South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se addressed the issue of "sex slaves" at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday. He accused the Japanese government of denying its sexual atrocities against Korean sex slaves, calling Japan’s actions a "disregard to the historical truth" and "an affront to humanity". He also said the issue was evidence of a "culture of impunity" regarding sexual crimes during war time.
"The prevalent sexual violence in armed conflicts, even in this century, is largely attributable to a culture of impunity and the failure in ensuring accountability. Without repenting the past wrongdoings, a brighter future will not be secured. The victims of wartime sexual slavery, adopted by the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces - the so-called comfort women - are the evidence in point. This is not only a bilateral issue between Japan and other victimised countries, including Korea, China, the Netherlands, and various Southeast Asian countries, but also it is a universal human rights issue - an unresolved problem still haunting us today." Yun said.
The foreign minister’s speech came after an attempt by the Shinzo Abe administration to change the "Murayama Statement", which acknowledges and apologizes for Japan’s forced wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women.
Although numbers vary, some historians say as many as 200-thousand women from across Asia, most of them Koreans, were forced to serve as sex slaves for frontline soldiers. Yun urged the Japanese government to admit to the history and make efforts to solve the issue.
