A/68/44
remains deeply concerned at the State party’s failure to meet its obligations under the
Convention while addressing this matter, in particular in relation to:
(a)
Failure to provide adequate redress and rehabilitation to the victims. The
Committee regrets that the compensation, financed by private donations rather than public
funds, was insufficient and inadequate;
(b)
Failure to prosecute perpetrators of such acts of torture and bring them to
justice. The Committee recalls that on account of the continuous nature of the effects of
torture, statutes of limitations should not be applicable as these deprive victims of the
redress, compensation, and rehabilitation due to them;
(c)
Concealment or failure to disclose related facts and materials;
(d)
Continuing official denial of the facts and retraumatization of the victims by
high-level national and local officials and politicians, including several diet members;
(e)
Failure to carry out effective educational measures to prevent gender-based
breaches of the Convention, as illustrated, inter alia, by a decrease in references to this issue
in school history textbooks;
(f)
The State party’s rejection of several recommendations relevant to this issue,
made in the context of the universal periodic review (A/HRC/22/14/Add.1, paras. 147.145
ff.), which are akin to recommendations made by the Committee (para. 24) and many other
United Nations human rights mechanisms, inter alia, the Human Rights Committee
(CCPR/C/JPN/CO/5, para. 22), the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW/C/JPN/CO/6, para. 38), the Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (E/C.12/JPN/CO/3, para. 26) and several special procedures mandate
holders of the Human Rights Council (arts. 1, 2, 4, 10, 14 and 16).
Recalling its general comment No. 3 (2012), the Committee urges the State party to
take immediate and effective legislative and administrative measures to find a victimcentred resolution for the issues of “comfort women”, in particular, by:
(a)
Publicly acknowledging legal responsibility for the crimes of sexual
slavery, and prosecuting and punishing perpetrators with appropriate penalties;
(b)
Refuting attempts to deny the facts by government authorities and
public figures and to re-traumatize the victims through such repeated denials;
(c)
Disclosing related materials, and investigating the facts thoroughly;
(d)
Recognizing the victim’s right to redress, and accordingly providing
them full and effective redress and reparation, including compensation, satisfaction
and the means for as full rehabilitation as possible;
(e)
Educating the general public about the issue and include the events in all
history textbooks, as a means of preventing further violations of the State party’s
obligations under the Convention.
Violence against women and gender-based violence
(20) While taking note of the State party’s efforts to combat gender-based violence, the
Committee is concerned at reports on the continuing incidents of gender-based violence, in
particular domestic violence, incest and rape, including marital rape, the low number of
complaints, investigations, prosecutions and convictions for such cases, and insufficient
legal protections for victims. Furthermore, the Committee expresses its concern at the
requirement of the victim’s complaint in the Penal Code in order to prosecute crimes of
sexual violence (arts. 2, 12, 13, 14 and 16).
GE.13-46043
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