Human rights task force aims for independence

The Cabinet's task force on human rights protection yesterday urged President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to establish a national human rights committee under the Presidential Office to help maintain its independence.

During the first meeting of the task force yesterday, Vice Premier Lai In-jaw (賴英照) said the national human rights committee will include a chairman, a vice chairman and five other committee members, all of whom would be appointed by the president, the Deputy Director-General of the Government Information Office Frederic Chang (張平男) said at a press conference yesterday.

The first three members of the committee will serve a two-year term while the remaining four committee members will serve a four-year term so as to pass on experience, Chang said.

Chang also said that before the committee is officially formed the task force's consultative sub-group would start making a draft report on the country's human rights progress to be published before March of next year.

The task force itself would also complete and submit, no later than late October this year, the draft bill of the committee's organization to the legislature for review and passage, Chang said.

The establishment of a national human rights committee was an initiative proposed by Chen to examine the country's human rights situation.

Chen had vowed to safeguard the country's human rights in his inaugural speech when his DPP government came to power last year. Since then, the Cabinet's task force has been expected to function as the committee's preparatory organization to further facilitate its establishment.

The task force has focused on drafting the committee's organizational law and establishing a sub-group to work on the rights report.