Constructing the 21st Century as a Human Rights Century by Utilizing the Law on the Promotion of Human Rights Education and Human Rights Awareness-Raising !

Kenzo Tomonaga

Director

Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Research Institute

1. The Law on the Promotion of Human Rights Education and Human Rights Awareness-Raising Promulgated on Dec.6 2000

The Law on the Promotion of Human Rights Education and Human Rights Awareness-Raising (LPHREA), promulgated and enforced on December 6, is one of the most significant achievements of our movement demanding the enactment of the Fundamental Law for Buraku Liberation since it started in May 1985. The Law is also the fruitful outcome of endeavors by many people who wish to construct the 21st century as the century truly establishing human rights. However, because the law only provides the framework, much depends upon our further commitment to implement effectively what the law stipulates.

2. Content of LPHREA

The LPHREA consists of Article 1 (objective), Article 2 (definition), Article 3 (basic idea), Article 4 (responsibility of national government), Article 5 (responsibility of local governments), Article 6 (responsibility of citizens), Article 7 (formulation of basic plan), Article 8 (annual report), Article 9 (financial measures), and annex (revision of the law within three years following the outcome of deliberations on relief measures at the Council on the Promotion of Human Rights Protection).

In addition, when this law was passed in the legal affairs committees at the House of Councilors and the House of Representatives accompanying resolutions were adopted (three items and four items, respectively).

3. Significance of the Enactment of LPHREA

The following six points are significant implications of this law.

  1.  The spirit of educating and awareness-raising aspects of the draft proposal for the Fundamental Law for Buraku Liberation has been effectively reflected in the LPHREA, which therefore can be useful for eliminating Buraku discrimination and establishing human rights.
  2.  The law can be useful for realizing the anti-discrimination and human rights-establishing elements included in the Constitution of Japan and the Fundamental Law on Education.
  3.  The law can be useful for concretely realizing the HRE-related articles of the International Covenants and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination as well as the recommendations given to the Japanese government by the committees established under these conventions.
  4.  The law provides the legal basis for various endeavors to promote the UN Decade for Human Rights Education (UNDHRE), which has entered its 7th year.
  5.  The law can be useful for the promotion of human rights education in all areas by the national government, local governments, schools, companies, mass media, and other entities.
  6.  The law generally can be useful for the construction of the 21st century as a century of human rights, and for making an important international contribution. (As far as the author’s knowledge is concerned, there are no such laws in other countries).

4. Problems of LPHREA

On the other hand, however, the new law is not without problems.

First, the content of the basic plan, which is supposed to be designed by the national government, is ambiguous, and there is no clear stipulation about who is responsible for the formulation of the plan. This problem was discussed in the deliberations at the Diet and both Houses made certain requests in the accompanying resolutions.

Regarding the content of the Basic Plan, it was requested that ‘the basic plan should consist of complete contents reflecting the national action plan and other stipulations concerning the implementation of UNDHRE.’ This means that the content of the basic plan must at least be no less than the national action plan for the UNDHRE.

Also, in formulating the basic plan, it was stipulated that ‘due attention should be paid to the opinions of local governments and non-governmental organizations and others concerned with human rights’ thereby discouraging the national government from formulating the policies unilaterally.

Second, the law only stipulates that the national government ‘can’ provide financial measures to local governments and does not make it obligatory. Local governments and grassroots organizations concerned with human rights education and awareness-raising should collaborate to demand the government to take a more positive stance.

Third, this law is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and, in particular, the Ministry of Justice. In the Diet sessions this issue of jurisdiction was discussed, and it was clearly mentioned that the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and all other Ministries and Agencies were also to be involved in human rights education and awareness-raising. As a result it was mentioned in the accompanying resolutions that ‘recognizing that human rights policies should be placed at the heart and basis of political administration, the cabinet as a whole should commit itself to their implementation.’ For this spirit to be truly honored, the law should be placed under the jurisdiction of the Cabinet Office as soon as possible.

Fourth, there is a stipulation in the Annex to this law that “this law shall be reappraised within three years since the day of its enactment based on survey findings and deliberations by the Council on the Promotion of Human Rights Protection.” Some people who have not really welcomed the enactment of the law seem to be wanting to establish an independent human rights relief committee as an outcome of deliberations on the issue of relief, and place the responsibility to carry out human rights awareness-raising activities on this committee, thereby aiming at the nullification of this law. However, even if such a committee is to be established, it will not obviously be capable of managing all the human rights education and awareness-raising functions as envisioned in the LPHREA.

Fifth, in Article 3 of the law as well as in item 1 of the accompanying resolution adopted by the House of Representatives the word ‘neutrality’ is inserted. There are some attempts to reject the demand of human rights organizations by referring to this stipulation of neutrality. However, the notion of neutrality in the context of education and awareness-raising has been established in order to reject the unjust intervention by power, and the implementing institutions and political administrative bodies are requested to promote human rights education and awareness-raising based on the International Covenants and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination that Japan has acceded to.

5. Remaining issues after the enactment of LPHREA

Against the background of deplorable situation of human rights violations in Japan as symbolized by increasing incidents of child abuse and murders for getting insurance payment and the serious situation of Buraku discrimination as represented by discriminatory identity investigations, incitement of discrimination on the internet, the enactment of the LPHREA has deep significance.

Finally, I would like to point out eight important issues for the future.

  1.  To widely publicize the fact that the LPHREA has been enacted. (we have to introduce the law through the newsletters and journals of all types of organizations)
  2.  To demand all the government ministries and agencies to establish the system to promote human rights education and awareness-raising and to formulate plans and programs for that purpose.
  3.  To demand all local governments also to establish the system to promote human rights education and awareness-raising and to formulate plans and programs for that purpose (first by demanding them to institute the headquarters to promote the UNDHRE and to formulate action plans)
  4.  To demand all daycare and nursery institutions, elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, graduate schools and all other educational institutions to establish human rights education in their curricula.
  5.  To promote human rights education among companies, religious organizations, mass media and legal professions.
  6.  To promote human rights education further for teachers, public servants, police officers, prosecutors, welfare and medical personnel, and other professionals who have deep involvement in human rights affairs.
  7.  To expand the function of community centers and to set up human rights education and awareness-raising facilities in local communities and to demand for more opportunities to train leaders qualified to promote human rights education and awareness-raising.
  8.  To demand that the LPHREA (including accompanying resolutions) be translated into English, Korean, Chinese and other languages and widely publicized both in and outside Japan

(Translated by Yasumasa Hirasawa, Professor of Osaka University)

The Law on the Promotion of Human Rights Education and Human Rights Awareness-Raising

(Objective)

Article 1: Considering the rising awareness about the importance of respecting human rights, current state of human rights violations including the occurrences of unjust cases of discrimination based on social status, descent, race, creed or sex, as well as the current developments surrounding human rights protection in and outside Japan, this law defines the responsibilities of the national and local governments and individual citizens, and stipulates necessary measures, thereby contributing to human rights protection.

(Definition)

Article 2: In this law, human rights education is defined as educational activities aimed at the nurturing of spirit of respecting human rights and human rights awareness-raising is defined as public relations and other awareness-raising activities (excluding human rights education) aimed at popularizing the idea of respecting human rights among citizens and deepening their understanding of it.

(Basic Idea)

Article 3: Human rights education and human rights awareness-raising should be carried out by the national and local governments in such a way as to allow citizens to deepen their understanding and appreciation of the idea of respecting human rights depending on their developmental stages by providing diverse opportunities, adopting effective methods, respecting the voluntary will, and securing the neutrality of the implementing institutions.

(Responsibility of National Government)

Article 4: The national government is responsible for formulating and implementing the measures of human rights education and human rights awareness-raising according to the basic idea of human rights education and human rights awareness-raising (basic idea) as stipulated in Article 3.

(Responsibility of Local Governments)

Article 5: Local governments are responsible for formulating and implementing measures of human rights education and human rights awareness-raising following the basic idea by coordinating efforts with the national government and considering the local circumstances.

(Responsibility of Citizens)

Article 6: Citizens must endeavor to nurture the spirit of respecting human rights and contribute to the realization of the society respecting human rights.

(Formulation of Basic Plan)

Article 7: The national government shall formulate the basic plan on human rights education and human rights awareness-raising in order to promote measures of human rights education and human rights awareness-raising comprehensively and systematically.

(Annual Report)

Article 8: The national government shall present its report to the Diet every year on measures that it has implemented to promote human rights education and human rights awareness-raising.

(Financial Measures)

Article 9: The national government can provide financial measures to local governments, which implement measures on human rights education and human rights awareness-raising, by entrusting related projects and other means.

Annex

(Date of Enactment)

Article 1: This law is enacted on the day of its promulgation. However, the provision in Article 8 shall be applied to measures concerning human rights education and human rights awareness-raising which are to be implemented in the fiscal year following the year to which this date belongs.

(Reappraisal)

Article 2: This law shall be reappraised within three years since the day of its enactment based on survey findings and deliberations by the Council on the Promotion of Human Rights Protection on basic items for developing measures for the relief of victims of human rights violations as defined in Article 3 (2) of the Law on the Promotion of Human Rights Protection Measures (1996).

Accompanying Resolution on the Draft Law on the Promotion of Human Rights Education and Awareness-Raising

Adopted by the Legal Affairs Committee, House of Representatives (Nov. 15, 2000)

The national government is requested to give particular consideration to the following points:

  1.  To pay due consideration to maintaining administrative neutrality in formulating the basic plan on human rights education and human rights awareness-raising and to respect fully the opinions of local governments, private-sector organizations and others concerned with human rights.
  2.  The above-mentioned basic plan should consist of complete contents reflecting the national action plan and other stipulations concerning the implementation of UN Decade for Human Rights Education.
  3.  Towards the realization of the 21st century as a human rights century, endeavors to establish human rights policies in Japan should be placed at the bottom and basis of political administration and be clearly regarded as significant matters for the government and the cabinet.

Accompanying Resolution on the Draft Law on the Promotion of Human Rights Education and Awareness-Raising

Adopted by the Legal Affairs Committee, House of Councilors (Nov. 28, 2000)

The national government should make utmost efforts regarding the following matters in implementing this law for the realization of the 21st century as a century of human rights:

  1.  The basic idea of the new law as well as the responsibilities of the national government, local governments and citizens as stipulated in this law concerning the promotion of human rights education and human rights awareness-raising should be thoroughly publicized. Especially, appropriate measures should be taken to prevent public servants from violating human rights.
  2.  In the process of formulating the basic plan for the promotion of human rights education and awareness-raising, due attention should be paid to the opinions of local governments and non-governmental organizations and others concerned with human rights.
  3.  The basic plan should consist of complete contents reflecting the national action plan and other stipulations concerning the implementation of UN Decade for Human Rights Education.
  4.  Recognizing that human rights policies should be placed at the heart and basis of political administration, the cabinet as a whole should commit itself to their implementation.

(Translated by Yasumasa Hirasawa, Professor of Osaka University)

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