Lu unveils human rights advisory group

Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday announced the formation of the "President's Advisory Group on Human Rights" (人權諮詢小組), saying the first mission for the group will be to hold a wedding ceremony in December that incorporates an oath to protect and respect human rights (人權盟誓婚禮).

The advisory group, scheduled to be formally established today, is made up of 21 members who will work toward establishing a "National Human Rights Committee" and passing into law a national human rights covenant, Lu said.

The establishment of the National Human Rights Committee and covenant are long-standing ambitions of the DPP and have also been promoted by the Taiwan Association for Human Rights and human rights activists for many years.

Lu said that the advisory group would be divided into six sub-groups, each with a different mission with regard to raising Taiwan's human rights to international standards. They will do so by submitting proposals to the president.

"This advisory group will serve only as a consultant to the president, not as a legal government department," Lu said. "It will still need the Cabinet and Legislative Yuan to carry out all its plans."

Lu was authorized by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) on Sept. 13 to organize the advisory group and the naming of its 21 members comes after one-and-a-half months' preparatory work. The list of members includes leading public figures, former political dissidents, judicial reform activists and religious leaders.

Peter Huang (黃文雄), former chairman of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights and best known for his attempt to assassinate former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) in New York, was assigned to lead a sub-group which will draw up legislation necessary to establish the "National Human Rights Committee."

"This committee will be a formal government institution," Huang said.

Taiwan's most renowned writer, Bo Yang (柏楊), once a political prisoner, will lead another section of the group to promote understanding and education of human rights.

He said yesterday that the raising of people's understanding of human rights would have to begin in their daily lives.

"We have already decided to hold four `human rights wedding ceremonies' per year in the future," Bo said, "and the first one will be on Dec. 10."

"The bride and bridegroom will sign a `human rights marriage certificate' pledging to practice human rights principles, such as respecting each other and their children," Bo said.

He said that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had promised to be the legally required presiding witness at the wedding, adding that, "we hope that next year will see the first wave of `human rights babies.'"

The vice president said that the advisory group would act as a non-governmental organization to help Taiwan develop relations with other international human rights organizations.

"Such work can promote the quality of life and the character of the Taiwanese people as well as raising the nation's reputation and thus contributing to Taiwan's foreign relations," Lu said.