Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, The Third Consideration of Japanese Governmental Report: Proposal of List of Issues for Pre-sessional Working Group
2003.1.27
Article 2(c)[Obligation of State Parties]
<National Human Rights Commission>
- The Human Rights Protection Bill proposed by the Government of Japan places the National Human Rights Commission under the control of the Ministry of Justice. Please clarify how the Government maintains the Commission's independence
- Why does the Government limit the range of human rights infringements by public authorities, subject to remedies by the National Human Rights Commission, to discrimination and physical abuse?
Description of The Government Report
"The Government submitted the Human Rights Protection Bill to the Diet in March 2002 in order to introduce a drastic reform of the current human rights protection system. The bill prohibits human rights violation[s] such as discrimination or ill treatment including gender discrimination or sexual harassment, and provides for the establishment of the Human Rights Commission, an independent administrative commission, and a new human rights remedy system to be operated mainly by the Commission. The new mechanism is designed to provide proper and prompt redress for and effective prevention of damages caused by human rights violations." (The Fifth Periodic Report, Article 2 Section 3 (2) a))
Reason for the Questions
- According to the Human Rights Protection Bill, The Minister of Justice holds its jurisdiction over the National Human Rights Commission and the Commission is placed as an external organ of the Ministry of Justice. However, the Ministry of Justice is the agency which controls the detention system which includes detention houses, prisons, and immigration centers where officials often cause abuse and excessive punishment. So, it is highly possible that the Ministry would be subject to complaints made to the Commission regarding these human rights infringement cases. In that case, the Commission cannot hold its justice as long as it is under the control of the Ministry of Justice.
- The Bill stipulates that the limited range of human rights infringements by public authorities, i.e. discrimination and physical abuse, shall be subject to the Special Remedy of the Commission ('Special Remedies' indicates conciliation, consultation, arbitration, legal assistance and public admonition). But possible infringements by public authorities cannot be limited to discrimination and physical abuse.
The bill also put any government policies out of the range of remedies by the Commission. So even if people find that discrimination against women is led by government policies, the Commission cannot give any effective remedies.
The bill was presented to the Diet on 2002, but as a result of criticism by NGOs and opposition parties pointing out the above issues, it was postponed. As outlined above, it breaches the UN Paris Principle. Therefore, it needs drastic amendments.