Greetings from the President
OBATA Kaoru,
13th President of the International Human Rights Law Association in Japan
On behalf of the International Human Rights Law Association, Japan, let me welcome you to our website. I am OBATA Kaoru, serving as the President of the Association for three years starting in November 2024. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my warmest regards to you.
The Association was founded in December 1988, the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Association’s Constitution states that its purpose is “to study international and domestic issues concerning human rights in cooperation with related academic disciplines”. In the 36 years since then, I believe that the Association and its members are now more legitimately expected to play their role than ever before.
This is partly because the global crisis of human society is having a profound impact on the lives and livelihoods of human beings at the grassroots level. Armed conflicts with open threats to use nuclear weapons are growing in scope and severity, accompanied by a logic of global division in which if you are not an “friend” you are considered an “enemy.” Furthermore, the "enemy" is labeled as "human animals" and even the minimum security of their lives is violently taken away from them day by day. On the other hand, it is finally coming to light that Japanese society, whose potential for postwar reconstruction and peer pressure were two sides of the same coin, has been accompanied by many and serious “invisible” human rights violations against marginalized people. The system of indefinite detention of foreigners without trial and the Eugenic Protection Act may be recalled here. The right to be recognized everywhere as a human person and the right to physical and mental integrity must never be denied, even if one is not regarded as a bearer of, and a contributor to, a given nation-state and a national economy. The idea of “human rights,” which has been internationally recognized since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is finally beginning to be taken for granted in Japanese society.
Thus, there is no doubt that “considering human rights in the context of international relations” (the Founding Statement) is an unavoidable path for law and other related disciplines today. It is however an extremely difficult path to balance the demands for a “more systematic” and “more interdisciplinary” approach (ibid.). There is not much that can be done with the limited resources currently available to the Association, making it extremely difficult to continue to meet the expectations of society in general and of all our members. Accordingly, for the time being, the activities of the Association will have to be narrowed down to a limited number of priorities. Here I would like to present three points as guidelines that we should keep in mind over the next three years.
First, we should always be aware of the "international instance," so to speak, when dealing with even the smallest human rights issues. Second, we should pursue a non-judgmental approach, which means that we should not only study judicial decisions, but also discussions for the promotion of human rights. Third, in terms of international exchange, we would like to focus on Asia, at least for the time being.
The Board of Directors will further discuss how these guidelines can be made concrete with certain modifications, while respecting the initiative of the Committees.
Finally, I would like to invite those who are interested in the activities of this Association and who agree with its objectives, that is, those who are willing to study human rights issues in an international context and thereby contribute to the promotion of human rights, to consider joining the Association.