[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 759 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 759

     Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the 
      Government of Japan should formally acknowledge and accept 
responsibility for its sexual enslavement of young women, known to the 
world as ``comfort women'', during its colonial occupation of Asia and 
 the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of World War 
                      II, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 4, 2006

   Mr. Evans (for himself and Mr. Smith of New Jersey) submitted the 
     following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the 
      Government of Japan should formally acknowledge and accept 
responsibility for its sexual enslavement of young women, known to the 
world as ``comfort women'', during its colonial occupation of Asia and 
 the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of World War 
                      II, and for other purposes.

Whereas the Government of Japan, during its colonial occupation of Asia and the 
        Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of World War II, 
        organized the subjugation and kidnapping, for the sole purpose of sexual 
        servitude, of young women, who became known to the world as ``comfort 
        women'';
Whereas the ``comfort women'' tragedy was one of the largest cases of human 
        trafficking in the 20th century;
Whereas the enslavement of comfort women was officially commissioned and 
        orchestrated by the Government of Japan to include gang rape, forced 
        abortions, sexual violence, human trafficking, and numerous other crimes 
        against humanity;
Whereas the comfort women included girls as young as 13 years of age and women 
        separated from their own children;
Whereas the comfort women were either abducted from their homes or lured into 
        sexual servitude under false pretenses;
Whereas many comfort women were eventually killed or driven to commit suicide 
        when the hostilities ceased;
Whereas the use of ``comfort women'' is considered a current as well as past 
        human rights issue;
Whereas the shame connected to their ordeal caused many comfort women to conceal 
        it and caused many others to come forward about their experiences only 
        in recent years;
Whereas historians conclude that as many as 200,000 women were enslaved, but 
        very few of them survive today;
Whereas the Government of Japan did not fully disclose these war crimes during 
        negotiations for reparations with its former enemies and occupied 
        countries;
Whereas some textbooks used in Japanese schools minimize the ``comfort women'' 
        tragedy and other atrocities, and distort the Japanese role in war 
        crimes during World War II; and
Whereas Japanese Government officials, both elected and career, as recently as 
        June 2005, praised the removal of the term ``comfort women'' from 
        Japanese textbooks: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the Government of Japan--
            (1) should formally acknowledge and accept responsibility 
        for its sexual enslavement of young women, known to the world 
        as ``comfort women'', during its colonial occupation of Asia 
        and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of 
        World War II;
            (2) should educate current and future generations about 
        this horrible crime against humanity;
            (3) should publicly, strongly, and repeatedly refute any 
        claims that the subjugation and enslavement of comfort women 
        never occurred; and
            (4) should follow the recommendations of the United Nations 
        and Amnesty International with respect to the ``comfort 
        women''.
                                 <all>