DOCUMENT: AINU.TXT A STATEMENT OF OPINION REGARDING THE PARTIAL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ REVISION OF I.L.O. CONVENTION NO. 107 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By The Ainu Association of Hokkaido THE POSITION OF THE AINU PEOPLE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Japanese Government ratified in 1979 the International Covenants on Human Rights (except for the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) to which it had not committed itself for a long time, but has officially stated to the international community that no ethnic minorities of the kind mentioned in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights exist in Japan (see the attached material). On the other hand, while some advanced industrial nations, in establishing themselves as modern states have dealt rather reasonably with ethnic problems as an important question which cannot be neglected, in Japan it is a fact that both the Government itself and the people have had a vague "consciousness" that there are no ethnic problems within Japan. This might possibly be because the Ainu, the indigenous people, did not show strong enough resistance in the modernization process after the Meiji Restoration (in 1868). As a matter of fact, however, we, the indigenous and ethnic minority people, called the Ainu, (several tens of thousands of us) exist. Moreover, this people's own language, culture, life- customs, and so on are still retained. This Association has petitioned and demanded both the Hokkaido prefectural and the national governments to repeal the Hokkaido Former Aborigines Protection Act enacted in 1899 (see the attached material) and pass the "New Act" which will be firmly established in behalf of the Ainu people (see the attached material), and furthermore has been carrying on an extensive campaign in order to obtain the understanding of the Japanese people, based on the fundamental notion that it is necessary to establish the institutions which will be predicated on the recovery of the rights of the Ainu as a people, and which will enable such drastic and comprehensive measures as the elimination of racial discrimination, the promotion of ethnic education, the measures for economic self-sustenance, etc. APPEALS TO THE UNITED NATIONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Because it was necessary to change the attitude that the Japanese Government had taken toward its ethnic policy, this organization requested the U.N. Centre for Human Rights for an investigation in our letter of 25 November, 1986. We also sent three representatives from this Association to participate for the first time in the U.N. Working Group on Indigenous Populations (a working group under the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities) which was held in Geneva, Switzerland from 3 to 5 August, 1987, and we made a statement concerning the problems of the Ainu people in Japan, seeking understanding. THE MOVEMENT TOWARD REVISION OF I.L.O. CONVENTION NO. 107 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This Association learned for the first time about the movement concerning the revision of ILO Convention No. 107 through its presentation at the above U.N. Working Group on Indigenous Populations. Returning home even without a full understanding of its contents, our organization immediately began studying about how to cope with it. But we have not reached any specific conclusions at this stage, and, therefore, would like to confine ourselves to some basic ideas concerning the views requested by the Deputy Vice-Minister about the questions in the Report. 1. OPINION ON THE DEFINITION OF THE OBJECT We interpret the indigenous populations (translated officially as GENJUMIN) in this Convention as the aboriginal populations (translated as DOCHAKUMIN). Because this group of people who, living in Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and the Kuriles as the AINU MOSHIRI (the earth where the Ainu live), has possessed its own language, culture and life-customs and has established its own history, is the Ainu people and at the same time is also the aboriginal people, and because we still exist today, we believe that we belong as an object of this Convention. Note: The existing Hokkaido Former Aborigines Protection Act, the Kuriles-Sakhalin Exchange Treaty, etc. are the very proofs of the above point. 2. OPINION ON ASSIMILATION We, as the Ainu people, also oppose any international convention or domestic law which holds an assimilationist program as its basic orientation, and believe that the rights to control our own economic, social, cultural and other aspects of development as much as possible, to stand equal based on our own institutions, and to mutually cooperate with the national society should be recognized. 3. OPINION ON THE REVISION As stated in item 2 above, this existing Convention holds integrationism as its basic principle and aims at the protection of the populations concerned, which is undoubtedly an archaic idea, and the application of this principle is destructive. We, therefore, believe that the Convention should be revised in favor of the respect for identity being its fundamental idea. This applies to the Ainu people in Japan, too. For, as stated previously, the group that, originally living in Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and the Kuriles as the AINU MOSHIRI (the earth where the Ainu live), possesses its own language and culture, has engaged in a common economic life, and has established its own history, is the Ainu people. We retained our independence as a people while fighting the unjust aggression and oppression brought on by the Tokugawa shogunate government and the Matsumae Clan. However, the Japanese Government, which through the Meiji Restoration made the first step toward a modern unified state, annexed the AINU MOSHIRI to the Japanese territory without any negotiations with the Ainu people, who were the indigenous people there. By concluding the Kuriles-Sakhalin Exchange Treaty with Imperial Russia, they also forced the Ainu to give up our rightful land where we had existed in peace. On the other hand, with the increase of Japanese immigrants into Hokkaido, terrible reckless development began, which threatened the very existence of the Ainu people. Furthermore, the enactment of the Hokkaido Former Aborigines Protection Act in 1899, with its purpose being assimilation, tied the Ainu down to the land granted by the government, thereby reducing the freedom of residence and the freedom to choose an occupation other than agriculture. And in the field of education, the law trampled down the dignity of our people's own language. Today, it is said that the Ainu living in Hokkaido are several tens of thousands, and those outside the prefecture are several thousand. Many of them do not have the security of equal opportunity in finding a job because of unjust racial prejudice and discrimination. They form a potential group of unemployed, and their life is always unstable. The present situation is that discrimination increases poverty, which in turn causes still further discrimination, resulting in the widening gaps in social and economic status. This Association, therefore, has stood up to demand the enactment of the "New Act" which regards the respect for the Ainu people's identity as its fundamental principle. 4. OPINION ON RATIFICATION The labour-related laws and regulations in Japan have made great strides since the end of WWII. If international labour conventions and recommendations form the foundation of the drafting of such legislation, we believe that the revised Convention ought to be ratified and that the corresponding domestic laws be coordinated accordingly. Note: What this Association is demanding as the domestic law is the "New Act". 5. A SUPPLEMENTARY OPINION Although this time we have been invited to submit our opinion in accordance with the suggestion of Report VI (1) for the 75th Session of the ILO Conference, we would like to state as our supplementary opinion that in regard to consultations on this matter, the Government should not restrict them to this time alone but should always hold them on a continuing basis whenever necessity requires it. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: -= THE FOURTH WORLD DOCUMENTATION PROJECT =- :: :: A service provided by :: :: The Center For World Indigenous Studies :: :: www.cwis.org :: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Originating at the Center for World Indigenous Studies, Olympia, Washington USA www.cwis.org © 1999 Center for World Indigenous Studies (All Rights Reserved. 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