Un Committee Urges Japan To Improve Care At Immigration Detention Facilities
The United Nations Human Rights Committee has called on Japan to improve the way that detainees are treated at immigration detention facilities.
The UN committee has been assessing the state of human rights in countries in accordance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It issued its findings on Japan on Thursday.
The report says the committee is concerned about "alarming reports of suffering due to poor health conditions" at immigration detention facilities, where three detainees died between 2017 and 2021.
It urges the Japanese government to take steps to improve conditions at the facilities and ensure that detainees have access to adequate medical care.
The recommendation comes after the bereaved family members of a Sri Lankan woman filed a compensation lawsuit against the government. The woman died at a detention facility in Nagoya City last year, after she complained that she felt ill. Her relatives say she did not receive adequate medical care at the facility.
The UN committee also urged Japan to establish an independent national human rights institution in accordance with international standards.
The committee is urging the Japanese government to take all appropriate steps to prevent foreigners from being treated unfairly.