Violating Human Rights. Cover Image

Încălcarea drepturilor omului.
Violating Human Rights.

The Conflict Between China, Korea, the Philippines, and Japan. The "Comfort Women" Case.

Author(s): Corina Beșleagă
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Politics of History/Memory, Politics and Identity
Published by: Editura Universității de Vest
Keywords: "Comfort women"; Crime against humanity; International law; Japan; Rape as a weapon of war;

Summary/Abstract: This paper highlights the fact that the Japanese Empire, during World War II, by creating the women’s comfort system, violated human rights and committed a crime against humanity. The paper aims to present the crimes committed by the Japanese, arguing that the actions of the Japanese Empire are crimes against humanity on the legal basis of international conventions and declarations. According to the Geneva Convention (1949), prohibitions on murder, torture, corporal punishment, bodily mutilation, medical or scientific experiments and other acts of cruelty are imposed on those defended during armed conflict. To conduct the research, we used as methods: content analysis of specialized books, historical documents and analysis of international jurisprudence. The results of the research show that Japan has applied inhuman and cruel treatment to the population of China, Korea and the Philippines, using sexual violence as a weapon of war and a method of creating a comfort system for its soldiers. Most importantly, through the Military Court for the Far East, women who have been turned into sex slaves have been largely ignored, and their perpetrators have escaped unpunished. Thus, between China, Korea, the Philippines and Japan, many ambiguities and unresolved issues remain, which hinder their effective cooperation. That is why this paper develops a new perspective on resolving the conflict inherited from the past through the method of transitional justice.

  • Issue Year: 1/2020
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 123-142
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Romanian