back
Some
related articles :
|
 |
UN claims proposed rights watchdog in violation of treaty
By: Unknown Author
Mainichi Shinbun, July 03, 2002
An "independent" human rights watchdog body that Japan plans
to set up will in fact be controlled by the government, the United Nations
(UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned in letters to the prime
minister. The Japanese
government plans to open a human rights commission designed to watch over
domestic human rights conditions after a UN human rights conference in
1998 demanded the nation launch such a body.
Five years prior to the conference, the UN adopted the "Paris
declaration" which states that when discussing human rights abuses,
such bodies must be "independent from supervising organizations"
such as government ministries.
However, Mary Robinson, the UN High commissioner for Human Rights, is
concerned that the Japanese watchdog might not be fully independent
because a government-sponsored bill under discussion provides that the new
body would be part of the Justice Ministry, government sources said
Tuesday.
In two letters she sent to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi earlier this
year, Robinson said that the status of Japan's human rights commission
would not be as independent as specified in the Paris declaration.
Robinson added that she would send an adviser to the Japanese government
who is expected to make recommendations about the issue.
Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama has admitted that Koizumi received the
letters from Robinson. She insisted, however, Robinson might have
misunderstood the status of the planned human rights commission.
"I don't think (Robinson) properly grasped the contents of the
bill," Moriyama said.
The justice minister recently wrote to Robinson that the government
"is ready to make a detailed explanation to the adviser," the
sources said.Under the bill, the planned commission is designed to watch
out for discrimination against women, the elderly, physically handicapped
people and abuses.
Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging
Terms of Use | Privacy
Policy | Contact Us
|
