PHL comfort women to seek UN help in legal battle for Japan apology, compensation

With the Supreme Court ruling with finality against their plea to get compensation and apology from Japan, a group of 70 comfort women has decided to bring the case before the United Nations.

In a statement Wednesday, the Center for International Law, which represents the group collectively known as Malaya Lolas, lamented the high court's decision denying their motions for reconsiderations that sought to reverse the tribunal's original April 2010 ruling.

"We will take up their case before two United Nations Treaty Bodies, namely, the UN Human Rights Committee and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and Children (CEDAW)," said CenterLaw.

In the April 28, 2010 ruling, the SC denied the comfort women's request to compel the Philippine government to have Tokyo apologize to them and provide them compensation. The women were victims of sexual slavery by Japanese occupation forces during World War II.

CenterLaw's Harry Roque said the high court's ruling was a violation of the Philippine government's treaty obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and Children.

"Still, we will continue our advocacy on behalf of our clients, who are dying one by one on account of their very old age. With due respect, we do not agree with the High Court’s unequivocal holding that while our clients had indeed suffered a violation of their rights, there is no available remedy for them," the law firm said.

In April 2012, the comfort women asked the SC to take into consideration an August 2011 ruling by a Korean court when deciding on their petition.

They said the Korean court ruled that blocking the release of compensation by the Japanese government for Korean comfort women was an "infringement of fundamental dignity and value of human beings."

The Korean court also said that the possibility of strained relations and problems with diplomatic ties between Japan and South Korea could not be used as an excuse not to pay the victims.

On the contrary, the Korean court said it would be more constructive for both the diplomatic ties and Korea’s national interest to call on the Japanese government to take on its legal responsibility toward the victims.

"Indeed, with such a decision and legal reasoning, the Philippines became the only country in the world – using dubious legal grounds – that does not absolutely prohibit rape and sexual slavery as crimes in times of armed conflict," said CenterLaw. —Mark Merueñas/KBK, GMA News