November 2004 No.133

The Year 2005 ? "World Programme for Human Rights Education" Starts

The year 2005 celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Japan's defeat in the war in 1945, and the 50th anniversary of the Buraku Liberation League that took over the previous organization the National Committee for Buraku Liberation, marking the launch of the mass movement calling for the establishment of national policies for a solution of Buraku discrimination. 2005 also sees the 40th anniversary of the discovery of the discriminatory Buraku List, resulting in the involvement of the business sector of Japan in human rights education. It also celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Japan's entry into the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Lastly, the year 2005 is the first year of the "World Programme for Human Rights Education," as a follow-up of the UN Decade for Human Rights Education that ended 2004. We believe that this year is very significant to us as we are part of the movement calling for the elimination of all forms of discrimination and establishment of human rights for all.