No. 1381 Recommendations from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, after eight years of lapse, examined the practices of the government of Japan. It announced its evaluation October 29, including a recommendation over the introduction of a system to allow a married couple to have separate surnames between a husband and a wife. The UN advice reflects a fact that discrimination against women is deeply-rooted in the Japanese society.
LET’S STAGE STRUGGLES FOR GENDER EQUALITY IN PARLIAMENT AND AMONG PEOPLE’S MOVEMENTS!
The fifth-round of advice from UN after ratification of Convention
The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women is called ‘Constitution of the World’ in terms of the women’s human rights. The said UN body monitors contours of implementation of the convention. Currently 189 nations have concluded the treaty and the Committee examines, advises and make requests to the party governments, taking turns to check their legal systems and investigate what steps are taken to eliminate evil practices.
Japan ratified the convention in 1985 and has been advised five times by the Committee. The recommendations have impacted on the domestic laws to a certain extent: a time span prohibited not to re-marry after divorce, applied only to women, was eliminated in 2016 and a surge was made in the marrying age. The references have led to altering relevant laws.
Cooperation among opposition political parties needed to legislate
The Legislative Council of the Ministry of Justice has issued in 1996 an announcement to introduce a system in which a married couple can use separate family names and a bill to amend the Civil Code has been presented to the Diet several times. But the bills have been dropped even before parliamentary debates because of some of the conservative lawmakers of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) who aspire ‘defending a traditional family doctrine’.
Fortunately, however, a path has been opened toward recognition of separate surnames; the ruling LDP has retreated since the last general election as it failed to obtain the parliamentary majority. Thus, the mainstream lawmakers are in favor of a law allowing married couple to have separate family names. President Noda Yoshihiko of the Constitutional Democratic Party mentioned; ‘I have gained the post of Director of the Legal Committee for this purpose. I will cooperate with the opposition parties to present a bill to revise the Civil Code which is necessary for enactment’.
Delays in measures to guarantee human rights
The announcement from the UN Committee includes a wide range of recommendations: correction of gender gaps in salary payment, extermination of violence against women, removal of consent from a spouse at an occasion of induced abortion and so on.
The ‘Selective Protocol of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women’ is ratified by 115 nations at the moment out of the 189 parties, but Japan has not yet done it. And therefore, the country has not set up a hotline institution on the human rights to which everyone could directly complain. There is no individual communication and complaint body on the human rights in Japan and the UN is the sole ‘entrance’ leading to a mechanism to settle disputes.
As you see, ratification of the protocol is the biggest task of women in the country. It is urgent to approve it to create an institution to which everyone could communicate and protest human rights violation when a business entity, the state and a municipality abuses the liberties.
Women in Japan hope that the government will ratify the convention so that the legal system and judiciary which neglect gender equality can be changed as it is an international norm. Commitments in eliminate discrimination against women mean to eradicate all kinds of discriminations and to defend the human rights. Women should keep fighting in the street, responding to the parliamentary procedures.
国連の女性差別撤廃委員会は日本政府の取組みを８年ぶりに審査、10月29日に選択的夫婦別姓導入などを勧告する見解を公表した。見解は日本社会に女性差別が根強く残ることを明示する。
批准後５回の勧告
女性差別撤廃条約は、女性の人権に関する「世界の憲法」とも言われる。条約の履行状況を監視するための組織が、女性差別撤廃委員会である。現在１８９カ国が締約しており、委員会は各国が差別をなくすためにどういった法制度や施策を実施しているかを順番に審査し、勧告や要請をする。
日本は１９８５年に批准し、これまで５回の勧告を受けている。勧告は国内法に一定の影響を与えて来た。２０１６年には女性だけに課せられていた再婚禁止期間の撤廃、婚姻年齢の引上げなどが勧告され、関連法が改正されている。
野党連携で実現を
一方、法制審議会は１９９６年、選択的夫婦別姓の導入を答申し、民法改正案がたびたび国会提出されたが、自民党内の「伝統的な家族観を守る」保守派議員によって審議入りすらできなかった。
しかし、別姓実現の展望が開けた。先の総選挙で与党が過半数割れし、別姓賛成派が多数派となった。立憲民主党の野田佳彦代表は「選択的夫婦別姓制度実現のために、法務委員長のポストを獲得した。制度の実現に必要な民法改正案を、野党が連携して国会に提出し成立をめざす」と述べている。
人権救済手段遅れ
撤廃委の見解には、賃金のジェンダー格差是正、女性に対する暴力の根絶、人工妊娠中絶の配偶者同意要件の削除など幅広い分野の勧告が盛り込まれた。
また、「女性差別撤廃条約選択議定書」は、１８９の締約国のうち１１５カ国が批准しているが、日本は未だに批准しておらず、人権問題を直接訴える人権機関が整備されていない。このため、個人通報制度がなく、国連が「駆け込み寺」になっている。
このように議定書の批准は、女性たちにとって最大の課題になっている。企業や国や自治体などから人権侵害を受けたら通報し、訴える機関を設置するために議定書の批准は焦眉の課題だ。
国際基準であるジェンダー平等を無視する国内の法制度や司法判断を変えるためにも、女性たちは批准を待ち望んでいる。女性差別をなくす取組みは、あらゆる差別をなくし、人権を守る闘いである。院内の闘いに呼応した私たちの闘いが求められている。
英訳版↓
No. 1381 Recommendations from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, after eight years of lapse, examined the practices of the government of Japan. It announced its evaluation October 29, including a recommendation over the introduction of a system to allow a married couple to have separate surnames between a husband and a wife. The UN advice reflects a fact that discrimination against women is deeply-rooted in the Japanese society.
LET’S STAGE STRUGGLES FOR GENDER EQUALITY IN PARLIAMENT AND AMONG PEOPLE’S MOVEMENTS!
The fifth-round of advice from UN after ratification of Convention
The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women is called ‘Constitution of the World’ in terms of the women’s human rights. The said UN body monitors contours of implementation of the convention. Currently 189 nations have concluded the treaty and the Committee examines, advises and make requests to the party governments, taking turns to check their legal systems and investigate what steps are taken to eliminate evil practices.
Japan ratified the convention in 1985 and has been advised five times by the Committee. The recommendations have impacted on the domestic laws to a certain extent: a time span prohibited not to re-marry after divorce, applied only to women, was eliminated in 2016 and a surge was made in the marrying age. The references have led to altering relevant laws.
Cooperation among opposition political parties needed to legislate
The Legislative Council of the Ministry of Justice has issued in 1996 an announcement to introduce a system in which a married couple can use separate family names and a bill to amend the Civil Code has been presented to the Diet several times. But the bills have been dropped even before parliamentary debates because of some of the conservative lawmakers of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) who aspire ‘defending a traditional family doctrine’.
Fortunately, however, a path has been opened toward recognition of separate surnames; the ruling LDP has retreated since the last general election as it failed to obtain the parliamentary majority. Thus, the mainstream lawmakers are in favor of a law allowing married couple to have separate family names. President Noda Yoshihiko of the Constitutional Democratic Party mentioned; ‘I have gained the post of Director of the Legal Committee for this purpose. I will cooperate with the opposition parties to present a bill to revise the Civil Code which is necessary for enactment’.
Delays in measures to guarantee human rights
The announcement from the UN Committee includes a wide range of recommendations: correction of gender gaps in salary payment, extermination of violence against women, removal of consent from a spouse at an occasion of induced abortion and so on.
The ‘Selective Protocol of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women’ is ratified by 115 nations at the moment out of the 189 parties, but Japan has not yet done it. And therefore, the country has not set up a hotline institution on the human rights to which everyone could directly complain. There is no individual communication and complaint body on the human rights in Japan and the UN is the sole ‘entrance’ leading to a mechanism to settle disputes.
As you see, ratification of the protocol is the biggest task of women in the country. It is urgent to approve it to create an institution to which everyone could communicate and protest human rights violation when a business entity, the state and a municipality abuses the liberties.
Women in Japan hope that the government will ratify the convention so that the legal system and judiciary which neglect gender equality can be changed as it is an international norm. Commitments in eliminate discrimination against women mean to eradicate all kinds of discriminations and to defend the human rights. Women should keep fighting in the street, responding to the parliamentary procedures.
December 4, 2024