President Ma Ying-jeou and Vice President Wu Den-yih on the afternoon of February 24 were accompanied by Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-Fu (曾勇夫) in attending a ceremony to welcome a group of international experts who were in Taiwan to review the ROC's first human rights report. In addition to stating that this review of Taiwan's human rights report marks a milestone in the development of human rights in the ROC, the president also urged government agencies to continue to improve mechanisms for human rights protection, thereby enabling the ROC to become a nation that truly protects human rights.
In remarks, the president stated that the United Nations (UN) passed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1966. As a charter member of the UN, the ROC signed the two human rights covenants back in 1967. However, as the ROC subsequently lost its representation in the UN, it was unable to continue with work to ratify the two covenants.
President Ma stated that in a bid to protect human rights, he formally announced on Human Rights Day on December 10, 2008 that the ROC would work as quickly as possible to ratify the two covenants, and he realized that pledge on May 14 of the following year. The president acknowledged that the UN refused to accept the instruments of ratification presented by the ROC since the nation has lost its representation in the body, but said that the government decided to turn instead to the passage of an enforcement act that incorporates the covenants into domestic law and makes them binding upon all government agencies and the courts. As a result, he noted, it really isn't important to the ROC whether the instruments of ratification are deposited with the UN, as this is not a necessary condition for the content of the documents to become legally binding here. What is important, the president remarked, is that the ROC has demonstrated a sincere intent to implement the two covenants in Taiwan.
President Ma emphasized that circumstances make it impossible for the ROC's first official human rights report to be reviewed under the UN system. However, the government has still invited a group of scholars and experts to come to Taiwan and review the report in accordance with procedures that are used in the UN, which shows that the ROC regards freedom, democracy, human rights, and rule of law as important objectives of the nation and is determined to put them into practice, the president said.
The president stated that the protection of human rights has become an international trend, yet it is governments that are most prone to infringing on human rights, since history shows that governments have abused their authority and thus violated human rights. The ROC, he mentioned, has been no exception. With this in mind, it is crucial that the government has the ability to reflect on its actions and to demand of itself that it conform to international human rights standards, the president stated.
President Ma introduced that while the ROC implemented a constitution in 1947, the nation then fell under martial law for 38 years due to communist rebellion. Consequently, the ROC is still considered a young democracy, which is why it has invited a group of international human rights experts to Taiwan to review the report. He said he hopes the suggestions, reminders, and inspiration that are provided by the experts will help to promote the nation's progress in this regard.
The president stated that given his academic background in international law, he is extremely pleased to see that the ROC has progressed to this stage. He said that establishing freedom, democracy, human rights, and rule of law is what our forefathers sought at the time of our nation's founding, and is also an important part of what inspired him to study law. That the human rights report is now being reviewed shows that his personal dream is starting to become realized, the president remarked.
Vice President Wu, who serves as the Convener of the Presidential Office Human Rights Consultative Committee, stated that the review of the ROC's first national human rights report will take place from February 25 to 27. Ten international human rights experts will engage in a constructive dialogue with representatives from government agencies, he noted, adding that they will also meet with representatives of non-governmental organizations to gather the views of social groups. On March 1, the group will release its concluding observations and provide suggestions based on the current state of human rights here, he said. The vice president remarked that the Ministry of Justice will establish a mechanism to improve, monitor, and examine the state of human rights protections here. In this process, the ministry will bear in mind the shortcomings and suggestions provided in the concluding observations to ensure that the ROC is in compliance with the two covenants, he commented.
The group of international human rights experts included the following 10 persons: Nisuke Ando (director, Human Rights Research Institute at Kyoto University), Jerome A. Cohen (co-director, US-Asia Law Institute at the New York University School of Law), Mary Shanthi Dairiam (member, UN Development Program's Gender Equality Task Force), Asma Jilani Jahangir (president, Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan), Manfred Nowak (professor of international law and human rights at the University of Vienna), Philip G. Alston (professor of law at New York University and co-chair of the NYU Center for Human Rights and Global Justice), Theodoor Cornelis van Boven (professor emeritus of international law at Maastricht University of The Netherlands), Virginia Bonoan-Dandan (United Nations independent expert on human rights and international solidarity), Eibe Riedel (former member, UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), and Heisoo Shin (member, UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights). During their stay in Taiwan, the members of the group will exchange opinions with government agencies and private organizations to help improve human rights here and bring Taiwan's protection of human rights in step with that of advanced nations.