They could not go to their grave without having an opportunity to tell their stories and demand an apology. In its Summary of Findings, the panel found that the Emperor committed crimes against humanity, consisting of rape and sexual slavery. Japan claims that it has been relieved of all forms of compensation under the terms of the 1951 San Francisco Treaty which officially ended the war. Convention Prohibition the trafficking of Women and Children and the 1930 Covention Concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour. However, as studies and past experiences have shown, wars and civil strive have brought widespread violence against women.
Gender discrimination continues to affect the lives of women all over the world.
It is also the racism and sexism that allows war crimes against women go unpunished. Moreover, this popular tribunal in Tokyo made the connection between impunity and the lack of state accountability. Civil society s pivotal role was confirmed as it took the lead to bring this issue to the public and seek justice when governments and other institutions ignored the calls of these. Without the determination and resilience of the survivors and the commitment of the women activists we would be entering this new century blindfolded. Without civil society s continued efforts for the creation of an International Criminal Court we could not hope for an end to impunity for all crimes against humanity including crimes against women.