Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
NORTHEAST ASIA
Return of Japanese abductees: mission possible for?
Since 2002, Japan’s prime ministers have struggled to make a breakthrough in holding North Korea accountable for the abduction of at least 13 Japanese citizens in the 1970s – a grave violation that has long strained the two countries’ relationship.
Now, newly elected Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba wants to take another crack at this unsolved issue, exhorting both the Cabinet and parliament to make this the “most important task of the regime.”
“This is the cabinet’s most important task, and we will ensure that all abductees can return home as soon as possible,” he said in a policy speech last Oct. 4.
Shigeru said he was eyeing a liaison office between the two countries to resolve the abduction issue – although this was opposed by a group of the abductees’ relatives who feared North Korea could use the office to buy more time.
The abduction issue has always been a race against time for Japan, as many of the victims and their families are now aging. In fact, former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who also tried to make their repatriation a key government objective before resigning in 2021, urged sitting leaders to cooperate more closely with South Korea, whose nationals were also abducted by North Korea, to finally bring closure to the issue.
FAST FACTS
- Ishiba’s pledge comes 22 years after North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-Il apologized to former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for the abduction of at least 13 Japanese citizens that he claimed was carried out by unidentified “special-mission organizations” between 1977 and 1983, “driven by blindly motivated patriotism and misguided heroism.”
- The abductions, Kim told Koizumi, targeted people who would serve as language teachers, spies, or brides to members of the Red Army – North Korea’s paramilitary and reserve forces – or who could be deployed to infiltrate South Korea after their identities were stolen. He assured Koizumi abductions would stop and that he had already punished the perpetrators and allowed the repatriation of five victims. Kim claimed the other eight had passed away.
- Kim’s apology, experts say, was calculated to facilitate a normalization of Japan-North Korea relations. Tokyo, however, slapped continuing economic sanctions against Pyongyang, and maintains that the normalization of diplomatic ties will not happen without, among others, the resolution of the abduction issue.
- Japan also tries to garner international support, particularly from the United States, to help resolve the issue and pressure North Korea. It also sponsored several U.N. General Assembly resolutions condemning the North Korean human rights situation from 2005 to 2020, when it suddenly backed away from criticizing the regime.
Japanese Prime Ministers’ actions on abductions through the years
Prime Minister | Term | Actions taken |
Junichiro Koizumi | 2001-2006 | Initiated direct talks with Kim; efforts led to the first official admission from North Korea and the repatriation of five abductees and their families in 2002. |
Shinzo Abe | 2006-2007; 2012-2020 | Also made the abduction issue a priority but it was also under his term that Japan did not sponsor a U.N. resolution on Pyongyang human rights |
Yoshihide Suga | 2020-2021 | Vowed to seek a breakthrough on the abduction issue and discussed the possibility of a bilateral meeting that did not materialize before he resigned in 2021 |
Fumio Kishida | 2021-2024 | Pledged to repatriate all victims, which did not happen until his resignation in 2024 |
- The abduction of Japanese citizens is just one in a laundry list of violations perpetrated by North Korea, both on its own citizens and against foreign nationals. A 2011 Committee for Human Rights Report in North Korea said that there might be hundreds of abductees inside North Korea – mostly South Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and American – since the end of the Korean War in the 1950s.
ACTIONS SOUGHT
- Ishiba has vowed “all-out efforts” to bring the abductees home though he has not elaborated on his plan and what his Cabinet and parliament ought to do. He has, however, asked the victims’ families to support his bid for a liaison office between Tokyo and Pyongyang.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
ASEAN: A regional challenge to do better
The leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are set to meet for their annual summit on Oct. 6-11 amid several crises hounding the region, including Myanmar’s military coup, the ongoing Rohingya refugee crisis, and increasing restrictions on civil liberties in member-states.
Against this backdrop, regional rights coalition FORUM-ASIA called on the ASEAN leaders to take immediate action to address these regional human rights challenges and to “do better” in fulfilling its mandate to respect, protect, and promote human rights.
“To fulfill its purpose, ASEAN must foster regional consensus in addressing human rights violations and in strengthening its commitment to preventing future violations,” stressed FORUM-ASIA executive director Mary Aileen Bacalso.
FAST FACTS
- The annual summit, chaired by Laos this year, is seen as a test to the regional bloc that continues to face criticism for its founding principles of consensus-building and non-interference in one another’s internal affairs. Observers say adherence to these principles has hindered the bloc’s ability to take action on increasingly complex issues in the region, including the tensions in the South China Sea, escalating violence in Myanmar, and the growing rivalry between the United States and China, both of which are Comprehensive Strategic Partners of ASEAN.
- Myanmar is an especially thorny issue for the bloc. In 2021, the member-states agreed on a five-point consensus plan calling on the junta to end the violence and begin dialogue. The junta, however, continues to defy this agreement.
- Beyond Myanmar, almost all the member-states are also seeing a shrinking in civic space as their respective governments crack down on dissent and freedom of expression. Thailand, for example, ordered the dissolution of the opposition Move Forward Party last August even if the party won the most seats in the 2023 general elections; Cambodia, too, has been harassing members of the opposition Candlelight Party with arrests.
- In Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines arrests and prosecution of activists and human rights defenders prevail. Indonesia, meanwhile, is currently fast-tracking discussions to approve problematic bills including amendments to its Broadcasting Law, which would effectively ban investigative journalism and portrayals of LGBTQI+ lifestyles.
- Previous summits have seen the ASEAN working toward human rights such as when it set up the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights in 2009 and came up with various declarations including those on the protection of migrant workers (2023) and violence against women (2024). But critics rue the regional forum’s lack of power to enforce and “will to act” or pursue these important measures.
ACTIONS SOUGHT
FORUM-ASIA challenges the ASEAN to:
- Formally recognize the urgent need to address the region’s alarming trend of human rights violations; and
- Urge its member-states to repeal repressive laws, stop targeting human rights defenders, and recognize and protect the rights of vulnerable communities.
SOUTH ASIA
A delicate balancing act in Afghanistan
Under the Taliban’s increasingly restrictive rule, Afghan citizens endure a dire economic crisis and worsening humanitarian crisis, which go hand in hand with severe restrictions on fundamental freedoms, especially for women.
As such, advocates for Afghanistan’s welfare are urgently calling for sustained international aid, the resumption of critical infrastructure projects, and persistent pressure on the Taliban to rescind their draconian edicts. Following an economic summit on Afghanistan last Sept. 28-29, U.N. experts and diplomats emphasized the urgent need to address Afghanistan’s economic problems to mitigate the humanitarian crisis.
Afghan women, meanwhile, are urging the newly appointed U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan deputy head of political affairs to pressure the Taliban to lift repressive edicts, especially those targeting women’s rights. These combined efforts, they believe, would help alleviate the severe humanitarian crisis gripping the nation.
FAST FACTS
- A recent Taliban edict, mandating complete public silence and full body coverage for women, is the latest in a series of wanton vioalions of human rights by the de facto government since it returned to power in 2021. These have led to Afghanistan’s international isolation, with many nations outright refusing or hesitant to provide aid for fear of legitimizing the Taliban regime.
- Shortly after the edict was issued, UNAMA appointed Georgette Gagnon as its new deputy head of political affairs. Afghan women expressed optimism that Gagnon, in her new role, would be a vocal advocate for their rights.
- With poverty impacting more than 90% of the country’s population and the economic contracting by 27%, some nations have been forced to rethink their response to Afghanistan.
- Despite the Taliban’s discriminatory policies, female Afghan entrepreneurs persist albeit with severe challenges, according to a study by the U.N. Development Programme in 2023. UNDP has thus recommended more vocational training for women, ensure that they have access to equipment and raw materials, and improve their access to loans and licenses.
ACTIONS SOUGHT
- In terms of economic aid, the advocates are calling for sustained, targeted aid that would create jobs, upskill and help Afghan citizens, especially women, become self-reliant.
- Afghan women and girls have urged Gagnon to prioritize addressing the Taliban’s restrictive policies.
GLOBAL / REGIONAL
Mitigating climate change vulnerability in Asia Pacific
Asia-Pacific, home to 16 of the 50 most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change, achieved a major milestone last year when over half of its population had access to at least one social protection benefit, like sickness, injury, or unemployment benefits, a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) shows.
However, 2.1 billion people in the region still remain unprotected against socio-economic risks including the worsening impacts of climate change, said ILO. The same report called on policymakers, social partners, and other stakeholders to accelerate efforts to close social protection gaps and to realize the world’s climate ambitions to make sure that nobody is left behind.
“Social protection will play a vital role in supporting climate adaptation and mitigation efforts, and in facilitating a just transition, ultimately enhancing the resilience of all, and especially vulnerable communities,” said Kenichi Hirose, regional senior social protection specialist at the ILO.
FAST FACTS
- Environmentalists believe that universal social protection systems are crucial to realizing the world’s climate ambitions and to facilitate a just transition. Climate change disproportionately affects vulnerable populations – and social protection programs like unemployment benefits, health insurance, and disaster relief, can provide a safety net, especially during climate-related events.
- Such programs can also prepare individuals and communities for adaptation, decarbonization and mitigation, according to the World Bank. For example, workers who may be displaced by the closure of coal mines or power plants may be eligible for subsidies or job placement programs.
- The ILO report shows that social protection coverage in Asia-Pacific is now at 53.6%, even higher than the global average (52.4%). However, significant disparities exist among countries, with New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, leading the list; Cambodia, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Laos, and Papua New Guinea trailing.
- The Asia-Pacific region allocated 11.8% of its GDP to social protection programs in 2023, falling short of the global average of 19.3%. Additionally, the report found that women’s access to social protection benefits lags behind men’s by 6.8 percentage points, with a more significant gap of 11.1 percentage points observed in Southern Asia.
ACTIONS SOUGHT
To close the gap in social protection programs, the ILO has proposed the following:
- Extending coverage to workers in all types of employment, whether formal or informal, and to promote sustainable and climate-resilient livelihoods.
- The creation of social protection programs that specifically address the needs of communities affected by climate change, i.e. those impacted by extreme weather, rising sea levels, and other environmental changes.
- Greater regional cooperation and knowledge-sharing on climate-resilient social protection strategies.