THE Philippine government failed to protect the rights of comfort women in violation of provisions of an international treaty on the protection of women’s rights and elimination of discrimination, the UN Women’s Rights Committee found.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) pointed out the Philippine government’s failure to provide “reparation, social support and recognition commensurate with the harm suffered” by the World War II sexual slavery victims of the Japanese Army, who are also known as comfort women.

The CEDAW, after reviewing the complaint of 24 Filipino women, said the State party failed to fulfill its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The convention is an international legal instrument that requires countries to eliminate discrimination against women and girls in all areas and promotes women’s and girls’ equal rights.

The CEDAW, in a press release posted on the website of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, recommended that the complainants receive from the State party “full reparation, including recognition and redress, an official apology and material and moral damages.”

It said that this was for the “continuous discrimination that they suffered and restitution, rehabilitation and satisfaction, including the restoration of their dignity and reputation, which includes financial reparation proportionate to the physical, psychological and material damage suffered by them and to the gravity of the violations of their rights.”

The women’s ordeal

The decision is based on the complaints filed by the members of the Malaya Lolas (Free Grandmothers), which is a non-profit organization aimed at providing support to sexual slavery survivors.

The complainants Natalia Alonzo and 23 other victims were taken to the headquarters of the Japanese army in San Ildefonso, Pamapnga called the Bahay na Pula (Red House) on November 23, 1944.

The women were detained in the Red House “where they were repeatedly subjected to rape, other forms of sexual violence, torture and inhumane detention conditions.”

“They have since then endured long-term physical, psychological, social and economic consequences, including physical injuries, post-traumatic stress, permanent damage to their reproductive capacity and harm to their social relationships in their community, marriage and work,” the UN noted.

The government’s lack of action

The complainants had requested the Philippine government to raise their claims and right to reparations before the Japanese government.

“These victims, commonly known as ‘comfort women’ had repeatedly raised their demands in the Philippines, asking their government to support their claims against Japan for reparations for their suffering from the sexual slavery system during World War II,” according to the UN statement.

“They asserted that the Philippines’ failure to fight for their cause had essentially resulted in ongoing discrimination against them that continues to this day,” it added.

The women brought their case to CEDAW in 2019, “seeking to establish the responsibility of the State party to fulfill its commitments under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in supporting the non-discrimination of women and girls on its territory.”

“Given the extreme severity of the acts of gender-based violence to which the authors were subjected and their right not to be continuously discriminated against and to obtain restitution, compensation and rehabilitation, and given the absence of any possibility of enforcing their rights as fully as possible, the Committee concludes that the State party has breached its obligations under articles 1 and 2 (b) and (c) of the Convention,” the CEDAW said.

“Acting under article 7 (3) of the Optional Protocol and in the light of the above considerations, the Committee is of the view that the State party has failed to fulfill its obligations and has thereby violated the authors’ rights under articles 1 and 2 (b) and (c) of the Convention,” it added.

Article 1 of the convention defines “discrimination against women” to mean any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.

Article 2 states that the state parties shall condemn discrimination and (b)  adopt appropriate legislative and other measures, including sanctions where appropriate, prohibiting all discrimination against women; and (c) establish legal protection of the rights of women on an equal basis with men and to ensure through competent national tribunals and other public institutions the effective protection of women against any act of discrimination.

Committee member Marion Bethel noted the significance of the ruling.

“This is a symbolic moment of victory for these victims who were previously silenced, ignored, written off and erased from history in the Philippines. The Committee’s Views pave the way for restoring their dignity, integrity, reputation and honor,” Bethel said.

“This case demonstrates that minimizing or ignoring sexual violence against women and girls in war and conflict situations is, indeed, another egregious form of violation of women’s rights. We hope that the Committee’s Decision serves to restore human dignity for all of the victims, both deceased and living,” Bethel added.

The Committee also noted that the Philippine Commission on Women “had not addressed the institutionalized system of wartime sexual slavery, its consequences for victims and survivors or their protection needs.”

The CEDAW pointed out that war veterans, mostly composed of men, have received benefits from the government such as educational benefits, health-care benefits, old age, disability and death pensions.

Also, there is no appropriate legislation and other measures that would “prohibit all discrimination against women and protect women’s rights on an equal basis with men.”

republicasia reached out to the Philippine Commission on Women, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Philippine Permanent Mission to the UN for their comment, but it has not received a response.

Recommendations

The CEDAW enumerated its recommendations:

• Full reparation, including recognition and redress, an official apology and material and moral damages, for the continuous discrimination that they suffered and restitution, rehabilitation and satisfaction, including the restoration of their dignity and reputation, which includes financial reparation.
• Establish an effective, nationwide reparation scheme to provide all forms of redress to victims of war crimes, including sexual violence, both for war veterans and survivors of wartime sexual slavery
• Ensure that the authorities remove restrictive and discriminatory provisions from legislation and policies relating to the redress of civilian victims of war
• Put up a state-sanctioned fund to provide compensation and other forms of reparation to women victims of war crimes
• Create a memorial to preserve the site of Bahay na Pula or establish another space to commemorate the suffering inflicted on the victims of wartime sexual slavery
• To include in the curricula of schools and academic institutions the history of Philippine women who underwent wartime sexual slavery to foster sensitive understanding of what they went through