SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR TO JAPAN: 24 POINTS FOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 001701 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP CHRIS CHAN-DOWNER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON KTIP PHUM JA SUBJECT: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR TO JAPAN: 24 POINTS FOR COMBATING TIP TOKYO 00001701 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) At its 60th session the UN Commission on Human Rights appointed for a three year term a Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons especially women and children. This Special Rapporteur is charged with taking action on violations committed against trafficked persons, as well as submitting an annual report to the commission. In the 8th country to be visited since the establishment of the office, Special Rapporteur Joy Ngozi Ezeilo came to Japan July 12-18 to discuss Japan's efforts to date on combating TIP. During her visit she met with Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Yasutoshi Nishimura, ministry officials, NGOs, and IO representatives. In a press conference at the end of her visit, she offered a number of issues of immediate concern and suggestions for how Japan can strengthen its TIP efforts. These are listed as follows: TWELVE ISSUES OF IMMEDIATE CONCERN -------------- ¶2. (U) --1) The non-ratification of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, and the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. --2) Lack of a comprehensive definition of trafficking in national legislation. --3) Unclear identification procedures for victims. --4) Trafficking largely being operated underground due to numerous factors. --5) Inadequate shelter and support for victims. --6) Abuses within the trainee and technical intern program. --7) Lack of access by victims to redress and compensation though the judicial system. --8) Lack of coordination amongst agencies involved. --9) Human trafficking responses by the Japanese government and assistance to victims is focused solely on women and sexual exploitation. --10) Weak efforts to prevent trafficking. --11) Insufficient efforts to address child pornography, child prostitution, and "enjo-kosai" (compensated dating). --12) A high incidence of domestic violence against women and girls. TWELVE POINTS FOR IMPROVING THE FIGHT AGAINST TIP -------------- -------------- ¶3. (U) --1) Urgently ratify the UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime and the Supplementary Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons; the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families; the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspect of International Child Abduction. Specific laws should also be considered to prevent the exploitation of foreign workers within the trainee program, and to provide full redress to victims of trafficking. --2) Establish a national rapporteur or coordination body solely responsible for coordinating and monitoring policies related to human trafficking. --3) Strengthen the law and labor inspections to deal with the problem of trafficking for labor exploitation. --4) Establish regional and specialized shelters with 24 hour multilingual hotline assistance specific to victims of trafficking. --5) Adopt innovative, holistic strategies for combating trafficking including free legal aid and the right to TOKYO 00001701 002.2 OF 002 compensation to enable victims to assume constructive roles in society. --6) Establish specialized training to provided the necessary skills to law enforcement officers in how to deal with victims of trafficking as well as traffickers. --7) Establish a clear identification procedure shared by all parties involved. --8) Compensation for victims under law with a special fund set up for that purpose. --9) Protect children under 18 years old from prostitution, pornography, and "enjo-kosai." --10) Intensify efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, with perpetrators of violence brought to account. --11) Grant victims the right to work and earn a decent livelihood to help victims recover psychologically and feel socially integrated. --12) Improve the partnership between government and NGOs. ¶4. (U) In conclusion, the Special Rapporteur stressed the need for a focus on the conditions under which private companies employ migrant workers because they are vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking not only under conditions of irregular migration, but also under conditions of legal migration as well. Finally she added, there must be zero tolerance of child pornography. ¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: The Special Rapporteur's comments track well with Embassy Tokyo and G/TIP suggestions to the Government of Japan on how to improve its anti-TIP performance. In regards to the "Twelve Issues of Immediate Concern," it is Embassy Tokyo's experience that the GOJ expresses disagreement with, or significant qualifications to, items 2,3,5,6,7,8,10 and 11. In regards to the "Twelve Points for Improving the Fight Against TIP," the GOJ expresses disagreement with, or significant qualifications to, items 2,3,4,6,7,9,10, and 12. ¶6. (SBU) Although the Special Rapporteur did not discuss the significant steps Japan has taken to combat TIP, the report will help the U.S.-Japan dialogue on TIP issues by providing a set of third party observations. END COMMENT. ZUMWALT