Conference Program

Canadian Conference on
Preventing Crimes Against Humanity:
Lessons from the Asia Pacific War (1931-1945)

March 21-22, 2003 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Healing for Victims of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery

This workshop is the extension of the plenary "Japanese Military Sexual Slavery." Participants are encouraged to continue the dialogue with the speakers. With the assistance of a Korean interpreter, participants can also have a more personal understanding of the pains and emotional wounds suffered by victims of Japanese military sexual slavery. YOON Mi-Hyang, General Secretary of the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan would also be at hand to share the Council’s experience and work for the these elderly survivors. The Council has been playing a key role in helping to reveal this hidden chapter of atrocities committed against females, to uphold dignity of the victims and to demand justice and redress from the Japanese government.

Workshop: Resolving the Aftermath of Japan's Biological Warfare in China

This workshop is the extension of the plenary "Japan's Biological Warfare in the Asia Pacific War". Besides speakers of the plenary, joining the workshop are Dr. Martin Furmanski, Wang Xuan and Yang Dafang. Both Wang and Yang are both plaintiff representative of the germ warfare lawsuit in Japan against the Japanese government. In August 2002 the Japan court while admitting the facts of the crimes committed by Unit 731, Japan’s BW unit in China, the court refused to grant restitution to plaintiffs. The plaintiffs have appealed on the court’s verdict to deny them restitution. For her tireless devotion to help BW survivors in China to struggle for their long overdue justice and redress, Wang Xuan has been honored as the 2002 top ten most influential women in China. Dr. Furmanski, a medical historian would also relate the postwar immunity granted to perpetrators of Japan’s BW program m to the preservation and development of the US Biological Weapons Program and the BW threat faced by the world today.

Workshop: Identifying Racism in Politics: Japanese Canadian Uprooting and Internment

The Canadian government's domestic response to the invasion of Japanese forces on Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941, against Canadians of Japanese ancestry, was influenced by a `politics of racism' and attitudes of discrimination. The government’s policies of disenfranchisement, detention, confiscation and sale of private and community property, expulsion, deportation and restriction of movement, which continued after the war, were acknowledged, on September 22, 1988, by the Prime Minister of Canada, as injustices to be condemned.

Dr. Midge Ayukawa, a historian, will present the conditions that existed for Canadians of Japanese ancestry, prior to 1942. Ms. Mary Kitagawa will offer a personal story of her family’s experiences resulting from the government policies during the war years.

Following the presentations the workshop will be opened to the floor for discussion with Madam Justice Maryka Omatsu and Mr. Art presiding as resource persons, providing legal and related information. What will be the lessons learned from this history toward new insights and thoughtful considerations of present-day issues?

Workshop: Terrors of A-Bomb

A panel of two speakers will present their views on the threat to peace posed by the existence of nuclear weapons.

Kinuko Laskey will speak as a survivor of the bombing of Hiroshima and as a long-time educator and activist whose goal is to convince people that war is not inevitable and that atomic weapons must never be employed in war again.

David Morgan will speak as president of the Veterans Against Nuclear Arms organization and his goal is to prevent nuclear destruction. He served in the British Royal Air Force as a radar operator in the Suez Canal area during the Second World War.

Canadian Hong Kong veterans & other POWs: Wounds and Closure

All the resource persons of this workshop miraculously survived the atrocious enslavement by the Japanese military. They will share with participants their reflection of POW days and how they have dealt with their emotional wounds in the last 60 years and their desire for justice and closure. They have all endeavored, albeit in different ways to pass onto the younger generation what this tragic chapter of history has taught them so that history would not repeat itself.

Workshop: Rape of Nanking: Remembering and Denying

This workshop is an extension of the first plenary "Racism and the Asia Pacific War." Iris Chang will have the opportunity to exchange views with workshop participants on the issue of how this tragic chapter of history is being dealt with today. How remembrance and denial impact on the emotional healing of victims and on the humanity education of younger generation. Yoshiyuki Masaki, a Japanese citizen will share his unique experience in reaching out and informing his countrymen on the Nanking Massacre. Yoshiyuki will also bring from Japan a message of the 90-years-old AZUMA Shiro, a repented former Japanese soldier who took part in the Nanking massacre. Azuma was sued for libel by his former superior for revealing details of atrocities in his wartime diary. He lost his lawsuit in 2000 but he has not yielded to the unreasonable verdict given by Tokyo Supreme Court. He vows to continue uncovering the monstrous atrocities committed by the Japanese imperial army.

Workshop: Teachers' workshop on the Teachers' Guide "Human Rights in the Asia Pacific 1931-1945: Social Responsibility & Global Citizenship"

Workshop participants will be introduced to a resource booklet on crimes against humanity designed for the senior secondary grades, particularly Social Studies 11, History 12, and Law 12 in British Columbia. The "Human Rights in the Asia Pacific, 1931-1945: Social Responsibility & Global Citizenship" was published by the BC Ministry of Education in 2001. The resource booklet is a 70 page resource that deals with crimes against humanity committed by the Japanese Imperial Forces in the Asia Pacific war, including the rape of Nanking, treatment of the Hong Kong veterans, and other atrocities.

The resource takes a critical thinking approach to investigating these events by providing a background paper, references to various international conventions, eyewitness accounts from different perspectives, and Japan's response to victims' claims for redress. Through the vehicle of a mock international tribunal, students embark on an examination of events and positions in order to make decisions about compensation, redress, and reconciliation. Students are then asked to write a reflective essay on how crimes against humanity can be prevented in the future.

All workshop participants will receive a copy of the booklet, thanks to support from the British Columbia Teachers' Federation.

Workshop: "Comfort Women", Forced Labour & the International Labour Organization

Mee-Hyang Yoon, General Secretary, The Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan and Stephen Benedict, National Director, International Department, Canadian Labour Congress will present information in relation to the issue of redress for Korean survivors of Japanese military sexual slavery during the Asia Pacific War (1931-1945), the upcoming application to the International Labour Organization in June 2003, under the convention against forced labour and strategize with workshop participants about support and solidarity with the organizations bringing the ILO complaint forward.

Workshop: Crimes Against Humanity: The Residential School Experience

This workshop will explore links with the conferences theme of preventing crimes against humanity, by exploring the impact of residential schools on First Nations people. Residential schools were established by the Canadian government with the aim of cultural genocide, and through these schools, generations of First Nations children were subject to a wide range of violence. The workshop will begin with the screening of the award winning film "A Century of Genocide in the Americas: The Residential School Experience" directed by Rosemary Gibbons, produced by Native Voices, University of Washington.

Following the film, Gerry Oleman, Stl'atl'imx Nation and Shane Pointe, Musqueam Nation will speak of their work with the Indian Residential School Survivors Society. The society's mandate is: to assist First Nations in British Columbia to recognize and be holistically empowered from the generational effects of residential schools by conducting research, promoting awareness, establishing partnerships and advocating for justice and healing. A discussion will follow.

Workshop: Japanese Canadian Redress - Post Redress Community Development and Social Justice Values

This panel will look at the aftermath of the Japanese Canadian Redress and review developments at many levels. Resource persons are Madam Justice Maryka Omatsu and Mr. Art Miki. Both of them were members of the Japanese Canadian team negotiating with the government. Another resource person is Tatsuo Kage who facilitated communication with the community's elders during the redress campaign, then co-ordinated the redress implementation in Western Canada.

This panel is for facilitating discussion about the legacy of Redress - what was the impact on the Japanese Canadian community after the September 22, 1988 Redress Agreement? What is happening to the social justice struggles of other groups and why didn't the signing of the Japanese Canadian Redress Settlement set a precedent for Canada to follow suit with other groups? What can be done so that other victims in both Canada and abroad can also achieve success in their struggles for justice? During these times of racial profiling, how can further persecution or interment of target groups be prevented?

Workshop: International Humanitarian Laws

This workshop will allow participants to better understand both domestic and international laws that define what crimes against humanity are, and spell out how breaches of those laws can be dealt with. Resource people will provide specific information regarding recent Canadian legislation, The Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Act as well as the legal framework for the recently created International Criminal Court (ICC). While some people or governments might ignore these laws, they do so at their peril because international standards are being set that will oblige governments to take active measures to apprehend and try suspected war criminals.

Workshop: Violence Against Women in War and Peace

From global issues to local support for women survivors of sexual violence in war, this workshop will address both local and global experiences of violence against women in war. Susan Gill, Kamilla Singh and Anneke Van Vliet bring many years of front line experience in providing support and advocacy for survivors of sexual assault. Anneke Van Vliet will talk about her experience attending the Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery. Susan Gill will address the global issues of women’s experience of war around the world and Kamilla Singh will talk about her work supporting refugees and survivors of war and sexual assault in Vancouver. A discussion on preventing war and violence against women in war will conclude the presentation.

Workshop: Cultural Genocide and Self Determination: The Aboriginal Experience

Through this workshop, participants will have a chance to explore issues related to the cultural genocide of Aboriginal people. Richard Vedan will begin with an historical overview of colonization of Aboriginal peoples from contact to contemporary times. He will then look at current issues facing Aboriginal people before moving on to explore possible directions as Aboriginal people more towards self-determination. Parallels will be drawn to the themes emerging from lessons from the Asia Pacific War. The workshop will combine a presentation with interactive discussions.

Dr. Richard Vedan, of the Neskonlith Band, Secwepemc Nation is an Associate Professor in UBC's School of Social Work and Director of First Nations House of Learning.

Workshop: "Peace and Justice in the Middle East"

This workshop will present some basic information on the disputed history of the Middle East region. It also will introduce people to the truly hopeful grass-roots initiatives that are contributing to peace and justice. The speakers of this workshop see the Middle East conflicts as neither eternal nor irreconcilable, least of all are they a "clash of civilizations".

Paula van der Hijden will facilitate an open-minded discussion where all questions will be responded to with gentleness and respect. Paula lived in Israel for five years and worked as a consular officer for the Netherlands Embassy in Israel before moving to Canada seven months ago. Mordecai Briemberg will introduce the historical dimension and identify crucial steps that are widely recognized as indispensable for the reversal of the worsening violence. Sid Shniad will report on grass-roots, joint initiatives of Jewish-Israelis and Palestinians. Dr. Marwan Hassan will share his experience of the daily life of Palestinian citizens of Israel.

International Networking for Peace and a Better World

The focus of this workshop is to look briefly at the problems of modern militarism and the growth of the peace movements around the world. We will explore the ways peace activism can network and grow in strength to become “ the other dominant power in the world.”

The campaign to “ban the bomb” started before the A bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It continues to be a local, national and international action and David will emphasize the power of networking in this long campaign.

Professor Suh Sung will bring to us his experience working for peace in East Asia and the connections between East and West will be explored.

Alfred Webre follows the developments of the militarization of space and the need for a new space treaty. The United States cancelled the ABM Treaty in June 2002 so they could continue to put weapons in space. This story is not well known but because it is central to all other aspects of weaponry must be understood by peace activists. Discussion and discourse will be an important part of this exploration

Workshop: Racial Profiling

Mr. Riadh R. Muslih and Mr. Paul A. Winn will be invited to make remarks along the lines of the following questions:

What is racial profiling in their view? Is racial profiling always wrong? As we know officials deny that it is taking place and when there is evidence that it does take place, the denial still happens, but they say racial profiling is a good thing in some circumstances. Further questions to be addressed will be:

- Is racial profiling a North American or Western phenomenon? Why?
- Who are the current victims of this practice?
- Who is next on the racial profiling list?
- What can we do about it?

Contact Information

Asia Pacific Lessons Conference
c/o International House
1783 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2
Tel: 604-822-4904
Fax: 604-822-5099
Email: bcalpha@shaw.ca