The Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) will take effect through an act passed by the legislature yesterday in an effort to implement the international accord adopted by the UN in 1979, although Taiwan is not a member of the international organization.
As set out in the CEDAW enforcement act, which will become effective on Jan. 1, the government will be required to review its laws, regulations and practices and to amend or reform those that do not comply with the convention within three years.
The enforcement act also requires the government to present a national report that assesses gender equality in the country every four years.
Huang Pi-hsia (黃碧霞), head of the Ministry of the Interior’s Department of Social Affairs, said the government would invite experts from home and abroad to review the national reports and offer suggestions for improvement.
Often described as an international bill of rights for women, CEDAW, which came into force in 1981 after being adopted by the UN in 1979, has 98 signatories and 186 participating parties.
Regulations under CEDAW on the protection of gender-based human rights and the promotion of gender equality are effective as domestic laws, the enforcement act said.
Governments at all levels shall act in accordance with the regulations, as well as work together with foreign governments, local and international non-government organizations and human rights organizations to do away with discrimination against women and realize gender equality, it said.
Article 1 of CEDAW defines “discrimination against women” as any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of gender that has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, regardless of their marital status and on a basis of equality between men and women, of their human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.
It was the third enforcement act to bring national standards in line with international norms following enforcement acts for the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, enacted after the nation’s ratification of the two covenants was rejected.
In 2007, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon returned Taiwan’s instrument of accession to CEDAW, citing UN Resolution No. 2758 and making a controversial claim that Taiwan was part of the People’s Republic of China.
Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) yesterday thanked the Legislative Yuan for having passed CEDAW, as well as efforts made by women’s rights advocacy groups that lobbied for the law’s passage.
“The passage of the law is not only a milestone in the nation’s promotion of gender equality, but also helps to put the protection of women’s rights in this country on par with international standards,” he said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LOA IOK-SIN
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS