Honor and Justice to Comfort Women! —Global Campaign 2000

From Yayori Matsui, VAWW-NET Japan, 15 May 1998

Dear Friends,

The enclosed call for a Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery carries the issue of the ‘Comfort Women’ and Japanese war responsibility to a new level, and raises historical and contemporary issues that go far beyond Japan.

The Violence Against Women in War Network (VAWW-Net) is a recent product of efforts by Asian women, including Japanese women to research and publicize the issues of the Comfort Women and Japanese responsibility over many years. The organizing center of these activities in Japan is the Asia-Japan Women's Resource Center whose director, Matsui Yayori, is a former _Asahi Shimbun_ international correspondent, author and activist on issues of women's rights.

mark selden
ms44@cornell.edu

Tribunal Proposed at Geneva and Seoul Conferences

In response to the cry of the Comfort Women victimized by Japan's military sexual slavery:Our honor and dignity can never be restored until the perpetrators of the crimes against us are brought to justice—we propose to hold a Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery around the time of International Human Rights Day in December 2000, which is the last month of the 20th Century, a century in which countless women suffered from sexual violence in war and armed conflicts.

Violence against Women in War Network (VAWW-Net) was formed at the International Conference on Violence against Women in War and Armed Conflict Situations, held in November 1997 in Tokyo. When VAWW-NET Japan proposed the Women's Tribunal at a VAWW-NET meeting on April 9, 1998 in Geneva, the proposal received strong support from VAWW-NET members and the idea was further endorsed at the 5th Asian Solidarity Conference held in Seoul on April 15-17.

Prosecution of the criminals and investigation of the truth

The Comfort Women movement started in 1990, and since then survivors from Korea and other Asian countries have come forward and testified about their experiences. Furthermore, the systematic mass rape which took place over the same period during civil wars in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda shocked the whole world. As a result, the Platform for Action adopted at the UN World Conference on Women (1995, in Beijing) clearly stated that violence against women in war and armed conflict situation, such as systematic rape and military sexual slavery (the Comfort Women system) constitu tes a war crime, demanding investigation, prosecution of perpetrators, and redress to the victims.

However, the Japanese Government continues to refuse to take legal responsibility, ignoring the demands of victimized countries and the international community. Instead, the Government established the Asian Women's Fund in 1995 to facilitate raising money from private citizens as a substitute for state compensation. The victims protested this scheme, stating, Money can never restore our dignity.

The Asian Solidarity Conference in Seoul confirmed that, with the decisions of the governments of Taiwan and Korea to provide the survivors with the same amount of money as that offered by the fund, the focus of the Comfort Women movement has shifted from the controversy over the Asian Women's Fund to investigation of the facts and prosecution of perpetrators.

Tokyo War Tribunal didn't punish war crimes against women

More than 40 participants from 20 countries took part in the International Conference on Violence against Women in War and Armed Conflict Situations in Tokyo. These included not only Asian women involved in the Comfort Women issue, but also women working on violence against women in war and armed conflict situations—issue such as sexual violence in the conflicts in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The major focus of the Conference was the question: Why have war crimes against women never been prosecuted? Accordingly, it was proposed that the Tokyo Tribunal and all other war tribunals held in Asian countries after World War II should be thoroughly reviewed.

In the case of the Comfort Women too, the issue of prosecution of perpetrators has not been sufficiently dealt with.This issue was raised by Korean women in 1993, but the Japanese movement hesitated to face it. However, victimized women have continued to stress that Without punishment of those responsible, our dignity can never be restored. Therefore it is urgent that a more concerted effort be made to identify those who were responsible for military sexual slavery.

From the War Crime Tribunals for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda to the establishment of an International Criminal Court

If women from Japan, the offending country, identify those who are responsible for such state war crimes against women as the Comfort Women military sexual slavery system, they may also make a contribution to the global women's human rights movement that is calling for elimination of violence against women in war and armed conflicts. Though inadequately, cases of sexual violence were prosecuted at the War Crimes Tribunals for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda as a result of pressure from women. Furthermore, there will be an agreement this year to establish an International Criminal Court as a permanent War Tribunal.

However, it will take a few years before the International Criminal Court actually begins to function, and it will not deal with war crimes of the past. It is also not possible to raisethe issue of the Comfort Women in existing international tribunals, including the International Arbitration Court. This being the case, there is no time to lose, as the women victims are aging and dying.

Through cooperation of women of victimezed countries and international women's movment

We therefore decided to propose an Honor and Justice to Comfort women!—Global Campaign 2000 centered on aWomen's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery to be held around the 8th of December (Pearl Harbor day, marking the beginning of the Pacific War) and the 10th of December, International Human Rights Day. The main objective is to pressure the Japanese government to admit its legal responsibility and prosecute the perpetrators of the sexual slave rysystem.

The proposal was enthusiastically supported by Yun Chung-ok, Co- Representative of the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, and Lee Mikyung, Member of the National Assembly. They expressed the hope that women from many countries would cooperate to make the Tribunal a success. Former Comfort Women responded by saying: Please try to identify the individual Japanese military men who made us suffer so much! Their proposal was included in the resolutions that came out of the Seoul Conference.

We were also encouraged that the tribunal proposal was supported by the women working in the field of violence against women in war and armed conflict situation who attended the VAWW-NET meeting in Geneva —women from the Philippines (Asian Center for Women's Human Rights), Korea (Council for the Women Drafted), Serbia (former Yugoslavia), Algeria (Women under Muslim Law), Canada (Rwanda tribunal), United States (International group for women's human rights), etc. The support from women in these countries is essential, because prosecution of perpetrators will require not only access to the archives in Japan, but to archives in the countries of the former Allies, expertise in international law, and reports from the War Criminal Court for Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

Let's conclude the 20th century of violence against women by women's tribunal

The 20th Century, a century unrivaled in its level of war crimes against women, and the century when women broke their silence to stand up against such crimes, will close with our bringing charges in the Tribunal against the Japanese state power responsible. In doing so, we hope to pave a path towards creating a 21st Century of peace without violence, a future where women's human rights are respected and taken seriously.

We look forward to participation by NGOs and individuals involved in the Comfort Women issue in Japan and abroad as well as experts in fields such as international law and history.

What is the Japanese Military Sex Slave System Women's War Criminal Tribunal?

Objectives

In order to make the Japanese Government take legal responsibility for the Comfort Women issue, the fact that the Japanese Military sex slave system constituted a war crime against women will be clarified, those responsible and the punishment due them will be identified, and the complete proceedings of the Tribunal will be recorded in herstory.

Approach

1. A women's initiative
   
2. An international effort
   
3. In partnership with experts
   
4. A grassroots movement
   
5. From a women's human rights perspective
   
6. Women from the offending country assume war responsibility
   
7. Set a precedent for the punishment of war crimes against women
   
8. Aim for a violence-free 21st Century

Investigation to precede Tribunal

An International Committee will be formed to conduct the following activities to investigate the facts.

1. disclosure of archives of former Japanese military held by national and local government in Japan.
2. collection of testimony and writings of former Japanese military personnel.
3. requests for archives of former Japanese military in victimized countries such as China, Taiwan, Korea.
4. requests to Comfort Women in all countries to make statements focusing on their involvement in the Comfort Centers**
5. screening of the archives that were presented to the Tokyo Tribunal and other Martial Courts held in various parts of Asia for materials concerning sexual violence.
6. collection of archives related to theJapanese military from former Allies, namely the United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Australia.
7. collection of materials from the International Criminal Court for Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
8. Identifying international and domestic laws that could be used in the Tribunal.

Yayori Matsui
VAWW-NET Japan (Violence Against Women in War—Japan Women's Network)
15 May 1998, Tokyo, Japan
Fax: 813—3477—0302
E-mail: vaww-net-japan@jca.ax.apc.org

Asia Japan Women's Resource Center
Fax: 813—3463—9752 Tokyo
E-mail: ajwrc@jca.ax.apc.org

Yayori Matsui <yayori@jca.ax.apc.org>
Daizawa 3-9-5-203 Setagaya-ku
Tokyo 155-0032 Japan
Tel 813-3412-2775 Fax 813-3412-2765