As the world marked Human Rights Day yesterday, the Legislative Yuan passed the Organic Act of the National Human Rights Committee (國家人權委員會組織法), paving the way for the establishment of a committee to promote human rights as part of the Control Yuan.
The act was based on the UN’s Principles Relating to the Status of National Institutions, also known as the Paris Principles, and Amnesty International’s Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which stipulate that UN member states must put in place a national mechanism to promote and protect human rights, said the Control Yuan, which took part in drafting the act.
The committee is to be created to guarantee people’s constitutional rights; lay down conditions necessary for protecting and improving human rights; ensure that social justice and equality are realized; bring the nation in line with international human rights standards; and establish the universal value of human rights and related regulations, the act says.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The 10-member committee is to be headed by the Control Yuan president and composed of seven Control Yuan members, with the other two to be selected from candidates nominated by committee members and replaced annually, it says.
The committee is to take charge of investigating cases involving torture or violation of human rights or any degrading treatment, report its findings and give suggestions to the government, it says.
It is to push human rights legislation based on international literature on human rights, the act says.
It is to make recommendations on legislation, legal amendments and constitutional amendments based on international standards on human rights, in addition to publishing annual national human rights reports, it stipulates.
It is to promote education on human rights and facilitate international exchanges and cooperation on human rights, the act says.
The Organic Act of the Control Yuan (監察院組織法) was also amended to accommodate the new legislation. It includes a provision that allows the Control Yuan to confer membership on individuals who specialize in human rights protection, are renowned in the field, or are from non-governmental organizations concerned with the protection of human rights.
In related news, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday conferred the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon on Carl Gershman, president of the US nonprofit National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a report published on the Presidential Office Web site said.
“President Tsai emphasized that safeguarding democracy is our responsibility and supporting democracy is our conviction. She also called on everyone to join hands and continue to work together for democracy, freedom and human rights,” the report said.
“For many years, the NED has kept a close and constant watch on democratic development around the world, which has been a great source of encouragement for advocacy groups in many countries. The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy is flourishing today, also due to President Gershman’s support,” Tsai said at the awards ceremony.
Tsai also spoke about the Diplomacy Training Program founded by former Timor-Leste president Jose Ramos-Horta.
The program has provided assistance to more than 3,000 human rights workers from over 60 countries in the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa, providing training on topics such as the rights of indigenous peoples, migrant workers and LGBT people, and environmental protection, she said.
‘DEMOCRATIC FISH’: Soichiro Hayashi said he wants to return Taiwan’s kindness after it helped with relief efforts after the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami Japanese fish farmers are ready to help Taiwan after China banned Taiwanese grouper imports, the Sankei Shimbun reported yesterday. The Chinese General Administration of Customs suspended imports of the fish on Monday last week, citing prohibited chemicals and excessive levels of oxytetracycline allegedly found in grouper imports since December last year. Soichiro Hayashi, president of the Hayashi Trout Farm in Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture, is leading the push for Taiwanese grouper imports, the newspaper said. His call has caught the attention of several large sushi chains, the report said. Hayashi, who is the Fukushima branch head of the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association in Japan,
‘TROJAN HORSE’ SCHEME: The comment that a bridge would allow China’s PLA to easily launch an attack shows ‘a lack of backbone,’ Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said Critics accused Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of being oblivious to national security concerns after he proposed constructing a bridge to link Kinmen and China’s Xiamen (廈門). Ko, who is also the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman, made the proposal when presiding over the opening ceremony of the party’s office in Kinmen on Saturday. He said the bridge could solve Kinmen’s population, electricity and garbage problems, as well as serve as a shortcut for leaving or entering Taiwan without traveling via Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport). He also proposed building a hospital in Kinmen to attract people who are seeking medical treatment in
OVER THE HUMP: In a seven-day period ending on Wednesday, the nation reported 366,628 new cases, down 19 percent from the 451,358 reported in the previous week The nation might further open up to more arrivals in the next two months, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported 48,283 new local COVID-19 cases, down from more than 50,000 in the previous few days. Taiwan on Wednesday last week introduced a plan to allow up to 25,000 arrivals per week as part of efforts to gradually reopen borders, which includes reducing mandatory quarantines for inbound travelers from seven to three days, followed by four days in “self-initiated epidemic prevention.” The quota covers inbound Taiwanese arrivals, businesspeople and migrant workers. Former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) yesterday said
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said it is monitoring Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ship movements near Taiwan, after the Japanese Ministry of Defense disclosed that Chinese vessels made a rare voyage between Yilan County and Japan’s Yonaguni. The Japanese ministry on Wednesday said that two Chinese navy ships on Tuesday diverted from their usual route of entering the Pacific Ocean via the Miyako Strait and for the first time traveled there between Yilan and Yonaguni. The Japan Self-Defense Forces said that it picked up the presence of China’s Type-056A Jiangdao-class corvette 220km north of Yonaguni at 9am on Tuesday. The