Tottori rights law a first but irks critics

Kyodo

TOTTORI – The Tottori Prefectural Assembly approved an ordinance Wednesday that the local government claims will protect people from racial discrimination and other human rights violations but critics say will allow authorities to employ rules arbitrarily to protect people in power.

It is the first time a local government has introduced such an ordinance. It may prime the pump for the human rights bill the central government tried to push through the Diet earlier this year but put on hold amid criticism over its potential to restrict media activities, among other flaws.

“Having a regional human rights ordinance will enable us to make meticulous judgments” on human rights issues, Tottori Gov. Yoshihiro Katayama has said in explaining the ordinance.

But the Tottori Bar Association expressed concern over what it calls the arbitrary nature of the ordinance, noting it is left up to authorities to decide whether to disclose the names of rights abusers.

The ordinance will take effect June 1, 2006, and remain in effect through March 2010.

It lists eight types of rights violations, including racial discrimination, physical abuse, sexual harassment and slander.

The prefecture will establish a five-member committee to deal with complaints about rights violations. When the panel receives a complaint, it will investigate and may advise alleged violators to correct the situation.

It will disclose the names of alleged violators if they refuse to comply with its orders for no justifiable reason. Violators who refuse to comply will face fines of up to 50,000 yen.

But if the offending party is an administrative organization, it can refuse to cooperate if the head of the body decides that disclosure would hamper crime prevention or an investigation.

Katayama submitted the ordinance last December, but it was carried over to the current assembly session because of contentious points.

Some critics said the ordinance “excludes human rights violations by administrative organizations.”

“It is extremely likely that the ordinance will lead to human rights violations by administrative organizations. It risks violating the Constitution,” the prefectural bar association said in a statement.

Scholars and critics have also questioned the independence of the five-member panel and expressed concern about the ordinance’s potential impact on freedom of expression.