{"id":1816,"date":"2008-07-16T12:01:59","date_gmt":"2008-07-16T03:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=1816"},"modified":"2008-07-16T12:01:59","modified_gmt":"2008-07-16T03:01:59","slug":"unhcr-on-japans-un-human-rights-review-june-30-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=1816","title":{"rendered":"UNHCR on Japan’s UN Human Rights Review, June 30, 2008"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\"Handbook<\/a>\"\\\"<\/a>\"Foreign<\/a>\"\\\"<\/a>\"\u300c\u30b8\u30e3\u30d1\u30cb\u30fc\u30ba\u30fb\u30aa\u30f3\u30ea\u30fc\u3000\u5c0f\u6a3d\u5165\u6d74\u62d2\u5426\u554f\u984c\u3068\u4eba\u7a2e\u5dee\u5225\u300d\uff08\u660e\u77f3\u66f8\u5e97\uff09\"<\/a>\"JAPANESE<\/a><\/p>\n

(Latest UN report. \u00a0Lots on trafficking, some on child rights and corporal punishment, very little to nothing on racial discrimination in general. \u00a0Anyway, baby steps. \u00a0Data of note to Debito.org italicized. \u00a0Debito)<\/p>\n

30\/06\/2008
\nOffice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
\nSummary of the State under Review
\nInteractive dialogue and responses by the State under Revi<\/strong>ew
\nCourtesy of Eric Kalmus<\/p>\n

Conclusions and\/or Recommendations<\/strong><\/p>\n

On 28 February 2008, the Human Rights Council selected the following group
\nof rapporteurs (troika) to facilitate the review of Japan: Djibouti, France
\nand Indonesia. The delegation of Japan was headed by H.E. Mr Yoshitaka
\nAkimoto, Ambassador in charge of United Nations Affairs, Ministry of Foreign
\nAffairs.<\/p>\n

(i) Summary of the State under Review
\n<\/strong> – Japan stated that it regards the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of
\nInternational Child Abduction and the Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable
\nLaw, Recognition, and Cooperation in respect of Parental Responsibility and
\nMeasures for the Protection of Children as effective tools for children\u2019s
\nrights and welfare, and will continue to study the possible conclusion of
\nthe two conventions by giving due consideration to, inter alia, the current
\nsocial system, and the cultural situation of Japan.<\/em><\/p>\n

[NB: \u00a0Even though PM Fukuda has recently made it clear he sees no need for legislation to back up aspects of the treaty<\/a>, so one wonders how the Convention will be enforced.]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

– On the question of the marriageable age in Japan, it was explained that in
\nFebruary 1996, the Legislative Council of the Minister of Justice submitted
\nan outline of a Bill to Revise Part of the Civil Code suggesting that the
\nmarriageable age should be 18 years for both men and women. Japan stated
\nthat this issue constitutes an important subject involving the marriage
\nsystem and the concept of a family and since there were various opinions
\nacross all levels of civil society, close attention was being paid to trends
\nin public opinion.<\/p>\n

(ii) Interactive Dialogue with the State under Review
\n<\/strong> – Algeria recommended that Japan implement the calls by, inter alia, the
\nCommittee on the Rights of the Child to establish human rights institutions
\nin accordance with the Paris Principles as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

– Algeria also asked for information on how Japan proposes to address the
\nissue of violence against women and girls.<\/p>\n

– Philippines encouraged Japan to further develop appropriate strategies and
\nprogrammes to counter the negative effects of \u2018ijime\u2019 or bullying in
\nschools.<\/p>\n

– China welcomed the implementation of comprehensive legal support and
\nawareness activities, including on child abuse and child pornography.<\/p>\n

– Referring to reports indicating, inter alia, a high prevalence of
\ngender-based violence and child abuse, Canada recommended that Japan
\ncontinue to take measures to reduce the incidence of violence against women
\nand children, inter alia, by ensuring that law enforcement officials receive
\nhuman rights training, and funding recovery and counselling centres for
\nvictims of violence.<\/p>\n

– Canada referred to studies showing that an increase in international
\nmarriages has resulted in an increase in complex divorce and custody cases
\nand noted that there is no formal mechanism to deal with international child
\ncustody cases. It recommended that Japan develop a mechanism to ensure the
\nprompt return of children who have been wrongfully removed from or prevented
\nfrom returning to their habitual place of residence, and also examine the
\npossibility of acceding to the 1980 Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of
\nInternational Child Abduction.<\/em>
\n– While recognizing measures already taken by Japan, Canada recommended that
\nit continue its efforts to combat trafficking in persons with a special
\nemphasis on women and children.
\n– With regard to measures to prevent trafficking in persons, Japan provided
\ninformation, inter alia, on special provisions enabling victims of
\ntrafficking to stabilise their legal status, and that they are provided with
\nmedical treatment. An anonymous reporting line was established in 2007 to
\nassist victims, and leaflets with information are published in nine
\nlanguages. If victims wish to return to their home countries, Japan closely
\ncoordinates with interested agencies to support this and with other
\ncountries on these issues.
\n– The Ministry of Justice has developed protection systems to address the
\nissue of bullying in schools, including the establishment of the Children\u2019s
\nRights Hotline and the circulation of Children\u2019s Rights SOS lettercards to
\nall elementary and secondary schools. The Ministry of Education, Culture,
\nSports, Science and Technology is promoting the activities of the local
\nschools and the boards of education through such activities as the provision
\nof guidance and seminars, organizing model programmes to solve problems of
\nbullying and violence at school, and supporting the school counselling
\nsystem.
\n– Japan noted that various foreigners\u2019 schools, including Korean schools,
\nare accepted as miscellaneous schools by the prefectures and that there is
\nno discrimination between other miscellaneous schools and Korean schools.
\n– With respect to the international standards concerning the rights of the
\nchild and women, Mexico would appreciate information on measures that may
\ncurrently be applied concerning civil rights and protection against violence
\nand trafficking and the necessary support for these victims.<\/p>\n

– The Netherlands recommended that Japan adhere to the 1980 Hague Convention
\nof Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.<\/p>\n

– Brazil thanked Japan for its full support and participation in the Third
\nWorld Congress Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents, to
\nbe held in Rio de Janeiro in November 2008. While recognizing measures taken
\nby Japan in various other fields of human rights, it asked Japan about the
\nmain concrete steps taken in the promotion and the fulfilment of the rights
\nof the child and of women.<\/p>\n

– Turkey noted the high legal standards in Japan for the protection of
\nvulnerable groups, in particular children, elderly and the people with
\ndisabilities. It noted that there are specific legal provisions aimed to
\nprotect the children from abuse, prostitution and child pornography and
\nencouraged Japan to take further steps related to recovery and counselling
\nservices for victims.
\n– Regarding corporal punishment of children, it noted that the existing law
\ndoes not cover punishment at home and wished to learn whether there is any
\nplan to extend the scope of the concerned legislation.<\/p>\n

– Ukraine noted with satisfaction the measures regarding the rights of the
\nchild and encouraged Japan to continue its efforts in this area.<\/p>\n

– Azerbaijan asked for Japan\u2019s views on implementing the recommendation of
\nthe Committee on the Rights of the Child to amend its legislation to
\neliminate any discrimination against children born out of wedlock.
\n– Following the interventions, Japan noted significant changes including in
\nthe social environment, and that child prostitution, child pornography and
\nchild abuse are becoming more serious and referred to measures taken in
\norder to address such changes, inter alia, to recent legislation passed on
\nthese issues.<\/p>\n

– Jordan commended Japan on the effort to establish a legal and
\ninstitutional framework for the promotion of human rights and asked about
\nthe challenges that it faces in protecting the victims of trafficking.<\/p>\n

– Italy noted that corporal punishment, although legally prohibited in
\nschools, continues to be widely practiced and asked what measures had been
\ntaken to address the concerns expressed by the Committee on the Rights of
\nthe Child in this regard and recommended that Japan expressly prohibit all
\nforms of corporal punishment of children and promote positive and
\nnon-violent forms of discipline.
\n– Japan informed that corporal punishment by teachers and principals is
\nprohibited in the School Education Law and also that it promotes non-violent
\nmeasures based on trust between the teachers and students. In the case that
\ncorporal punishment is actually carried out by school teachers, they are
\nreprimanded through the appropriate procedures.<\/p>\n

(iii) Conclusions and\/or Recommendations
\n<\/strong> In the course of the discussion, the following recommendations were made to
\nJapan:
\n– Consider ratifying\/Ratify the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of
\nInternational Child Abduction, 1980 (Canada, Netherlands);
\n– Encourage the continued taking of measures relating to discrimination
\nagainst women in particular to raise the age of marriage to 18 for women as
\nfor men (France);
\n– Continue to take measures to reduce the incidence of violence against
\nwomen and children, inter alia, by ensuring that law enforcement officials
\nreceive human rights training, and to fund recovery and counselling centres
\nfor victims of violence (Canada);
\n– Continue the efforts to combat trafficking in persons with a special
\nemphasis on women and children (Canada);
\n– Develop a mechanism to ensure the prompt return of children who have been
\nwrongly removed from or prevented from returning to their habitual place of
\nresidence (Canada);
\n– Prohibit expressly all forms of corporal punishment of children and
\npromote positive and non-violent forms of discipline (Italy);<\/p>\n

Organisation Contact Details:<\/em><\/p>\n

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
\nUnited Nations Office at Geneva
\n1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland<\/em><\/p>\n

ENDS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(iii) Conclusions and\/or Recommendations<\/p>\n

In the course of the discussion, the following recommendations were made to Japan:<\/p>\n

– Consider ratifying\/Ratify the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, 1980 (Canada, Netherlands);<\/p>\n

– Encourage the continued taking of measures relating to discrimination against women in particular to raise the age of marriage to 18 for women as for men (France);<\/p>\n

– Continue to take measures to reduce the incidence of violence against women and children, inter alia, by ensuring that law enforcement officials receive human rights training, and to fund recovery and counselling centres for victims of violence (Canada);<\/p>\n

– Continue the efforts to combat trafficking in persons with a special emphasis on women and children (Canada);<\/p>\n

– Develop a mechanism to ensure the prompt return of children who have been wrongly removed from or prevented from returning to their habitual place of residence (Canada);<\/p>\n

– Prohibit expressly all forms of corporal punishment of children and promote positive and non-violent forms of discipline (Italy);<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,4,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-human-rights","category-japanese-government","category-united-nations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1816\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}