<\/p>\n
The Joint Letter to Japanese Foreign Minister on the Change Japanese foreign policy to protect internally displaced people<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n May 25, 2009<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Dear Foreign Minister Hirofumi \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The undersigned The humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Even after the end of the armed Many The UN describes the situation as Four UN Human Rights Council experts dealing with Both the LTTE and Sri Lankan The LTTE used civilians as The Sri Lankan government has carried Japan’s marked passive posture at the UN<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n However, The Japanese government has We welcome However, we regret that the As a A Special Session of the The UN Security Council presented its position for the The UN Security Council would The Japan’s Many civilians including Now is the time to shift The UN \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After that \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Resolution 1674 reaffirms the provisions of the The UN Security Council needs Japanese foreign policy claims to uphold the principle of We, the nongovernmental organizations below, urge the Sincerely yours,<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Women’s Amnesty Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC) Human Rights Watch<\/span><\/p>\n Human Rights Now<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Human Rights Now (25 May 2009)<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Sri Lankan Conflict – Change Japanese foreign policy to protect internally displaced people \u00a0(NGO Joint Letter May 25, 2009) \u00a0 Joint Letter to Japanese Foreign Minister on the Sri Lankan conflict Change Japanese foreign policy to protect internally displaced people May 25, 2009 \u00a0 Dear Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone, \u00a0 \u00a0 The undersigned nongovernmental organizations are writing to you to call upon Japan to make foreign policy changes to protect internally displaced people (IDPs) suffering in the aftermath of the conflict in Sri Lanka. The humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka Even after the end of the armed conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[17,107],"countries":[240],"class_list":["post-13","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-statement","tag-human-rights-violation-under-armed-conflictsmilitary-operation","tag-refugee-idp","countries-sri-lanka"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1112,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions\/1112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13"},{"taxonomy":"countries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/countries?post=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/span><\/span>Sri
\nLankan Conflict – <\/span><\/span>Change Japanese foreign policy to protect internally
\ndisplaced people<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span>(NGO Joint Letter May 25, 2009)<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n
\nSri Lankan conflict<\/span><\/p>\n
\nNakasone,<\/span><\/p>\n
\nnongovernmental organizations are writing to you to call upon Japan to <\/span>make foreign policy changes <\/span>to
\nprotect internally displaced people (IDPs) suffering in the aftermath of the conflict
\nin Sri Lanka.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nconflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
\nEelam (LTTE), it has been reported that many injured civilians remain trapped
\nin the conflict zone. According to the UN, <\/span>more than 7,000 civilians have been killed
\nand more than 13,000 have been injured <\/span>in
\nfighting since late January 2009<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nmore people are feared killed or injured in the recent final fighting.<\/span><\/p>\n
\na “bloodbath” and the Red Cross calls the situation “nothing short of
\ncatastrophic.”<\/span><\/p>\n
\nsummary executions, the right to health, the right to food and water and sanitation,
\nnoted in a joint statement on May 8 that there is an urgent need to establish
\nan international commission of inquiry to document the events of recent months
\nand to monitor ongoing developments.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\ngovernment forces have repeatedly violated the laws of war in the recent
\nfighting. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nhuman shields and forcibly prevented them from escaping the conflict zone.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nout indiscriminate attacks on hospitals and other densely populated areas.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\ninternational community, especially the UN Security Council and the UN Human
\nRights Council which should take immediate action to protect civilians in
\nemergencies, has continued not to take actions despite repeated requests from
\ncivil society.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nbegun to build up a regrettable reputation with its passive stance on the UN’s
\ndecision not to take immediate action. \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\nthe Japanese government’s dispatch of Yasushi Akashi, Japan’s government
\nrepresentative, to Sri Lanka and its assertion of the emergency financial and
\nsupply aid to support internally displaced people.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nJapanese government continues to take a passive stance in urging the UN
\nSecurity Council and the UN Human Rights Council to formally take up the Sri
\nLankan issue and protect civilians under the humanitarian crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nresult of the objections of few states including Japan, the UN Security Council
\nhas not had a formal discussion on <\/span>the <\/span>Sri Lankan situation and has failed to take concrete
\nactions to protect civilians.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHuman Rights Council to discuss the situation in Sri Lanka is scheduled to be
\nheld on May 26, 2009 by a call of 17 member states. However, the Japanese
\ngovernment made a really disappointing decision not to join the special session
\ndespite numerous requests from governments and civil society members.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nfirst time in the form of a press statement on May 13. It expressed “grave
\nconcern” on the recent humanitarian crisis and demanded the Sri Lankan
\ngovernment and the LTTE “respect their obligations under international
\nhumanitarian law.” It is positive progress.<\/span>
\n<\/span>However, the press statement
\ndidn’t include a request for a humanitarian cease-fire which should be realized
\nimmediately. The statement also neglected to call for accountability of war
\ncrimes against the parties in dispute.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nnot take concrete actions with the press statement. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nJapanese government caused a regression of the content of the press statement
\nin its drafting process.<\/span><\/p>\n
\npassive stance on the UN’s actions to protect civilians has become drag on those
\nUN’s actions concerned with protecting civilians under the humanitarian crisis
\nin Sri Lanka.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nchildren and women have become victims of the conflict while the UN Security
\nCouncil and the Human Rights Council continue not to take concrete actions,
\nincluding the dispatch of an international <\/span>commission.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nJapanese foreign policy<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n
\nSecurity Council received extensive criticism because it did not take action in
\nthe Rwandan genocide in 1994.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nhistorical failure, <\/span>the UN Security Council has
\nrepeatedly emphasized the importance of the protection of civilians.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n2005 World Summit Outcome Document regarding the responsibility to protect
\npopulations from genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nto take up the Sri Lankan humanitarian crisis formally and take action against
\nthe crisis which <\/span>has repeatedly involved <\/span>brutal war crimes by both parties in the conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nhuman security, and the<\/span> preamble to
\nthe Japanese Constitution declares that Japan desires to “occupy an
\nhonored place in an international society” reflecting its past. In order
\nto avoid Japan being remembered as a nation which has a responsibility not to
\nstop “the bloodbath” of civilians in Sri Lanka, and bring people who
\ncommitted war crimes in “‘bloodbath” to justice, the Japanese
\ngovernment should immediately urge the UN to take action on the humanitarian
\ncrisis in Sri Lanka including the dispatch of a fact-finding mission.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nJapanese government to support the UN Security Council and the UN Human Rights
\nCouncil’s action on <\/span>humanitarian
\ncrisis in Sri Lanka<\/span><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nActive Museum on War and Peace<\/span>\u3000<\/span>(wam)<\/span><\/p>\n
\nInternational Japan \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>Pacific Asia Resource Center (PARCIC)
\n<\/span>International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism
\n(IMADR)<\/span><\/p>\n