House Panel Approves Resolutions on Women in Japan, India, Lesotho

On June 26, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved resolutions concerning women in Japan, India, and Lesotho.

A resolution (H. Res. 121) calling on the Japanese government to formally apologize for its military’s enslavement of young women during the Japanese occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands in the 1930s and World War II, was approved, 39-2. Known as “comfort women,” the young women were forced to serve as sexual slaves for Japanese soldiers. The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment held a hearing on the resolution on February 15 (see The Source, 2/16/07).

Sponsored by Rep. Michael Honda (D-CA), the resolution makes a number of findings, including:

the “comfort women” system of forced military prostitution by the government of Japan, considered unprecedented in its cruelty and magnitude, included gang rape, forced abortions, humiliation, and sexual violence resulting in mutilation, death, or eventual suicide in one of the largest cases of human trafficking in the 20th century;
some new textbooks used in Japanese schools seek to downplay the ‘comfort women’ tragedy and other Japanese war crimes during World War II;
Japanese public and private officials have recently expressed a desire to dilute or rescind the 1993 statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono on the ‘comfort women,’ which expressed the government’s sincere apologies and remorse for their ordeal; and
the Asian Women’s Fund has raised $5.7 million to extend “atonement” from the Japanese people to the comfort women.H. Res. 121 states that an official apology on behalf of the government should be delivered by the prime minister of Japan and that the Japanese government should publicly refute claims that the enslavement of “comfort women” did not occur. The resolution also urges the Japanese government to educate current and future generations about the crime of enslaving and trafficking “comfort women.”The committee approved several measures en bloc, by voice vote, including a resolution (H. Con. Res. 139), sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), which expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should address discrimination against India’s “untouchables” (Dalits) and the forest tribes of India (Tribals). The resolution’s findings include:
Dalit women are often raped with impunity;
the majority of temple prostitutes as well as the majority of women trafficked in India are Dalit women;
low-caste unborn females are targeted for abortions; and
Dalits and Tribals are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS and are the largest high-risk population in India.H. Con. Res. 139 urges the United States to raise the issue of caste discrimination and violence against women directly with the Indian government and indirectly through international bodies, to prioritize funding for projects to assist Dalit women, and to ensure that Dalits and Tribals receive proper focus in health care research programs, including HIV/AIDS research.Also approved in the en bloc vote was a resolution (H. Res. 294), sponsored by Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA), commending Lesotho for enacting a law to improve the status of married women and ensuring their access to property rights. The Senate approved a similar bill (S. Res. 103) on March 9 (see The Source, 3/9/07).