For the Joint Nomination of Documents on the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” to UNESCO Memory of the World Register (1)

The activism surrounding the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” issue has made remarkable and historically unprecedented progress, extending far beyond South Korea and Asia. Since Kim Hak-sun first publicly testified about her experiences as one of the “Comfort Women” in 1991, many other victims have come forward to share their stories. As time has passed, these women have not only overcome their own victimization but have also become human rights activists, advocating for the rights of women suffering in conflict zones worldwide. Their actions, rooted in empathy and solidarity with other victims, have developed into an international movement transcending national boundaries. Now, more than 30 years since the first testimony, the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” issue has grown beyond the specific atrocities of World War II. It has become a powerful symbol of the global advancement of women’s human rights and peace movements, highlighting the universal issue of women’s human rights during wartime.

Floating Records of the Japanese Military “Comfort Women”

Throughout the efforts to address the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” issue, numerous records have been uncovered that verify the existence of comfort stations and the forced mobilization of women. Extensive testimonies from victims have been recorded, along with significant documentation of activities by governmental and civil society organizations.

Someone recognized the value of these records, accumulated over more than 20 years, and deemed them worthy of inscription on the UNESCO Memory of the World (MoW) Register. This person was Professor Suh Kyung-ho, a former UNESCO’s International Advisory Committee (IAC) member.

The UNESCO MoW Program was initiated in the early 1990s in response to the tragic destruction of historical collections, some of which dated back to the 13th century, during the Yugoslav Wars. This devastating event underscored the urgent need for global efforts to preserve documentary heritage, leading to a widespread recognition of this necessity. In 1995, UNESCO officially launched the “Memory of the World” Program with the aim of safeguarding and sharing the diverse memories of humanity across the globe.

The most crucial factor for inscribing documentary heritage is the “world significance” of the records. This “world significance” does not imply agreement with the historical meaning or comprehensive interpretation of the documentary heritage's contents. Instead, UNESCO focuses on the universal value these records represent for humanity and the necessity of preserving them.

Professor Suh Kyung-ho, who has closely observed the plight of the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” and the movement to restore their human rights, concluded that the related records met the “world significance” criterion, an essential requirement for inscription on the UNESCO MoW Register. He proposed that Korean experts on this issue pursue the registration. Although the proposal was not immediately accepted, it was eventually realized when the Korean government endorsed it. The efforts of civil society played a pivotal role in shifting the issue from a historical dispute between Korea and Japan to a matter of universal women’s human rights. In 2016, the International Committee for Joint Nomination of Documents on the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register (ICJN), consisting of 14 civic groups from seven countries, applied for joint registration with the Imperial War Museum London under the title “Voices of ‘Comfort Women.’”

However, efforts of global civil society to achieve inscription in the MoW Register were soon obstructed by Japan’s opposition. Japan framed the issue as a conflict with South Korea, accusing these efforts of “politicizing UNESCO.” Japan refused to acknowledge the global historical significance of the human rights restoration movement for the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” victims. Instead, it focused on minor issues related to the historical materials, categorizing them as contested or questioned nominations, creating controversy. Some Japanese civic groups also applied to the MoW Register under the title “Documentation on ‘Comfort Women’ and Japanese Army Discipline.” In 2017, the UNESCO Secretariat accepted Japan’s demands and decided that a “dialogue” with the Japanese applicant was necessary on the premise of joint nomination, despite the fact that Japan politicized the UNESCO MoW issue. Since then, no substantial dialogue has occurred, leaving the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” records in an ambiguous state, neither officially inscribed nor rejected.

Formation of the International Committee for Joint Nomination of Documents On the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” to UNESCO Memory of the World Register (ICJN)

The Korean government initially led the effort to register the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” records on the UNESCO MoW Program. In 2012, amid heightened tensions between South Korea and Japan over the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” issue, discussions began in the Korean National Assembly. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family took over the initiative in 2014. In collaboration with the Korean National Commission for UNESCO (KNCU) and the Korea Heritage Service, the Ministry organized the “Policy Forum for the Inscription of ‘Comfort Women’ Records on MoW Register.” In 2017, with the goal of achieving inscription on the Register, it established the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” Victims Support and Commemoration Project Team (hereinafter referred to as the Project Team) within the Women’s Human Rights Institute of Korea. The movement was partly driven by a response to Japan’s historical distortions at the time, which could lead to criticisms from Japan accusing the effort of being “politically motivated.”

However, this approach changed in 2015 when Shin Hye-soo, who had previously served as the Representative and International Cooperation Chairperson of the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, as well as a member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the UN Economic and Social Commission, took charge of the initiative. Although the Korean government initially led the effort, it was later decided that civil society would become the registration entity and take charge of the subsequent activities. It was also decided that the registration would be a joint effort involving other relevant countries rather than being led solely by Korea. Additionally, the registration entity aimed to restore the framework of the “Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on the Trial of Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery in 2000 (hereafter referred to as the ‘2000 Tribunal’),” which had gained international recognition for its advocacy related to the issue. With the consent of several museums and organizations related to the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” in Korea, the Project Team formed the Korean Committee for Joint Nomination to the UNESCO MoW Register (hereinafter referred to as the Korean Committee). The organizations involved included the War and Women’s Human Rights Museum (Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan), the Museum of Sexual Slavery by Japanese Military (House of Sharing), the HEEUM Museum of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Daegu Citizen Forum for Halmuni), the National Women's History Hall (Busan Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan), as well as the Masan, Changwon and Jinhae Civil Assembly for Japanese Military Sexual Slaves and the Tongyeong and Geoje Civil Assembly for Japanese Military Sexual Slaves.

To form an international solidarity body, we reached out to the countries and organizations that participated in the “2000 Tribunal” and China. To seek Japan’s consent, we explained the purpose of forming an international coalition to organizations such as the Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace (WAM) and the National Action for Resolution of the “Comfort Women” Issue. However, Japan did not participate at the organizational level. Instead, it formed a loose coalition of individuals who own and manage the records, known as the Japanese Committee for Joint Nomination to the UNESCO MoW Register (hereinafter referred to as the Japanese Committee).

The Philippines was represented by the Lila Pilipina Center for Justice and Remembrance, an organization supporting the Japanese Military “Comfort Women,” while the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation represented Taiwan. Indonesia and Timor-Leste benefited from Japanese networks. In collaboration with Japanese civil activists supporting Indonesian victims, Indonesian activists formed the Solidarity Network for Indonesian “Comfort Women” to participate. Timor-Leste was represented by the HAK Association (Timor-Leste Human Rights Association), with Professor Matsuno Akihisa, the representative of the Japan-Timor-Leste National Association, joining as a collaborator. The Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts represented the Netherlands, while China was represented by the Research Center for Chinese “Comfort Women” at Shanghai Normal University and the Beijing Fangyuan Law Firm, affiliated with the All China Lawyers Association’s Committee for Compensation Claims against Japan. Consultations were also held with North Korea. Although North Korea initially responded positively to the joint registration in 2015, it did not provide a definitive response by the time the registration application was submitted in 2016, and unfortunately, it did not participate.

Finally, on May 21, 2015, 14 organizations from 8 countries^[1] —South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and the Netherlands—formed the ICJN.

The ICJN reached a consensus after extensive discussions and announced the “Agreement on the Joint Nomination of Documents On the Japanese Military ‘Comfort Women’ to UNESCO Memory of the World Register” at its inauguration ceremony and commenced full-fledged registration activities.

The agreement outlined several key points: the goal was to achieve joint registration of records based on a shared understanding of the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” issue; the ICJN would serve as the registration entity; the Project Team would handle the overall preparation work; the registration application materials would include testimonies from the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” victims, relevant records, and documentation of support movements worldwide; and each participating organization would carefully select and catalog the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” records to ensure they met the registration criteria.

Collaboration with Global Experts: Recognized for Aligning with Trends in World Documentary Heritage

The Project Team established the ICJN as the registration entity and enlisted experts on the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” issue and women’s human rights as external collaborators. This was necessary because recommendation letters from these experts were required to register records that are not solely comprised of official documents, such as those related to the Japanese Military “Comfort Women.”

Experts on the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” from around the world have all actively agreed to write recommendation letters. These include Gay McDougall (Special Rapporteur on systematic rape, sexual slavery, and slavery-like practices during armed conflict), who submitted a report on the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” to the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities under the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Professor Yoshimi Yoshiaki of Chuo University in Japan, Professor Jeong Jin-seong of Seoul National University in Korea, and Taiwanese expert Delan Zhu. Additionally, we planned to seek a recommendation letter from the Secretary-General of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which investigated the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” issue in 1993 and published a report in 1994, enabling the issue to be brought before the United Nations.

Through collaboration with prominent international figures, the ICJN has secured a strong position for registering the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” issue as a UNESCO documentary heritage.

Discussions about the title for the collection of records related to registering Japanese Military “Comfort Women” were among the critical decisions. The aim was to create a title that succinctly captured the essence of the records. The Project Team initially proposed the title “Japanese Military ‘Comfort Women’: A Long Journey Seeking Justice and Peace” and sought advice from several experts.^[2]

A Thai expert pointed out that “justice” could be interpreted as a demand for compensation, which might lead to political misunderstandings. The expert suggested the title “Voices of ‘Comfort Women’” to avoid political controversy and to accurately reflect the historical facts. It was also noted that since the term “victim” can be interpretive, it would be preferable to use only “Comfort Women.” The Project Team accepted this advice and, with the ICJN’s consent, finalized the title of the records collection for registration as “Voices of ‘Comfort Women.’”

In the process of the inscription on the MoW Register, it was confirmed that the trend in nominated records includes simple paper documents and electronic materials such as visual media and videos. It was advised that a cohesive collection across multiple media formats could be highly valued. Additionally, it was essential to highlight that this is a collection of records documenting the suffering of women, a subject that has not yet been registered as the world’s documentary heritage. The Japanese Military “Comfort Women” records, featuring firsthand testimonies from the victims, are considered a particularly valuable collection that aligns closely with recent trends in the world’s documentary heritage.

Experts also noted that having more countries involved in the joint nomination would benefit the composition of the ICJN, the registration entity. Notably, they evaluated the inclusion of North Korea,^[3]

which currently has no entries in the MoW Register, and Timor-Leste, which faces challenges in preserving records, as highly aligned with the goals pursued by UNESCO’s MoW Program.

We were advised that in terms of the composition of the materials for the inscription on the Register, efforts should be made to include materials held by national archives of other countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, in addition to those from the ICJN member countries. If a joint nomination is not possible, these materials can still be included with consent for registration.

After synthesizing the insights and advice of various experts, the Project Team and the ICJN concluded that the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” records being prepared possessed the element of “world significance” and aligned well with the values and principles pursued by UNESCO’s MoW Program. We then shifted our focus to the practical tasks of selecting which records to include and determining how to organize them for submission.