International human rights experts yesterday presented a report recommending the abolition of capital punishment, work to relieve prison overcrowding, liberalizing policy over drug users and decriminalizing adultery.
The report listed 78 observations or recommendations for government consideration, following four days of meetings in Taipei this week regarding the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
The review was the second of its kind since the covenants were adopted by Taiwan in 2009.
Photo: Hsiang Cheng-chen, Taipei Times
The ICCPR panel was chaired by Manfred Nowak of Austria, former UN special rapporteur on torture, while the ICESCR panel was chaired by Eibe Riedel of Germany, former vice chairman of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Nowak urged President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to take decisive steps by introducing a moratorium on executions, with the aim of full abolition of the death penalty in the near future.
“The committee is also concerned about overcrowding of detainees in the prison system, which leads to a variety of human rights problems, such as poor hygiene, a lack of privacy and increased violence,” Nowak said in presenting the report at the Ministry of Justice building yesterday.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
“We recommend the government constructs new prison facilities and reduces the number of detainees by liberalizing some of the harsh policies regarding drug users,” he said.
The committee recommended legislative changes to reduce the length of criminal proceedings and to provide adequate reparation in cases of excessive detention, Nowak said.
The government should also take steps to decriminalize adultery, as it has a disproportionately negative affect on women and is a violation of the right to privacy, Nowak said.
Nowak said that “Taiwan can show it could be a pioneer in the Asia-Pacific region to combat discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.”
The ICESCR report said that while the government had taken steps to recognize the status of Pingpu as Aborigines, it is concerned that the classification of Aborigines into three categories — “mountain people,” “plains people” and “Pingpu” — is a legacy of the Japanese colonial period and does not correspond with the present situation of 16 official Aboriginal groups.
“The committee recommends that the government apply the classification of indigenous peoples as identified by themselves, and guarantees them full and equal participation and representation,” it said, adding that the government should “develop effective mechanisms to seek free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples on development programs that affect them.”
Miloon Kothari of India, a former UN special rapporteur on housing, said that government policies must move away from an emphasis on economic development and favoring businesses to the detriment of marginalized groups, poor people and Aborigines, as they have led to land expropriation.
Minister Without Portfolio Lin Mei-chu (林美珠), who co-chaired yesterday’s event, said that capital punishment remains in force because most Taiwanese support it and there has been no decline in the number of executions in recent years.
Groups opposing and affirming same-sex marriage staged protests at the event.
THREATS: Naval facilities have been built in Shanghai and Zhejiang, while airbases have been expanded in Xiamen, Fuzhou and Zhangpu, across the Strait from Taiwan The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is building large-scale military infrastructure at five sites along the eastern coast of China, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in a recent report. The latest issue of the council’s Mainland China Situation Quarterly said satellite photos showed military infrastructure such as air force and naval bases being constructed along the eastern coast of China. That means the CCP might be preparing for potential conflict in Taiwan, it said, adding that there are five such construction sites from north to south. A naval base has been built in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area, with underground oil storage tanks, railway
MILESTONE: The foreign minister called the signing ‘a major step forward in US-Taiwan relations,’ while the Presidential Office said it was a symbol of the nations’ shared values US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the state department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct a review “not less than every five years.” It must then submit an updated report based on its findings “not later
GIVE BACK: The president thanked immigrants, recounting heartwarming stories, from a gymnast helping athletes shine internationally to a spouse helping the disadvantaged There is no need to amend the law to exempt Chinese spouses from single allegiance to the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that such changes would only increase the public’s doubts toward new residents from China and would not improve social harmony. Taiwan is a democratic, diverse and free country, he said. “No matter which ethnic group you belong to, where you come from or when you arrive, as long as you identify with Taiwan, you are masters of this country,” he said. Taiwan is a democratic nation that follows the rule of law, where immigrants are
A trial run of the north concourse of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s new Terminal 3 is to commence today, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The eight additional boarding gates would allow for more aircraft parking spaces that are expected to boost the airport’s capacity by 5.8 million passengers annually, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Kuo-shian (林國顯) said. The concourse, designed by a team led by British architect Richard Rogers, provides a refreshing space, Lin said, adding that travelers would enjoy the tall and transparent design that allows sunshine to stream into the concourse through glass curtain walls. The
RSS