President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of June 14 with a delegation led by Executive Director Sylvie Brigot of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Munition Coalition (ICBL-CMC). In addition to praising the contributions and accomplishments of the organization in its global campaign against the use of landmines, the president also expressed hope that this trip to Taiwan by the delegation will help the international community better understand Taiwan's anti-landmine efforts and its successes in this regard, as this will highlight the spirit of Taiwan as a peace-loving nation that emphasizes humanitarian values.
In remarks, the president first stated that the ICBL, since its founding in 1992, has focused on the control and elimination of anti-personnel landmines. The organization, he said, has spared no effort in advocating its stance throughout the world, and was instrumental in the passage of the Mine Ban Treaty in 1997 in Ottawa, Canada. In the same year, he noted, the ICBL-CMC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its outstanding contributions in this regard.
President Ma commented that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Eden Social Welfare Foundation, which provides care and services to physically and mentally disabled individuals in Taiwan. Eden has been quite active on the international front for many years, he added, remarking that it has invited many anti-landmine scholars and experts to Taiwan to attend a series of "Love• Courage•Hope" activities, highlighting Taiwan's efforts to act in concert with the international community to clear landmines and establish a "landmine-free" homeland. The president said he strongly supports this initiative.
President Ma stated that as the ROC lost its representation in the United Nations in 1971, it was unable to be a signatory to the Mine Ban Treaty, but it has consistently embraced humanitarian values, and consequently in 1997 when a move was made to allow any party to sign the treaty, the government immediately coordinated with Eden to become a party to the treaty with observer status, he said. In addition, the president stated, Taiwan enacted the Anti-Personnel Landmines Control Act, which formally took effect on June 14, 2006. The act requires Taiwan to clear all publicly declared minefields through the country within seven years after the declaration. This seven-year period was shorter than the 10 years set forth in the Mine Ban Treaty, he pointed out, remarking that shortening this period by three years highlighted Taiwan's determined stance against the use of landmines.
President Ma furthermore stated that the nation's Ministry of National Defense (MND) in 1997 complied with the law by disclosing 308 areas on Taiwan's offshore islands where mines had been laid. The military created the Army Demining Division to clear landmines, clearing some mines on its own while also outsourcing the work to others, he said. To date, the president noted, 3.5 million square meters (3.5 square kilometers) have been cleared. Some 110,000 abandoned landmines and unexploded bombs have been disposed of, he commented, and the MND most recently on June 10 formally declared all of Taiwan's mine fields have been entirely cleared of the devices. President Ma said that this highlights the government's determination to be an active participant in the international community and to promote universal values.
The president explained that the military had laid landmines in coastal areas of the offshore islands of Kinmen and Matsu over the past 60 years. In the past, Kinmen was a killing field, he said, noting that over 30,000 people had been killed or injured in the fighting there. Over this period, a number of civilians there also stepped on landmines and were injured, but both areas have been totally cleared of landmines. Furthermore, the improvement in relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait also has changed the path of history. Kinmen is now an important destination for tourism and an island of peace, he remarked. In addition, the president stated, on August 23, 2011, the 53th anniversary of the August 23 Artillery War, a ceremony was held to unveil a peace bell. At that time, Frederik Willem de Klerk (1993 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former President of South Africa) and ICBL Youth Ambassador Song Kosal from Cambodia, attended the event and praised Taiwan for its achievements in the campaign against landmines.
President Ma also mentioned that the United Nations (UN) in 1966 passed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the ROC signed them both in 1967 but was unable to complete ratification after losing its representation in the UN. To guarantee human rights, however, the president in 2009 signed the instruments of ratification for the two covenants. The government then enacted an implementation act to incorporate the content of the two covenants into domestic law, thereby making them binding upon all government agencies and courts. He noted that the government has used similar means to incorporate the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women into domestic law. Consequently, Taiwan fully complies with UN standards in implementing gender equality, he said. At the same time, the government is drawing up plans to incorporate other important international covenants and conventions into domestic law, the president remarked. This demonstrates Taiwan's determination to be in step with advanced nations in the protection of human rights, he stated.
Lastly, the president stressed that the government is such an active supporter of these international movements because the ROC is a peace-loving nation that respects human rights. He added that the ROC Constitution also requires the nation to respect treaties and the Charter of the UN. Even though the ROC faces challenges on the diplomatic front, this has not affected the government's willingness and determination to participate in the international community, he said. President Ma commented that Taiwan hopes to promote important universal values in step with the international community, and also desires to act in the global community as a peacemaker and a provider of humanitarian aid.
The delegation included Canadian Senior Defense Advisor John MacBride, ICBL-CMC Editor Yeshua Moser-Puangsuan, Coordinator Yasushiro Kitagawa of Japan Campaign to Ban Landmines, Coordinator Jai-kook Cho of Peace Sharing Association (formerly Korea Campaign to Ban Landmines), and President Yeh Ying Bin (葉瀛賓) of Eden Social Welfare Foundation. The group was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Vanessa Yea-Ping Shih (史亞平) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was Deputy Minister of National Defense Kao Kuang-chi (高廣圻) and National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Philip Y. M. Yang (楊永明).