UN / COMFORT WOMEN

During a General Assembly meeting on the advancement of women, The Republic of Korea representative called on the Japanese government “to acknowledge responsibility and take  appropriate measures” to resolve the so-called comfort women issue. UNIFEED - UNTV

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:03
• Production Date: 15 October 2014
• Asset Language: Original
• Subject Topical: WOMEN'S RIGHTS; GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
• Geographic Subject: JAPAN; REPUBLIC OF KOREA
• MAMS Id: 1205646

Description

STORY: UN / COMFORT WOMEN
TRT: 2.03
SOURCE: UNIFEED - UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 15 OCTOBER 2014, NEW YORK CITY

Shotlist

RECENT – NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

15 OCTOBER 2014, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Conference Room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Hahn Choong-hee, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations:
“The case of victims who were forced into sexual military slaves during the Second World War, the so-called comfort women, is a key instance of unresolved and persistent issue of sexual violence in conflict. Various Unhuman rights mechanisms, most recently the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the elimination of racial discrimination and Madame Navi Pillay, the former High Commissioner for Human Rights, have urged the Japanese government to acknowledge responsibility and take appropriate measures to resolve the issue. Given that the victims are getting older, this urgent and still current issue of humanity and human dignity should be addressed without delay.”
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Naoto Hisajima, Minister of Social Affairs at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations:
“Japan is sincerely addressing this issue of women’s rights and has made the greatest possible efforts thus far from the moral point of view in order to facilitate feasible remedies for the former comfort women. Prime Minister Abe has stated repeatedly that he is no different from preceding prime ministers in that he is deeply pained when thinking of the comfort women who experienced unmeasurable pain and suffering.”
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Hahn Choong-hee, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations:
“My delegation is deeply concerned that Japan continued to deny its sincere responsibility towards these military sexual slave victims. Contrary to the Japanese position, I think that this issue has never been addressed in the course of negotiating the 1965 claims agreement between ROK and Japan. So the responsibility of the Japanese government still remains, we believe.”
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Naoto Hisajima, Minister of Social Affairs at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations:
“Prime Minister Abe has clearly repeatedly stated that the government of Japan has no intention to review the Kono statement.”
7. Wide shot, Conference Room

Storyline

During a General Assembly meeting on the advancement of women, the Republic of Korea representative today (15 Oct) called on the Japanese government “to acknowledge responsibility and take appropriate measures” to resolve the so-called comfort women issue.

“Comfort women” was the term given to the thousands of women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Army during World War II.

The Korean Ambassador, Hahn Choong-hee, said that “given that the victims are getting older, this urgent and still current issue of humanity and human dignity should be addressed without delay.”

Responding from the floor, Japanese representative Naoto Hisajima said “Japan is sincerely addressing this issue of women’s rights and has made the greatest possible efforts thus far from the moral point of view in order to facilitate feasible remedies for the former comfort women.”

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, the Ambassador said, “has stated repeatedly that he is no different from preceding prime ministers in that he is deeply pained when thinking of the comfort women who experienced unmeasurable pain and suffering.”

In his response, Hahn said the Korean delegation was “deeply concerned that Japan continued to deny its sincere responsibility towards these military sexual slave victims.”

He said that “contrary to the Japanese position, I think that this issue has never been addressed in the course of negotiating the 1965 claims agreement between ROK and Japan. So the responsibility of the Japanese government still remains, we believe.”

Once again taking the floor, Hisajima said “Prime Minister Abe has clearly repeatedly stated that the government of Japan has no intention to review the Kono statement.”

The Kono Statement formulated by the Japanese government in 1993 concluded that the Japanese Army had forced women, to work in brothels during World War II.