Japan ruling party calls for joining genocide convention with eye on China

The proposals, which the party plans to submit this month include ratifying a United Nations convention on genocide and introducing legislation to enable sanctions

Tokyo: Ahead of the Group of Seven (G7) summit next month, lawmakers from Japan’s ruling party has drafted proposals for the government, to advance the issue of human rights diplomacy amid growing scrutiny of abuses in China’s Xinjiang province.

The proposals, which the party plans to submit this month include ratifying a United Nations convention on genocide and introducing legislation to enable sanctions, Nikkei Asia reported.

Moreover, the recommendations from the Liberal Democratic Party also ask the Yoshihide Suga government to back the idea for corporate due diligence on human rights matters.

According to the Japanese newspaper, the proposal presents options including revising existing legislation to provide for sanctions in response to human rights abuses, or passing a new law similar to the US Magnitsky Act.

This development comes as growing concerns on human rights violations in Xinjiang, and apprehension over Japan’s relatively slow response on the rights issue.

Earlier this month, the Japan Forward had reported that Japanese companies are planning to suspend business relations with partners that are found to be forcing Uyghur Muslims to work.

A total of 14 Japanese companies are among the 80 of the world’s leading firms that have done business with Chinese factories involved in the forced labour of Uyghurs, as per a report published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASIP).

Last month, leading Japanese ketchup producer Kagome stopped importing raw materials from Xinjiang province, over the issue of rights abuses against Uyghur.

China has been rebuked globally for cracking down on Uyghur Muslims. However, Beijing continues to deny all accusations and evidence. Several countries including the US and the UK have described the situation in Xinjiang as genocide, after reports of forced sterilisations and forced labour.

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