JCLU is seeking answers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other related authorities in relation to the nomination of the next Japanese member to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the monitoring body of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
On Nov 26, the JCLU submitted a written inquiry to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Makiko Tanaka and the chairperson of the Council for Gender Equality of the Cabinet Office, Fukuda Yasuo, regarding whom they were intending to select as the next Committee member and the selection process so far. The JCLU pressed strongly that they should select a specialist independent from government policy. The JCLU is looking forward to the response, which we have requested to receive by Dec 5th.
According to CEDAW, the Committee member must be of high moral standing and competence in the field covered by the convention. Furthermore, members serve 'in their personal capacity and not as delegates or representatives of their country of origin'. However, so far Committee members nominated by Japan have always been past or present members of the civil service.
In this inquiry, we are asking whom Makiko Tanaka and Fukuda Yasuo are planning to select as the next Committee member, while inquiring whether the fact that the Japanese government has always nominated present or past members of their civil service is mere coincidence or whether it is based on a certain policy. If it is the latter, the JCLU is asking what this policy is.
The JCLU is questioning the appropriateness of nominating present or past members of the civil service as Committee members, given that they are expected to be independent.
The JCLU has been actively promoting the CEDAW principles, even since before its ratification. In 1999 we held consecutive seminars commemorating the twentieth anniversary of it's adoption, successfully gaining participation of many citizens. We therefore cannot help but take a deep interest in the nomination of the next Committee member.
Given that the Committee's Concluding Observations of 1994 to the Japanese Government Report contained numerous suggestions regarding present discrimination against women in Japan and strongly urged the government to make improvements, nominating an independent specialist to the Committee would in itself be one way of making an human contribution to international society.
In the submitted inquiry, the JCLU expressed its intention to send an English translation of the inquiry to the Committee, and to contribute to the NGO alternative report to the next report of the Japanese Government, seeking a written response by Dec 5th. We will introduce the contents of the response in our next issue.
The complete inquiry can be found on our homepage(Japanese language only).
The Cabinet Office invited JCLU and other NGOs to inquire their position. Please refer to the article "CEDAW member should be independent of its government"