Although not legally binding, the recommendation could prompt the administration of new South Korean President Moon Jae-in to demand renegotiations on the deal
The UN Committee against Torture called on Japan and South Korea to revise their 2015 deal to settle the long-standing row over women who were forced into wartime Japanese military brothels. The agreement should be modified to “ensure that the surviving victims of sexual slavery during World War II are provided with redress, including the right to compensation and rehabilitation and the right to truth, reparation and assurances of non-repetitions”, the committee said in a report. Although not legally binding, the recommendation could prompt the administration of new South Korean President Moon Jae-in to demand renegotiations on the deal with Japan. But Japan has no obligation to comply with the recommendation, making it difficult for any such renegotiations to take place. Japan and South Korea struck a landmark deal in December 2015 to “finally and irreversibly” resolve a protracted dispute over the issue of so-called comfort women. Tokyo disbursed 1 billion yen (US$8.9 million) last year to a South Korean fund to help former comfort women and their families in line with the terms of the deal. However, Tokyo did not clarify whether the fund was for reparations or humanitarian assistance for the surviving victims. Some victims and civic groups have opposed the deal, claiming the Japanese government did not acknowledge its legal responsibility in forcing Korean women into sex slavery for the Japanese military. The agreement also came under fire for being signed behind closed doors, and excluding victims’ voices in the process.
