Sun, May 06, 2001 page2

• Human rights put to test

  SMALL STEPS Activists say many questions remain surrounding the two major international covenants on human rights that have been sent to the legislature for review and that their fate will be difficult to predict

  • By Irene Lin / STAFF REPORTER
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  Human rights activists said that while they consider it a blessing that two international covenants on human rights have been taken up by the legislature for ratification, the covenants themselves still need to be carefully examined.

  The bills are complicated by both Taiwan's political status as well as some disparities between the country's domestic statutes and specific articles of the conventions.

  Taiwan signed several international human rights conventions, which include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), before 1971.

  However, since 1971, the documents on these treaties have been shelved at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and have remained inaccessible to the public.

  In pursuance of President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) post-election pledges on human rights, however, the Executive Yuan has recently sent both conventions to the legislature for review.

  Should they be passed by the legislature, the president must then sign the instrument of ratification and deposit it with the secretary-general of the UN.

  But officials admit it is unlikely that the UN will accept the deposition from Taiwan, whose statehood by the international organization's standards is still in question.

  "We could declare accession and ratify the treaties on our own, but problems would come at the final phase of deposit. It's unlikely to be accepted," said an official from the department of treaty and legal affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

  However, many others, such as Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), believe that a commitment to human rights will not be undermined by Taiwan's peculiar political situation.

  During an earlier Cabinet meeting on the issue, members were divided as to whether Taiwan will take the step of deposition given the UN's persistent stance of not recognizing Taiwan as a state.

  Nevertheless, Ma, also president of the Chinese International Law Society, has vigorously maintained that attempts to deposit the two conventions demonstrates Taiwan's respect for and commitment to the UN Charter and the human rights system within it.

  "I believe the importance of human rights weighs a great deal on the UN. It just can't ignore our existence," Ma said.

  "Also, I don't think the action will hurt cross-strait relations because it is a human rights issue -- not a sovereignty issue -- that we are concerned with."

  There have been attempts by non-governmental organizations to persuade the UN to allow Taiwan to become a signatory to the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child.

  Kau Yu-chuan (高玉泉), secretary-general of the Taiwan chapter of Ending Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking (ECPAT,終止童妓協會), said the organiza-tion's many attempts have all been rejected by the UN on the grounds that Taiwan is not a recognized sovereign state.

  Kau said it may be disappointing but said that the case to a great extent reflects the reality of UN politics.

  Kau added however, that there are still other ways for Taiwan to become a part of the international human rights system.

  He said signing multilateral treaties with other countries and encouraging domestic NGOs to promote the country's commitment to joining the international community would both benefit the nation.

  Aside from problems with the deposition action, there have also been some questions on whether Taiwan will address specific articles of the two covenants that may contradict the country's existing legal code.

  One such item is article six of the ICCPR which bans imposing the death penalty on offenders below 18 years of age or on pregnant women.

  Domestic statutes hold similar bans, but with one exception -- minors in Taiwan can be subject to the death penalty if they murder their parents.

  Moreover, there is also a disparity between Taiwan's criminal code and paragraph seven of the document's 14th article, which states no one shall be liable to be tried or punished again for an offence for which he has already been convicted or acquitted of in accordance with the law and penal procedure of each signator to the convention.

  The US has made reservation on the article concerning capital punishment; Denmark, Finland, and Netherlands have made reservations on the article on resumption of criminal cases.

  Nigel Li (李念祖), a scholar in residence at Soochow University, called for careful consideration and further discussion on these questions before ratification of the conventions.

  "The issue is not as simple as many people see it. What we need to think about carefully is what the ratification is for. Do we just want to declare our determination and commitment to human rights or do we really want to realize the rights recognized in the two covenants?

  "Because if we want to realize it fully, we had better begin an overhaul of domestic statutes."Li said.
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