wing media began to pour out reports making groundless accusations of
corruption against the Korean Council. Based on these accusations, multiple
right-wing organizations reported Yoon and the Korean Council for embezzlement
and misappropriation to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Most of these
accusations have been found to be untrue, and the Press Arbitration Commission
has ordered the press to either delete or issue corrections on the 11 articles that
created the most heated attention by the public.[3]
The
Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual
Slavery by Japan posted information daily to provide facts and notified their
plan to go through a third-party audit. On May 20th and 21st,
however, the prosecution obtained and enforced search warrants for the office
of the Korean Council, and Peaceful Our Home, a care home supported by the
Korean Council, where a survivor was residing at the time. Already wounded by
the baseless accusations from the media, the search procedures exacerbated the
emotional and psychological devastation experienced by the activists who
committed themselves to restoring dignity and human rights to the victims. On
June 6th, Sohn Young-mi, the director of Peaceful Our Home was found
dead having committed suicide according to the police report. Multiple other
activists working for the Korean Council are getting or are in need of
psychotherapy and/or psychiatric help.
For
over 28 years, survivors and their supporters have persistently urged the
Japanese government for the resolution of the Japanese military sexual slavery
issue, but the Japanese government and right-wing groups have attacked
survivors and activists with hate-speeches and false information against this
activism and neglected the issue itself. Recent controversies on the suspicions
against the activists and organization for the issue have triggered backlashes
against the urges on all the efforts for the issue to dampen the spirits of
activism, leading it into jeopardy. Therefore, we request the WGDAWG
communicate with the Korean government and the Japanese government and to make
a statement regarding the following issues:
First,
the Korean government must make certain that the prosecution’s investigation of
the Korean Council is being conducted in accordance with prudent and legitimate
procedural guidelines. Enabling the prosecution to enforce a broad and invasive
investigation against human rights organizations based on factually problematic
accusations can easily become a tactic to legitimize aggression against human
rights activists and civil society.
Second,
the Korean government must consider adopting institutional measures to address
the media practices through which false news reports are made as a strategy to
undermine the movement on the “comfort women” issues. According to current
regulations, orders from the Press Arbitration Commission and the Korea Communications
Standards Commission to the news media for reports that are not duly
investigated or present false or misleading information tend to be passive
measures, which have little effect on readers and viewers and do little to stem
the flow of false information and attacks on the character and integrity of
individuals and organizations involved defending human rights.
Third,
while current circumstances may seem like a domestic problem, it is crucial to
acknowledge that the most urgent and pressing factor contributing to the situation
is the lack of effort from the Japanese government to resolve the Japanese military
“comfort women” issues. The demand for a just resolution with the Japanese
government’s active role in recognizing its legal responsibilities, making
reparations, and creating reflexive history education should be emphasized once
again. The Japanese government must first and foremost cease collaborating with
those who lobby the international community to deny the “comfort women” issues,
such as Japanese organizations who continue to lobby at the Human Rights
Council and in other United Nations forums to erase or retract previously
issued reports and resolutions regarding this issue.
---
Issues:
Prosecution’s investigation and false news reports on women’s human rights
organizations, and justification of historical revisionism.
Key Issues:
1. Prosecution’s
invasive investigation of women’s human rights organizations
1) Capitalizing
on the initial press conference held by Lee Young-soo[4],
conservative news media in Korea created baseless embezzlement and
misappropriation allegations against the Korean Council, major organizations
conducting a three-decade-long women’s human rights movement. Multiple
right-wing groups, in turn, reported the Korean Council to the prosecution
based on these reports.
2) Prosecutor
General of South Korea Yoon Seok-yeol directed the prosecutors to conduct “a
speedy investigation on every allegation provided by the media.”[5] His
remark suggests that the criminal investigation is being conducted based on
allegations made by news reports that were not substantiated with any factual
circumstances or evidence.
3) The
procedures of the investigation on the Korean Council and Peaceful Our Home
were problematic for reasons that follow.
(1) Legal
guidelines for search and seizure stipulate that the procedures have to be
conducted within a minimal range according to specified criminal charges. Yet
the prosecution designated the widest range of the organization’s documents in
order to investigate as many allegations as had appeared in the news reports.
Such a decision is against the search and seizure principles.
(2) Execution
of search and seizure at night should be limited to cases in which a search that
began during the day necessitates extra hours at night. The prosecution,
however, began its search of the office of the Korean Council around 5p.m. and
continued it until the next morning. This suggests that the execution of search
and seizure violate the basic human rights principles.
(3) A
search and seizure warrant is to be granted by the court after a consideration of
whether there is a suspicion of an offense and whether there is a need to
collect evidence and conduct a criminal investigation. Since the purpose of
this investigation could have been a broad range of allegations created by the
news media, it is necessary to ensure that the aforementioned conditions for
the court’s grant were satisfied.
(4) The
Korean Council argued that the search and seizure at Peaceful Our Home ignored
the human rights guidelines created for criminal investigations. The documents
at Peaceful Our Home were evidentiary materials for the records the prosecution
previously took from the office, and the Korean Council had already made it
clear that they would submit these documents to the prosecution.[6] The
prosecution was aware of the fact that one of the survivors, Gil Won-ok, was
residing at Peaceful Our Home, yet still disregarded the Korean Council’s
agreement to cooperate when it enforced the search and seizure warrant.[7]
4) The
invasive investigation including the search and seizure was devastating to a
number of activists who have committed themselves to the movement for decades.
The 60-year-old head of Peaceful Our Home Sohn Young-mi, who lamented that her
entire life seemed to be denied by the search and seizure, was found to have
committed suicide at her home on June 6th. Many other activists and
staff members working for the Korean Council have also expressed significant
emotional impact and are in need of psychological and/or psychiatric treatment.
2. Lack
of institutional measures to address malign news reports against the Japanese military
“comfort women” issues and the related movement
1) Since
the press conference held by Lee Young-soo, conservative news media in Korea
produced a number of reports about unsubstantiated corruption allegations against
the women’s human rights organizations in the movement regardless of their
truthfulness. Most of the news reports that had initially created the
allegations and drawn public attention were found to be untrue and the
providers were ordered to delete or publish brief corrections by the Press
Arbitration Commission.[8]
2) Many
news articles presented the unsubstantiated claims of Lee as evidence that the
movement can no longer be trusted by the public, without taking into account
the truth of the allegations, or the other survivors in the movement. Many of
them also directly insulted the victims, survivors, and/or activists by
producing allegations that do not have any truthful grounds and/or deny the
history of Japanese military “comfort women.”[9] Those
who are involved and/or ally with women’s human rights movements have expressed
grave concerns regarding these baseless reports.[10]
3) News
reporters’ harassment has been causing grave emotional distress to the
activists related to the movement as well. Not only making activists’ daily
work practically impossible due to endless calls to the office, reporters also
camped outside the office and the Peaceful Our Home, taking photos, filming and
barging in without any consent.[11] Reporters
did not even respect the privacy of the late Sohn and her family after her
passing, failing to observe guidelines on reporting suicide cases. Reporters again
took illegal photos and video footage of the funeral and attendees, and even
filmed the late Sohn’s house. Conservative party politician Gwak Sang-do and
media also revealed gruesome and excessive details regarding the method of
suicide. Further, the right-wing organizations’ anti-protests against the
Wednesday Demonstration have exacerbated, bashing the Korean Council activists
who have spent their life with her as “murderers.”
4) The
measures provided by the Press Arbitration Commission, however, tend to remain
quite passive. Even when false news reports are deleted and/or corrected, most
viewers are not aware of these proceedings because these deletions or
corrections are executed in the least noticeable manner by the media outlets.
As the National Assembly Research Services suggests, a series of more effective
institutional measures is necessary in order to address news reports that are
based on unsubstantiated information or malicious intent.
3. Lack
of effort by the Japanese government to implement recommendations from the international
community
1) Although
the Japanese government’s lack of effort to redress the Japanese military
sexual slavery issue is a prolonged problem,[12] it
is also an urgent one contributing to the current situation in Korea. The
backlashes against the movement and activists/organizations come from the need
to let the Japanese government escape its responsibilities. The ultimate
beneficiary would be the Japanese government as well if the movement were to be
undermined due to the aggression.
2) The
Japanese government, however, not only has been failing to actively make the
effort to resolve the issue, but also has denied its full responsibility. According
to the responses to questions posed by the CEDAW,[13] the
Japanese government not only officially denies its responsibilities in the “forceful
taking away” of Japanese military “comfort women,” but also makes it clear that
there is no plan to make reparations. In addition, it stated that it is not
willing to look for ways to create better history education materials for
students. Regardless of its obligation to remember and put effort into not
repeating the crimes against human rights that were conducted by the state, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs sees later generations’ acknowledging and apologizing
for the crimes as problematic in itself.[14]
3) While
a number of revisionist individuals and organizations based in Japan reject the
Japanese government’s responsibility, they also stand opposed to the basic
historical truth. For instance, they stood against the resolution on this issue
from the U.S. House of Representatives and the European Parliament,[15] and
opposed recommendations from the UN. In May, a letter was sent to the UN Human
Rights Council by one of the historical revisionist organizations insisting
that the UN must abrogate all of the historical truth it had verified as well
as international efforts to redress the suffering.[16] It
is also noteworthy that these claims often involve not only the denial of the
history of Japanese military “comfort women,” but also hate speech against
women and other Asians including Koreans.
4) Since
2014, the Japanese government has allocated a considerable amount of its budget
to spreading their position on issues related to its history and territories.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 2020, appropriated 74.2 billion JPY for
“strategic communications and expansion of Japanese experts.” Some of this is
spent on distorting and/or denying the issues related to Japanese military “comfort
women.” The Consulate-General of Japan in New York, for instance, commissioned
an American public relations consulting company to summarize writings produced
by academics who deny the issues, and the Japanese government has been found lobbying
against the issues through renowned law firms in the U.S.[17] The
investment by the Japanese government into those who deny and distort the
history works in complete opposition to a number of recommendations made by
CEDAW, CAT, CESCR, CCPR, CERD and the Human Rights Council through the UPR.
Appendix
A: Press conference
held by Lee Yong-soo and her relationship with the Korean Council
In
the midst of this situation, Lee Yong-soo and the Korean Council are maintaining
a cooperative relationship. At a meeting between Lee Yong-soo and Chair of the Board
Lee Na-young, they agreed to participate in local Wednesday demonstrations, work
together to resolve Japanese military “comfort women” issues, and educate
younger generations in Korea and Japan. The survivor has been adamant, both in
her talks and interviews with the press, that the Japanese government owes a sincere
apology and reparations to the victims. Lee Yong-soo and the Korean Council
also see eye to eye in terms of the need for educational programs regarding the
history of the Japanese military “comfort women.” Recent speeches Lee made to
the press, therefore, should be understood with compassion for the anger she
feels about the reality in which a just resolution of the issues still seems
far away despite three decades of movement that shares her painful experiences.
B: Summary of
recommendations by the United Nations
1) 1996
Report by UN Special Rapporteur on VAW
Full
text: https://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/commission/country52/53-add1.htm
IX. RECOMMENDATIONS
The Special Rapporteur wishes to make the
following recommendations which aim at the discharge of her mandate in a spirit
of cooperation with the Governments concerned and at trying to understand the
phenomenon of military sexual slavery in wartime within the wider framework of
violence against women, its causes and consequences. The Special Rapporteur
counts, in particular, on the cooperation of the Government of Japan, which has
already shown, in discussions with the Special Rapporteur, its openness and
willingness to act to render justice to the few surviving women victims of
military sexual slavery carried out by the Japanese Imperial Army.
A. At the national level
The Government of Japan should:
(a) Acknowledge that the system of comfort
stations set up by the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War was a
violation of its obligations under international law and accept legal
responsibility for that violation;
(b) Pay compensation to individual victims
of Japanese military sexual slavery according to principles outlined by the
Special Rapporteur of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and
Protection of Minorities on the right to restitution, compensation and
rehabilitation for victims of grave violations of human rights and fundamental
freedoms. A special administrative tribunal for this purpose should be set up
with a limited time-frame since many of the victims are of a very advanced age;
(c) Make a full disclosure of documents
and materials in its possession with regard to comfort stations and other
related activities of the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War;
(d) Make a public apology in writing to
individual women who have come forward and can be substantiated as women victims
of Japanese military sexual slavery;
(e) Raise awareness of these issues by
amending educational curricula to reflect historical realities;
(f) Identify and punish, as far as
possible, perpetrators involved in the recruitment and institutionalization of
comfort stations during the Second World War.
B. At the international level
Non-governmental organizations working at
the international level should continue to raise these issues within the United
Nations system. There should also be an attempt to seek an advisory opinion of
the International Court of Justice or the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
The Governments of the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea may consider requesting the
International Court of Justice to help resolve the legal issues concerning
Japanese responsibility and payment of compensation for the "comfort
women".
The Special Rapporteur urges the
Government of Japan in particular to take into account and act upon the above
recommendations at the soonest possible time, bearing in mind the advanced age
of the surviving women, as well as the fact that 1995 is the fiftieth
anniversary of the ending of the Second World War. The Special Rapporteur feels
that not only have fifty years passed since the end of the war but that it is
time to restore the dignity of those women who have suffered so much.
2) 1998
Report by UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery
Full text: Please see page 43 of the PDF
here
https://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/demo/ContemporaryformsofSlavery_McDougall.pdf
3) ICCPR
(2014) CCPR/C/JPN/CO/6
Sexual
slavery practices against “comfort women”
The
Committee is concerned by the State party’s contradictory position that the
“comfort women” were not “forcibly deported” by Japanese military during
wartime but that the “recruitment, transportation and management” of women in
comfort stations was done in many cases against their will, through coercion
and intimidation by the military or entities acting on behalf of the military.
The Committee considers that any such acts carried out against the will of the
victims are sufficient to consider them as human rights violations involving
the direct legal responsibility of the State party. The Committee is also
concerned about revictimization of the former “comfort women” by attacks on
their reputations, including by public officials, and some that are encouraged
by the State party’s equivocal position. The Committee takes into account
information that all claims for reparation brought by victims before Japanese
courts have been dismissed, and all complaints to seek criminal investigation
and prosecution against perpetrators have been rejected on the ground of the
statute of limitations. The Committee considers that this situation reflects
ongoing violations of the victims’ human rights, as well as a lack of effective
remedies available to them as victims of past human rights violations (arts. 2,
7 and 8).
The
State party should take immediate and effective legislative and administrative
measures to ensure:
(a) That all allegations of sexual
slavery or other human rights violations perpetrated by the Japanese military
during wartime against the “comfort women” are effectively, independently and
impartially investigated and that perpetrators are prosecuted and, if found
guilty, punished;
(b) Access to justice and full reparation
to victims and their families;
(c) The disclosure of all available
evidence;
(d) Education of students and the general
public about the issue, including adequate references in textbooks;
(e) The expression of a public apology
and official recognition of the responsibility of the State party;
(f) Condemnation of any attempts to
defame victims or to deny the events.
4) CEDAW/C/JPN/CO/6: CEDAW Forty-fourth session 20 July-7 August
2009 (Japan)
37.
The Committee notes that some steps were taken by the State party to address
the situation of “comfort women” but regrets the State party’s failure to find
a lasting solution for the situation of “comfort women” victimized during the
Second World War and expresses concern at the deletion of references to this
issue in school textbooks.
38.
The Committee reiterates its recommendation that the State party urgently
endeavour to find a lasting solution for the situation of “comfort women” which
would include the compensation of victims, the prosecution of perpetrators and
the education of the public about these crimes.
5) UPR
Recommendations (Japan 2012 Review - A/HRC/22/14)
147.145.
Recognize its legal responsibility for the issue of the so-called „comfort
women‟ and take appropriate measures acceptable to the victims, as recommended
by the relevant international community (Republic of Korea);
147.146.
Face up to and reflect on its past and present a responsible interface to the
international community by making apologies on the issue of comfort women and
giving compensation to its victims (China);
147.147.
Acknowledge its responsibility for the issue of "comfort women" used
during World War II, and take steps to restore the dignity of victims and
compensate them adequately (Costa Rica);
147.148.
Accept legal responsibility for and address, once and for all, the Japanese
military sexual slavery and other violations committed in the past in other
Asian countries including Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea);
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/JPSession14.aspx
6) Statement
of former UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, Navi Pillay, on CW Issue (2014)
Full text: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14920&LangID=E
7) Statement
by the UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls on the
bilateral agreement between the Republic of Korea and Japan, 2016 https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=17209&LangID=E
[1]Bandie
is a network of feminist researchers and
activists based in Korea, Japan, and the United States who ally with the
movement to resolve the issue of Japanese military sexual slavery. Bandie
was formed in the midst of the problematic accusations against the movement in
South Korea, with a concern that there are not enough outlets from which
international audiences can collect truth-based information on the movement and
the allegations. We hope to contribute to a critical global discourse on the
Japanese military “comfort women” issue and the related movement in multiple
languages for those who are interested in the issue around the globe.
[2]https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2020/05/07/Ex-South-Korea-comfort-woman-accuses-activist-of-exploiting-women-funds/4001588862221/
[3]http://womenandwar.net/kr/%ef%bb%bfstatements-from-the-1452nd-wednesday-demonstration-press-con-for-8th-international-memorial-day/
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/956272.html,
https://newsis.com/view/?id=NISX20200805_0001119271&cID=10201&pID=10200
[4]
See Appendix A.
[5]
His remark was directly quoted by multiple Korean news reports. See http://www.ilyosisa.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=218043
[8]As
of August 13th, 2020, the number of news reports that were ordered for
deletion or correction is 11.
[9]http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2020/05/08/2020050804451.html;
http://m.monthly.chosun.com/client/mdaily/daily_view.asp?idx=9462&Newsnumb=2020059462;
http://www.mediawatch.kr/news/article.html?no=254794;
http://www.mediawatch.kr/news/article.html?no=254809
[10]https://www.vop.co.kr/A00001488333.html;
http://m.gobalnews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=30183;
http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/944703.html;
https://jnctv.org/2020/05/24/solidarity-for-comfort-women-press-conference/;
https://news.v.daum.net/v/20200516114800066;
http://www.upinews.kr/newsView/upi202005230013;
http://www.kukinews.com/newsView/kuk202005280245;
https://news.v.daum.net/v/20200531050302253;
https://n.news.naver.com/article/032/0003012167;
https://m.nocutnews.co.kr/news/5353610#_enliple;
https://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2020/06/02/2020060201048.html?utm_source=naver&utm_medium=original&utm_campaign=news;
http://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/View/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0002646612&CMPT_CD=P0010&utm_source=naver&utm_medium=newsearch&utm_campaign=naver_news
[12]There
have been a number of recommendations, statements, and resolutions made by the
international community regarding this issue.[12]Recommendations
are clear: to acknowledge the history and its legal responsibilities and make a
sincere apology to those suffering, pay reparations to the victims, and create
more reflexive history education programs. See Appendix B for a summary of
recommendations from the UN.
[13]“Responses
to the List of Issues and Questions with regard to the consideration of the
Seventh and Eighth Periodic Reports (Japan).” pp.23-24.
