Our friend Catherine Park is a sponsor of the World Conference on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery (www.jmss.info) to be held at UCLA from October 4-7 — the first global gathering of influential scholars, non-governmental organizations, human rights activists, attorneys, artists, and most importantly, survivors, to honor the bravery and struggle of the aging victims of Japan’s World War II Military Sexual Slavery (euphemistically known as the “Comfort Women”).
Building on the momentum of House Resolution 121 demanding the Japanese government to apologize for its war crimes committed against “comfort women,” this conference is intended to coalesce around strategies for obtaining the apology and reparations due to the survivors and their families and to raise awareness of present-day violence against women and sexual trafficking around the globe.
The World Conference opens with a global NGO conference on October 4; an academic conference on October 5, featuring keynote speaker Dai Sil Kim-Gibsonand a panel discussion about the intersections among race, gender and militarism; a legal symposium on October 6 featuring a keynote speech by Patricia Viseur-Sellers (ICTY and ICTR) and a group strategy session on obtaining reparations for the survivors.
A reception will be held on the evening of October 6, 2007, featuring as keynote speaker U.S. Rep. Michael Honda, sponsor of H.R. 121. A peace vigil will be held in downtown Los Angeles on October 7.
This is a historic opportunity to heal the past for the aging victims of these cruel atrocities.
Contact Catherine Park at catepark@gmail.com with any questions regarding the conference or the dinner.
Keith Kamisugi 
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