Japanese NGOs call on Japanese govt. & co. to act responsibly one year after Russian invasion of Ukraine
"【声明公開・記者会見報告】２月２４日(金)「ロシアによるウクライナ軍事侵略開始から１年、改めて軍事侵略に強く抗議し、ロシアに対して国際法の遵守、及び平和と人権被害の回復を求めると共に、国際社会・日本政府・企業に対しても責任ある行動を求める」 " 24 Feb 2023
[ Japanese-to-English translation: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre ]
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The international human rights NGO Human Rights Now held a press conference today, 24 February 2023, entitled "One year after the start of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, we once again strongly protest against the invasion and call on Russia to comply with international law and restore peace and human rights damage, as well as on the international community, the Japanese government and corporations to take responsible actions" together with the non-profit organisation KRAIANY, the Association of friendship Japan-Ukraine.
Human Rights Now, [...] pointed out that many [Japanese] companies do not disclose their implementation of 'heightened Human Rights Due Diligence', especially in terms of business and human rights, and that we, Japanese citizens, through our companies, have been complicit in Russia's war of aggression. [Human Rights Now] again called on companies to implement 'heightened Human Rights Due Diligence'. In addition, [Human Rights Now] argued that non-legally binding guidelines have limitations and that it is essential to have legislation making prompt human rights due diligence mandatory.
Meanwhile, the KRAIANY[...] argued that we should not only withdraw companies from the Russian market and stop doing business, but also pay attention to downstream supply chains and show a strong stance towards Russia in order to appeal to Russian citizens and not to be complicit in the war through taxation and other means. In addition, Kovalova Natalia introduced a project to deliver used Japanese ambulances to Ukraine, pointing out that the background to the project was Russian attacks on vehicles, particularly ambulances, and also mentioned the current flow of used Japanese vehicles to Russia, reiterating the need to exert economic pressure.
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