94-year-old Lee Yong-soo halmoni (grandmother) is one of the last survivors of Japan's WWII military sexual slavery system.  She is running out of time. But she is resolved to succeed in her final campaign for justice for these historic crimes. 

To that end, she has proposed TWO options for resolving the Comfort Women issue.  Additional resources and explanations are available here.

BACKGROUND: 

During the 1930s to 1945, the Imperial Armed Forces of Japan trafficked an estimated 60,000 to 400,000+ women, girls, and boys into sexual slavery.  They dismissively labeled the victims as "Comfort Women" and justified the crimes as necessary for warfare. 

The Comfort Women system is one of the largest known cases of government-led human trafficking and sexual slavery in modern history and one of the greatest unremedied injustices of the Second World War. 

Comfort Women were trafficked from everywhere throughout the Asia Pacific, including China, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, East Timor, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, as well as Japan.  The system reinforced Japan's military culture of sexual and gender-based violence, including against American, British, Australian, and European rape victims.

Comfort Women, in addition to suffering mass rape, were burned, maimed, tortured, and forced into sterilization, abortions, and pregnancies in "comfort stations."  Many died in captivity due to brutality and exposure.

PURPOSE OF PETITION:  

For the past 30 years, Lee Yong-soo and hundreds of former Comfort Women have called for the Government of Japan to take responsibility.  They have urged Japan's government to unequivocally apologize, to admit the crimes, and to teach the correct history, so that younger generations can move forward in peace and reconciliation.

Currently, however, Japan's government and far-right political leaders insist that Japan's imperial military was not involved in the Comfort Women system.  They refuse to record the correct history and insist there is no "concrete evidence" and "it cannot be confirmed" that Comfort Women were coerced into sex work under inhumane conditions, although many victims were underage.  These claims directly violate the 1993 Kōno Statement and other past gestures of moral -- but not legal -- responsibility (here, here, and here). 

To resolve Japan's war on history and Comfort Women, Lee Yong-soo has proposed two options for resolution:

(1) Unilateral referral by South Korea under the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT).  This recourse does not require Japan's consent and would lead to investigation, fact-finding, and recommendations by the UN Committee Against Torture.  If the matter is not settled by arbitration, South Korea can bring the dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The Committee Against Torture has previously issued observations regarding Japanese military sexual slavery (§ 19, pp. 8-9) and the 2015 joint announcement (§§ 47(a) and 48(d), pp. 12-13) between South Korea and Japan that many survivors rejected.

(2) Mutual submission by South Korea and Japan of outstanding disputes to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations' highest tribunal.  Under a proposed special agreement (see Article 2), the ICJ would determine whether Japan's acts against Comfort Women violated international law, as a separate and distinct issue from technical questions such as sovereign (state) immunity. 

A determination by the ICJ, among other recourses, has been recommended by the International Commission of Jurists, the Special Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Commission, and the 2000 Women's International War Crimes Tribunal for the Trial of Japan's Military Sexual Slavery (a non-binding people's tribunal).  

CALL TO ACTION:  

On behalf of Lee Yong-soo, this petition urges TWO related and compatible options for resolving the issue of Japan's WWII military sexual slavery under international law:

(1) Referral by South Korea under the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT)

(2) Submission by Japan and South Korea to the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ or World Court).

Please sign this petition to support Lee Yong-soo's final campaign for justice on behalf of all Comfort Women.