Buraku Liberation News, July 1997 issue (N0.97)
2.The government-sponsored Council for Promoting Human Rights Protection and the Alternative Council
by Kenzo Tomonaga
Director of the Buraku Liberation Research Institute
In accordance with the enactment of the Law for the Promotion for Measures of Human Rights Protection, the members of the Council for Promoting Human Rights Protection were appointed and the first meeting of the council was held on May 27, 1997 under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Justice.
The Council, chaired by Mr. Hiroshi Shiono, professor of Seikei University, consists of 20 members from several sectors, including academic, labor, business, and educational organizations.
When we look at the lineup of the members, we can find only a few people involved who know the pain of being discriminated-against. They say that the meeting will be held once a month for the time being. Although many sectors strongly requested the council to open the meeting to the public, only a record of the proceedings will be made public.
Facing the 21st century, the council has a historical responsibility to eliminate all forms of discrimination, including Buraku discrimination, and to establish a century where human rights are guaranteed. In addition, the council must make Japan internationally respected in the field of human rights.
From such a perspective, we request that the council keep in mind the following points.
---The council should take into consideration the process before the enactment of the Law for the Promotion for Measures of Human Rights Protection and the subsequent creation of the council, including the opinion offered by the Consultative Council for the Regional Improvement Measures in May 1996, the agreement of the ruling coalition's Project Team on Human Rights and Discrimination Problems regarding legislation, the reason of the draft bill proposal, and the resolutions paired with the law.
---Concretely, the council should take into consideration the requirement that they conclude a policy recommendation for the measures, including legislative measures of human rights education and enlightenment within 2 years, and for the relief measures for the victims of human rights violations within 5 years.
---The council should research on the actual condition of discrimination and have a dialogue with people who are discriminated against.
--- The council should open the meetings as much as possible, by making the meetings public as well as making public a complete record of the proceedings.
---The council should be based on the international human rights treaties and also should learn from the experiences of international communities, particularly the United Nations.
On the other hand, the BLL and the International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism-Japan Committee (IMADR-JC) have proposed the creation of an alternative council in response to the council organized by the government. The proposal was supported by all seven speakers and the coordinator at the 6th Human Rights Seminar, held in Tokyo on June 11, in which 1,100 people participated, and by the people from various sectors who attended the reception that night. The seminar was organized by the IMADR-JC, aiming at the effective implementation of the Law for the Promotion for Measures of Human Rights Protection.
The alternative council will likely consist of members who have first-hand experience of discrimination, and is expected to submit suggestions to the government.
The Buraku Liberation Research Institute plans to join this initiative by contributing achievements from our research programs.