The government plans to open an office this month to take over the Transitional Justice Commission’s duties, a Cabinet official said yesterday.
The Cabinet hopes to establish the office before the commission disbands on May 30, the official said on condition of anonymity, adding that matters such as staff recruitment were still being discussed.
The office would not only focus on transitional justice, but also handle human rights issues under a planned “transitional justice board,” they said.
Its establishment is part of a plan approved by the Cabinet in February to prepare for the commission’s dissolution.
The Cabinet intends for the transitional justice board to operate the office, which would help the board review and coordinate among various ministries and agencies duties and tasks previously handled by the commission.
The board would be headed by the premier and meet regularly, the Cabinet said at the time.
However, the plan to establish the transitional justice board is still being reviewed by the legislature.
The Transitional Justice Commission was given a two-year mandate when it was established on May 31, 2018, in accordance with the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例), but the premier later approved extensions for the commission.
It is scheduled to release a “mission conclusion report” this month to summarize what it has achieved over the past four years.
At an event yesterday, Yeh Hung-ling (葉虹靈), the commission’s acting minister, said the report is estimated to contain more than 1 million words, detailing the tasks carried out by the commission, such as the exoneration of 22,028 victims of political persecution during the Martial Law era.
The four-volume report would also provide advice for government agencies as they take over the commission’s duties starting next month, Yeh added.
In addition to the exoneration of former political prisoners, other commission tasks included locating and publicizing political documents from the Martial Law period, preserving historical sites of injustice, and promoting education about transitional justice and human rights.
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