An expert invited by the government to review its first report on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has identified two immediate obstacles to the nation’s implementation of the UN protocol.
Taiwan does not have an independent national mechanism to monitor human rights protections and its laws are ineffective in promoting equality and eliminating discrimination against people with disabilities, Osamu Nagase said on Friday.
Nagase, a professor at Japan’s Ritsumeikan University and one of five international experts familiar with CRPD review procedures, suggested that Taiwan revise its laws and regulations to address the issues.
He also urged the nation to set up an independent human rights monitoring institution, instead of delegating the job to government departments in charge of matters concerning people with disabilities.
Despite not being a UN member, Taiwan adopted the CRPD in 2006 as part of its pledge to protect the human rights, basic freedoms and dignity of people with disabilities, and in August 2014 enacted the Act to Implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (身心障礙者權利公約施行法).
The Ministry of Health and Welfare then invited experts from Japan, the UK, Sweden, the US and Canada to review the report its initial report on the convention published on Dec. 2 last year.
At the end of the review, which was conducted from Monday to Friday, the experts commended Taiwan’s courage in accepting strict scrutiny that many other nations are reluctant to undergo.
However, British human rights expert Diane Kingston, who serves as vice chairperson of the Expert Committee for the UN CRPD, suggested that Taiwan pay more attention to the problem of multiple discrimination.
If a person with a disability is also female, Aboriginal or transgender, they could suffer from aggregate discrimination, Kingston said.
She also urged Taiwan to abolish the death penalty, saying it is at the core of human rights values.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
RSS