On the morning of December 10, President Ma Ying-jeou attended the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy's 2014 Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award ceremony, where he personally presented the award to the Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD) of Sri Lanka. He also spoke on the human rights achievements of the ROC government.
In remarks, President Ma commented that 66 years ago the United Nations passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and December 10 has been observed each year since then as International Human Rights Day. He further stated that the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) issues its Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award each year on this day, showing that the universal values of democracy and human rights should be respected regardless of ethnic, religious, or cultural background. Even more important, he said, is that the ROC government upholds the tenets of democracy and human rights, and has taken concrete action to develop and protect the rights of individuals and groups.
President Ma noted that this year's winner of the Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award—Sri Lanka's CHRD—was founded in 1997 and has worked for many years to document and publicize human rights violations by the Sri Lankan government. This work has brought international attention to the mistreatment of political prisoners and other undemocratic practices in that nation. By doing so, the CHRD has served as an important defender of human rights in Sri Lanka. In addition, the CHRD provides legal services to minority groups and the underprivileged for handling cases involving kidnappings by soldiers, sex crimes, and post-war land appropriations, he remarked. At the same time, the organization continues to seek fairness and justice for the victims and families of those who were persecuted, killed, or went missing in the over 20-year civil war in Sri Lanka, the president stated. Its staff members, he said, face threats to their safety, and funding is a problem for the organization. While the actions of the Centre have long been monitored by the government, those working there have bravely carried forward with their work, the president remarked.
President Ma further stated that the international community has not ignored the precarious situation facing the CHRD, and has actively provided assistance. He stated that the ROC, as the first democratic republic in Asia, in addition to upholding democracy and human rights at home, must also help other nations defend the universal value of human rights and promote the spread of true democracy.
Commenting on the ROC government's human rights work, President Ma said that in the Freedom in the World 2014 report released this past January by the US-based Freedom House, Taiwan received a score of "1" (the highest possible score) in the category of political rights, and a score of "2" in the civil liberties category. And, for the 16th consecutive year, Taiwan's overall rating as "free" was the same as that of highly democratic Western Europe, the United States, and Japan, he remarked. In addition, Freedom House in May of this year released its Freedom of the Press 2014 report, which ranked Taiwan 48th out of the 197 nations or areas included in the report. We are one of 63 countries listed as "free," and also have the highest ranking among the four Asian tigers, the president said.
President Ma stated that even though the ROC has been unable to sign or become party to United Nations conventions since losing its UN seat in 1971, it has never wavered in its determination to remain in step with the international community in area of human rights. The president noted, for instance, that he signed the instruments of ratification for the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 2009, and the documents were forwarded to the UN Secretariat for safekeeping. Even though the UN Secretariat refused to accept the documents, the legislature passed an enforcement act to incorporate these two covenants into domestic law, he said. In addition, he said that in 2011 the ROC passed the Enforcement Act for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and that earlier this year on November 20, which is Universal Children's Day, Taiwan formally promulgated the Enforcement Act for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This, he commented, shows that the ROC is gradually incorporating these international human rights covenants into domestic laws, which demonstrates its determination to be in step with the world community, and also enables the international community to understand that the ROC, while not a member of the UN, is working like any other nation to protect human rights.
President Ma further stated that the ROC government on December 10, 2010 established the Presidential Office Human Rights Consultative Committee, and in 2012 that committee issued the ROC's first national human rights report. The government then invited 10 human rights experts from around the world to come to Taiwan to review the report, and also invited domestic human rights groups to participate in the process. These experts provided criticism and suggestions for improvements, and our efforts were applauded by them, he said. At the same time, the president remarked, necessary reform measures are being carried out in response to the 81 recommendations put forward, which will make human rights protections in Taiwan more comprehensive and more reflective of public opinion.
Lastly, the president reiterated his admiration for the achievements of the CHRD over the years. He also applauded the efforts of the TFD in cooperating with international organizations to protect human rights, and called on the foundation to further act upon the "Human Rights 365" concept advocated by the UN in protecting human rights and promoting democracy.
Among those at the event were the CHRD's Executive Director Kanagasabai Shanmugaratnam Ratnavale, Legislative Yuan President and TFD Chairman Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), and Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添).