Conferences discussing human rights issues are to be held in Taipei today and tomorrow with grand justices, judges, lawyers and legislators discussing law and the implementation of legislative amendments with European representatives.
The event is jointly hosted by the Judicial Yuan, the Ministry of Justice, the European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) and representative offices of several European nations.
UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights member Eibe Riedel, European Court of Human Rights section president and judge Peer Lorenzen, and Afghan Minister for Women’s Affairs Sima Samar last week took part in an international meeting in Taipei that reviewed Taiwan’s national report on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and have extend their stay in Taiwan to attend the conference, officials said.
The conference at the Academy for the Judiciary in Shilin District (士林) will discuss the death penalty within the framework of Article 6 of the covenant, liberty and security within the framework of Article 9 of the covenant, and equality before the courts as outlined in Article 14 of the covenant, officials said.
Judicial Yuan President Hsu Zhong-li (許宗力), Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Ming-tang (陳明堂) and head of the EETO in Taiwan Madeleine Majorenko are to give the opening speeches at the conference, with discussions to be hosted by grand justices Hwang Jau-yuan (黃昭元), Lo Chang-fa (羅昌發) and Huang Juei-min (黃瑞明), officials said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Jason Hsu (許毓仁), New Power Party Legislator Kawlo Iyun Pacidal and Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) are to represent their respective parties and engage in discussions with lawyers and judges, the official added.
Majorenko said she hopes that the conference would allow experts to clarify their suggestions for human rights in Taiwan and help the nation make improvements regarding the protection and promotion of human rights.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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