At
UN
As S. Korea
Raises Japan's
Use of Comfort
Women, Replies
Transcribed
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 11,
updated --
That Japan's
use of
"comfort
women" in the
Second World
War was raised
in the UN's
Third
Committee on
Tuesday was
not a
surprise. But
that it was
South Korea,
and not Kim
Jong-Il's
Democratic
People's
Republic of
Korea that
raised the
issue was a
surprise.
The
Advancement of
Women was the
agenda item
when South
Korean Deputy
Permanent
Representative
Shin Dong-ik
took the floor
in Conference
Room 4 on
Tuesday
morning. He
referred to
Japan's
"military
sexual
slavery" as a
crime against
humanity.
Inner City
Press went and
got
a copy and
puts it online
here.
Japan
and North
Korea often
exchange
Rights of
Reply volleys
on this topic.
But now South
Korea,
homeland of UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon, has
jumped into
the fray.
Some
see a link
between this
and an
incident
reported in
the New York
Daily News of
October 10, in
which a
reporter
covering Ban
at the South
Korean Mission
to the UN on
Saturday night
was pushed
back by Ban's
entourage and
told not to
ask a
question. A
new muscular
policy, some
call it.
Inner
City Press has
asked Ban's
Associate
Spokesperson
to confirm or
deny the
incident,
so far without
response. A
copy of
Ambassador
Shin's
statement was
given to one
of Ban's most
senior
advisers, too.
Ban
Ki-moon in
South Korea
with pop
stars, ROK
statement
not shown
Japan
is the second
largest
contributor to
the UN system,
after the
United States.
On Tuesday
afternoon,
Inner City
Press spotted
Jun Yamazaki,
until recently
the UN's
Controller,
walking on
First Avenue.
Yamazaki has
returned to
the Japanese
Mission to the
UN, though one
assumes on
financial
matter and not
those like
Rights of
Reply in the
Third
Committee.
Watch this
site.
Update:
and here's how
the rights of
reply went on
October 11, as
transcribed by
a Friend
On Inner City
Press:
Japan
My
delegation
would like to
exercise its
right of reply
in response to
the statement
made by the
representative
of the
Republic of
Korea
this morning.
First,
as
for the issue
of wartime
comfort women,
the government
of Japan
recognizes
that this
issue was a
grave affront
to the honor
and
dignity of a
large number
of women and
has extended
its sincere
apologies and
remorse to all
those known as
wartime
comfort women
who
suffered
immeasurable
pain and
incurable
physical and
psychological
wounds.
Secondly,
the
issue of
reparations,
property and
claims
concerning the
second
world war has
been legally
settled with
countries that
are parties to
the San
Francisco
peace treaty,
bilateral
treaties,
agreements,
and
instruments.
Thirdly,
the
government of
Japan,
together with
the people of
Japan, jointly
established
the Asian
women’s fund
in July 1995
to facilitate
support for
former comfort
women who had
by then
reached
advanced
age. The
government
extended its
maximum
support to the
projects of
the fund,
including
assistance in
health, and
welfare, as
well as a
provision of
atonement
money for
former comfort
women.
The
government
of Japan will
continue its
utmost efforts
to get further
recognition of
the earnest
feelings of
the people of
Japan on the
issue, which
were reflected
in the project
of the fund.
Finally,
Japan
has been
facing up to
its past with
sincerity and
consistency
since World
War II. With
this in mind,
for more than
60 years,
Japan
has
consistently
dedicated
itself to
promoting
international
peace
and prosperity
as well as to
demonstrating
its respect
for democracy
and human
rights. Thank
you Madame
Chair.
Korea
My
delegation
would like to
exercise right
of reply in
response to
the
remark by the
distinguished
delegate of
Japan. Madam
chair with
regard to the
remark by the
Japanese
delegation
that all of
the
issues related
to the comfort
women have
been legally
settled, my
government
would like to
make clear its
position that
the issue of
comfort women,
which may
constitute war
crimes and
crimes against
humanity has
not been
settled by
bilateral
treaties,
including
agreement on
the issue of
settlement of
problem
concerning
property
and claims and
economic
cooperation
between the
republic of
Korea and
Japan.
Therefore
legal
responsibility
of the
Japanese
government
remains
effective. My
delegation
would like to
draw attention
of the
member state
to the reports
submitted by
Ms.
Coomaraswamy
in 1996 and
Ms. MacDougall
in 1998 who
served
respectively
as the special
rapporteur for
violence
against women
and the
special
rapporteur on
systemic rape,
sexual
slavery, and
slavery like
practices
during
armed
conflict.
Those two
reports
confirmed that
neither the
San
Francisco
treaty or the
bilateral
treaties were
concerned with
human
rights
violations in
general or
military
sexual slavery
in
particular. In
this regard,
my government
recently
proposed to
the
Japanese
government the
initiation of
bilateral
consultations
to
resolve the
issue of
comfort women
in accordance
with the
agreement
on the
settlement of
problems
concerning
property and
claims,
economic
cooperation
between the
Republic of
Korea and
Japan. My
government
hopes that the
Japanese
government
agrees to join
the
consultations
in the near
future.
Japan:
Thank
you,
Madam Chair.
Well, this is
the second
time that I
have requested
to exercise
the right to
reply on
behalf of the
Japanese
government,
so well, I can
be very brief.
I have
explained the
position of my
government on
the issue
raised by the
delegation of
the Republic
of
Korea just
now. Thus, I
will not
repeat it
here. Thank
you, Madam
Chair.
Korea:
Um,
thank
you Madam
Chair for
giving me the
floor again.
Um, in
addition
to the
reports, those
two reports I
mentioned in
my previous
intervention,
I would like
to remind
member states
of other
recommendations
made by
multiple
international
human rights
treaty
bodies on the
issue of
comfort women.
For example,
the
recommendations
of the
Committee
against
Torture in
2007 and the
recommendations
of Committee
on the
Elimination of
Discrimination
against Women
in 2009 was
reconfirmed
that the issue
of comfort
women
still remains
unresolved.
Thank you,
Madam Chair.
Watch
this site.
, 
