Joint Statement: 100th session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (2019)

Human rights are under threat all over the world, and Japan is no exception.  The following panels offer a glimpse into the realities of racial discrimination and the ongoing struggle for justice in Japanese society. (*For more details, please click each panel.) *Sayama Case refers to the false conviction of Kazuo Ishikawa, then 24 years old, for the murder of a high school girl in 1963. It was fabricated by the police believing that Burak people can do it. Further information about the rally in the centre of Tokyo in May 2025 can be found here. * One of the key factors behind this impunity is the Status of Forces […]

The International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) expresses its deep concern regarding the tragic killing of students and the increasing use of violence in response to public dissent in Nepal. We are particularly troubled by the failure of the authorities to engage in constructive dialogue with the younger generation before taking drastic measures, such as shutting down social media platforms. The reported use of live bullets against unarmed civilians is especially alarming and cannot be justified. We are also deeply concerned by the present situation in Nepal, which has brought uncertainty and difficulty to the lives of many people. At this challenging time, we stand in […]

Public Statement by Civil Society Organisations on the Occasion of the 37th Annual Meeting of the Chairpersons of the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies 12 June 2025 The undersigned civil society organisations issue this statement at a time of profound crisis of the UN, and the human rights mechanisms in particular. The international human rights treaties are an essential part of the UN’s human rights ecosystem and form the legal backbone of the international human rights system. The work of the Treaty Bodies is crucial in monitoring States parties’ implementation of international human rights treaties and in providing authoritative guidance on the fulfilment of obligations. Treaty Bodies deliver justice to individual victims, […]

A rally calling for a retrial of the Sayama Case was held in Tokyo on May 23, the day Kazuo Ishikawa, then 24 years old, was falsely convicted of the murder of a high school girl in 1963. This Case underscores fundamental flaws in the Japanese criminal justice system and the discriminatory stereotyping against Buraku people. At the rally, many people, including his wife, defence team, lawyers, supporters and other victims of false accusations, gathered to call for the realisation of retrial and revision of retrial law as well as to express their condolences for Kazuo Ishikawa, who passed away on the 11th March 2025. With his death, the third […]