Global Day of Action for Justice to Comfort Women - 10 August 2005
FYI No.1, 2005

For Your Information, Wednesday, 10 August 2005 is the Global Day of Action for Justice to Comfort Women. Below is an initiative of a women's group in South Korea.

Since its establishment in 1990, the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (KCMSS or Korean Council) has been struggling for the rights of "comfort women" by working with other groups to address the issues and atrocities committed against them, as well as educate future generations about their human rights. They have held demonstrations in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul every Wednesday afternoon, since 8 January 1992, called the "Wednesday Demonstrations."

Every single Wednesday, they have been insisting the Japanese government to acknowledge its crime and offer official apology and legal reparation for the past cruelty, and have been joined by social organizations, students and the general public in their call. On 10 August 2005, they will continue this protest as "Worldwide Wednesday Demonstration."

To coincide with the 60th Anniversary of the liberation of Korea from Japan, the KCMSS has worked with women of Asia, women's organizations and other human rights NGO to plan and organize a global campaign for "Justice to Comfort Women" on Wednesday, 10 August 2005. The campaign includes several petitions to the UN and the ILO on the Global Action Day for Comfort Women, calling for Japanese Government to give apology and legal compensation, as recommended by UN and ILO, and for a stronger global solidarity against violence against women. They have already collected more than 550,000 signatures for their petition in the past 7 months from comfort women survivors in Korea and Taiwan, and students, teachers, congressmen in different countries.

The campaign aims to raise concern and awareness on the violation of women's human rights during war time and to seek global solidarity for the issue. The Worldwide Wednesday Demonstrations will be held at 60 places including South Korea (Seoul, Pusan, Daegu and Ulsan), Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya), Taiwan and Philippines, Indonesia, Germany, Netherlands, USA and Canada.

This campaign or Global Day of Action in front of Japanese embassies, is part of the V-Day Campaign for Justice to Comfort Women, announced on 28 February at a gathering of women's groups from East and South East Asia, women's leaders and "Beijing+10" representatives in New York City. V-Day is a global movement to end violence against women and girls.

For more information, please refer to the web sites of:
The Korean Council
V-day
or contact Kija (Korean Council) at mssjdh1@lycos.co.kr or wnw@womenandwar.net

Statements available upon request:
-- 60th Anniversary of the End of World War II: Global Call for Justice to "Comfort Women"
-- Solidarity message from the survivors of military sexual slavery by Japan!!