Seoul, July 7 (IANS) The UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) on Monday rejected a South Korean proposal calling for a review of Japan’s implementation of its pledged measures regarding industrial sites linked to wartime forced labour.
The decision came after the proposal was put to an unprecedented vote during the WHC session in Paris, as the committee was not able to reach a consensus on whether to include the UNESCO-listed Japanese industrial revolution sites as an agenda item for this year’s meeting, which runs through next Wednesday.
Of the votes cast by 21 WHC member states, including South Korea and Japan, seven were in favor of Japan, while South Korea received three votes. Eight countries abstained, and three other ballots were deemed invalid.
A simple majority of six was required for the motion to pass in Japan’s favour. The vote was conducted by secret ballot.
Seoul had made the proposal as an effort to continue the evaluation on the status of Japan’s implementation of the measures it promised to take to reflect the “full history” of the site, including Hashima Island, where many Koreans were forced into hard labour during World War II. Korea was under Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule, reported Yonhap News agency.
The result casts doubt on whether the industrial sites will continue to be subject to any future evaluations at the UNESCO level, as a reassessment now appears unlikely to be considered by the WHC, at least for now.
It also marks a diplomatic setback in Seoul’s ongoing efforts to urge Tokyo to squarely face the wartime atrocities and present it to the international community in a manner that properly honors the forced labour victims.
South Korea expressed regret over the outcome.
“We express regret that the number of votes needed for the adoption was not secured,” the foreign ministry said in a statement released to the media.
It stressed that its effort to have the committee review Japan’s implementation of the WHC decisions on the industrial sites was a “legitimate right and a matter of principle.”
“Many of the member states expressed their understanding and support for this principle,” the ministry said.
The ministry said it will use the remainder of the WHC session to address Japan’s failure to carry out its promises as recommended by the committee and continue to urge Japan, bilaterally and on multilateral stages, to faithfully follow through on its promises.
In 2015, Japan promised to take measures to remember the wartime forced labour victims after 23 of its Meiji-era industrial revolution sites were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Since then, Japan has established a museum in Tokyo featuring exhibits on related history, but the move has drawn criticism from Seoul for failing to present the full historical context as promised.
Japan has submitted follow-up progress reports to UNESCO outlining its implementation efforts. However, each has prompted the committee to urge Tokyo to do more to present the whole history, echoing South Korea’s position that Japan’s actions fall short of its original commitment.
The WHC had reviewed the Japanese industrial sites every two to three years since their UNESCO designation. However, the issue was not included on this year’s agenda, as Japan’s most recent report, submitted in 2024, was an “update” to a previous implementation report, not a formal version that would automatically trigger a review.
South Korea’s efforts to raise the issue were also limited at the time, as it was not a WHC member state.
–IANS
int/bpd/
