IPAC Symposium Urges United Response
Tokyo, 17th February 2023 – Following keynote addresses by former Prime Ministers Scott Morrison (Australia), Liz Truss (United Kingdom) and Guy Verhofstadt (Belgium) [speeches attached below], a large cross-party delegation of Japanese Diet Members, together with IPAC representatives from the EU, Canada, the UK, and Taiwan, discussed the multiple threats that are posed by the People’s Republic of China.
With the Hiroshima G7 Summit being just months away, the IPAC Tokyo Symposium encouraged a coordinated democratic response to Beijing’s distortion of the international rules-based order. At the closing of the symposium, participating Japanese legislators unanimously adopted a roadmap which outlines the four key areas of concern. This roadmap will be used to guide their actions in the lead up to the G7 meetings in Hiroshima and beyond.
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IPAC TOKYO SYMPOSIUM 2023
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly. Members of IPAC, along with the international community, must come together as one to raise our voices and take action. As the chair of the G7, Japan in particular, must shift towards a more proactive human rights agenda. With this being the case, we recommend the following as concrete policies to achieve these goals.
- Transnational Repression
Suppression of democracy and violations of human rights have become normalised in Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, Myanmar, and elsewhere around the world. We will not forget nor accept this as the new normal. We will take measures to stop and deter these violations and provide relief to the victims of this repression. We will strengthen the investigations into the Chinese overseas police stations, take risk mitigation measures, support those who are targeted, and increase multilateral coordination to counter transnational repression.
- Magnitsky Targeted Human Rights Sanctions Mechanism
We will increase Magnitsky Act coordination to avoid disunity in its implementation. In particular, G7 countries should deepen intelligence-sharing on human rights violations and coordinate in the sanctioning of human rights perpetrators. We will also foster coordination between governments and civil society. As the G7 Chair, Japan should be leading these developments and as such, should promptly enact the Japanese version of the Magnitsky Act. Until Japan adopts a Magnitsky style legislation programme, Japan will not be able to effectively take part in international Magnitsky cooperation. At the same time, Japan should improve its intelligence capability to better understand the current situation of human rights violations in other countries.
- Human Rights and Business
Each country will develop capacity-building and legislation on “human rights and business”, including strengthening human rights due diligence, removing products made through human rights violations from their markets, and regulating the export of products and technologies that could be used to violate human rights, to prevent governments, businesses, and consumers from unintentionally and indirectly contributing to human rights violations. Japan should go beyond the guidelines for human rights due diligence and work towards a law with effective implementation. Japan should also initiate discussions on market access for products made by human rights violations and export controls on human rights grounds.
- Free and Open Indo-Pacific
Democratic nations must cooperate comprehensively on security, economic, and value aspects to realise a free and open Indo-Pacific. Countries affirm their refusal of unilateral changes to the status quo by force and call to advance security cooperation. We aim to reduce supply chain and market dependence on countries that repeatedly use economic coercion and develop deeper economic and security cooperation which will promote economic relations among like-minded countries. We will promote capacity building, the sharing of best practices for countermeasures, and multilateral intelligence sharing, all of which are necessary to better understand the problem and to counter threats to shared values of freedom and democracy.
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IPAC人権外交フォーラム in 東京
今年は世界人権宣言が国連総会で採択された75周年に当たる。ここで謳われている普遍的人権への侵害行為に対して「沈黙」することは「黙認」と同等であり、IPAC加盟国を含む国際社会は一丸となって行動を起こす必要がある。特に、このような節目の年にG7議長国となった日本は、今こそより能動的な人権外交に舵を切るべきだ。これらの目標を達成するための具体的な政策として、以下を提言する。
【国際的な人権弾圧】
・新疆ウイグル・チベット・香港・ミャンマー等で常態化している民主主義の弾圧や人権侵害に対して、無感覚になったり、忘れたりせずに声を挙げ続け、当該行動の停止や抑止に向けた施策や、被害者への救済措置を取り続ける。
・各国で展開されている中国警察の海外拠点に関する実態解明調査の強化、リスク緩和措置の実施、対象とされた人々への支援体制の整備等を行い、多国間での対応連携を強める。
【マグニツキー法】
・各国でバラバラに運用されているマグニツキー法制裁の連携を強化させる。特に、G7諸国は人権外交の足並みを揃えるために、人権侵害に関する情報共有を深め、共通の人権侵害者を対象とした制裁連携を図る。また、各国は政府と市民社会の間での協調関係を育む。
・この動きをリードすべきG7議長国である日本は、この国際連携の輪に入るそもそもの前提条件である日本版マグニツキー法を早期に制定させる。同時に、他国における人権侵害状況に関する現状把握能力を高めるために、インテリジェンス能力を向上させる。
【人権とビジネス】
・各国は政府・企業・消費者が、意図せず間接的に人権侵害に加担してしまわないように、人権DDの強化、人権侵害製品の市場からの排除、人権侵害に用いりうる製品・技術の輸出規制等の「人権とビジネス」に関する能力構築・法整備を進展させる。
・日本は人権DDのガイドライン策定に留まらず、実効性を伴う法制化に取り組む。また、人権侵害製品の市場アクセスや人権を理由とした輸出規制に関する議論を開始する。
【自由で開かれたインド太平洋の実現】
・各国は自由で開かれたインド太平洋を実現するために、安全保障・経済・価値観の側面において包括的な協力を行う。
・各国は武力による現状変更を拒否することを確認し、安全保障協力を進展させる。
・各国は経済的な威圧を繰り返し用いている国に対するサプライチェーン・市場依存を減らし、同志国間での経済関係を活発化させる経済安全保障協力を進展させる。
・各国は影響力工作や偽情報による自由や民主主義といった価値観への脅威に対し、状況把握に必要な能力構築、対抗策のベストプラクティス共有、多国間の情報共有等を促進させる。
Speech by Guy Verhofstadt MEP
Speech by Hon Scott Morrison MP
Speech by Rt Hon. Liz Truss MP
