With less than three months to go before the opening of a symbolic women's tribunal in Tokyo, over fifty international women activists and legal experts are meeting in Taipei for a four-day forum to finalize strategies for the prosecution of Japanese soldiers accused of sexual slavery crimes that took place during WWII.
In a protest against the Japanese government's inaction, women's organizations from that country and victims of sexual slavery during WWII from other countries have united to form a women's tribunal to restore justice and dignity to the so-called "comfort women."
To hammer out differences concerning indictments brought by the countries, the seventh and also the last preparatory meeting will be held in Taipei between Sept. 15 and 18 for the Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery, to be held in Tokyo this coming December.
The tribunal, which takes takes place between Dec. 8 and 10, will be co-hosted by Asian victims' countries including South and North Korea, Japan, China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia.
The first day of the preparatory meeting, yesterday, saw a rare picture indeed, where representatives from Taiwan and China were united in seeking justice for the "comfort women."
Also, representatives from both North and South Korea have attended the meeting in Taipei, marking the first cooperation between the two countries on the "comfort women" issues.
"The issue of sexual slavery is of universal concern for women around the world. While atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers are highlighted in this coming tribunal, we also want to establish an international legal framework on sexual slavery in military conflicts," said Chiang Huang-chih (
The organization said the main purpose of the tribunal is to clarify that sexual slavery constitutes a war crime against humanity and also to pressure the Japanese government to accept legal responsibilities.
And it is also the organizations' hope that the UN will authorize the tribunal as a legitimate body. Which will enable the prosecution of sexual slavery criminals and make its rulings binding for offending countries, such as Japan.
Internationally, there is a growing awareness that sexual slavery is a war crime and the offenders should face justice. At the Fourth UN World Women's Conference in Beijing, the Platform for Action, which was adopted there, states that systematic rape, sexual slavery and other forms of violence against women in armed conflicts are war crimes.
It also says that governments and international organizations should investigate and prosecute alleged war criminals, until there is full redress for the victimized women.
Prosecutions of sexual offenders in Yugoslavia and Rwanda have also marked a landmark progress of the movement against sexual slavery in military conflicts.
Apart from the women activists, three international criminal tribunal judges and international law experts have been invited to the Taipei forum to determine how the tribunal will proceed.
Moreover, three chief prosecutors for the "comfort women" plaintiffs are also attending the forum to work with prosecutors from other countries where such crimes took place on prosecution strategies.
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