Taiwan and International Human Rights Regime

One major purpose of the United Nations is to promote and encourage respect for human rights for all. The UN and its members, in pursuit of this purpose, shall act in accordance with the principle that all persons are endowed with fundamental human rights, regardless of the country in which they live. The Universal Declaration

217 Article 17 of the “NGO HRC Act.”

218 Article 18 of the “NGO HRC Act.”

219 Articles 7-12 and 14 of the “Governmental HRC Act.”

220 Article 13 of the “Governmental HRC Act.”

of Human Rights, which the General Assembly adopted on 10 December 1948, has been proclaimed as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.

Therefore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs.

On 16 December 1966, both ICCPR and the ICESCR were concluded. Since then, these three documents have been regarded as the International Bill of Rights. In addition, two Optional Protocols to the ICCPR were further adopted to allow individual petitions against their home states and to abolish the death penalty.

Meanwhile, by 1971, the UN also concluded many other international human rights instruments such as the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Genocide, the Convention on the Political Rights of Women, the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the international human rights regime continued to advance, leaving the then-martial-ruled Taiwan further behind. In 1976, the said two International Covenants and the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR came into force. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women took effect in 1981. Another important piece of human rights treaty, the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment was adopted in 1984 and went into force in 1987, respectively. Between 1988 and 2000, the international human rights regime went even further on. A series of major instruments were adopted and implemented. The list includes: the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at abolition of the death penalty (adopted in 1989 and entering into force in 1991), the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (adopted in 2000), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (adopted in 1989 and entering into force in 1990), and the Rome

Statute of the International Criminal Court (adopted in 1998 and entering into force in 2002).

The ROC was a permanent member of the Security Council of the UN between 1946 and 1971. Therefore, it has often been argued that the ROC positively participated in drafting the International Bill of Rights. The positive participant nonetheless merely signed the two International Covenants and the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR; no ratification ever followed. The ROC ratified some other international human rights instruments, such as the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, the Convention on the Political Rights of Women, the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide was further incorporated into domestic law.

It can be argued that during the period between 1946 and 1971 the ROC had opportunities to, but did not fully join the international human rights regime.

Situations have changed dramatically since 1971. Since then, the UN and most States in the world no longer recognized the ROC government as the Chinese government, and even not a de jure State or government at all. Consequently, the above signatures and ratification of international treaties by the ROC government were not recognized by the UN, either. Furthermore, Taiwan (and its government) has practically lost almost all of the available opportunities to participate in the evolution of the international human rights regime thereafter.

Taiwan and international human rights instruments by 1971

Status of signature and/or ratification Instrument

Signature Ratification or Accession United Nations Charter 26 June 1945 28 Sept 1945

Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

20 July 1949 5 May 1951 Convention on the Political Rights of

Women

9 June 1953 27 Nov 1953

Slavery Convention 7 Dec 1953 14 Dec 1955

Protocol amending the Slavery Convention

7 Dec 1953 14 Dec 1955 Equal Remuneration Convention (ILO

No. 100)

1 Mar 1958 1 May 1958 Convention on the Nationality of

Married Women

20 Feb 1957 12 Aug 1958 Abolition of Forced Labour Convention

(ILO No. 105)

Signature not required

23 Jan 1959 Supplementary Convention on the

Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery

23 May 1957 28 May 1959

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (ILO No. 111)

Signature not required

31 Aug 1961 Labour Inspection Convention (ILO No.

81)

Signature not required

26 Sept 1961 Indigenous and Tribal Populations

Convention (ILO No. 107)

Signature not required

10 Sept 1962 Right to Organise and Collective

Bargaining Convention (ILO No. 98)

Signature not required

10 Sept 1962 Protection of Wages Convention (ILO

No. 95)

Signature not required

22 Oct 1962 Convention against Discrimination in

Education

Signature not required

16 Nov 1964 Maximum Weight Convention (ILO No.

127)

Signature not required

23 Dec 1969 International Convention on the

Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

31 March 1966 14 Nov 1970

Accommodation of Crews Convention (Revised) (ILO No. 92)

Signature not required

23 Dec 1970 Geneva Convention for the Amelioration

of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field

10 Dec 1949 Not yet ratified

Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces

10 Dec 1949 Not yet ratified

Status of signature and/or ratification Instrument

Signature Ratification or Accession at Sea

Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War

10 Dec 1949 Not yet ratified Geneva Convention relative to the

Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War

10 Dec 1949 Not yet ratified

Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness

30 Aug 1961 Not yet ratified Convention on Consent to Marriage,

Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages

4 Apr 1963 Not yet ratified

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

5 Oct 1967 Not yet ratified (First) Optional Protocol to the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

5 Oct 1967 Not yet ratified

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

5 Oct 1967 Not yet ratified Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Document No. 09101164450

It may be argued that although Taiwan became more democratic, she was still an

“orphan” of the international human rights regime. On the one hand, Taiwan had no opportunity to access international human rights instruments; on the other, Taiwan did not incorporate international human rights norms into its domestic legal system. There was a new start to return to the international human rights regime after Chen Shui-bian administration took power. Now the situation is that Taiwan has strong commitment to join the international human rights regime, while the reality is that the international community does not give she any opportunity. The UN system has been treating Taiwan as part of China. However, it is not reasonable to say that the PRC, who never rules Taiwan for a single day after its creation, has a legal right to represent Taiwan in the international human rights regime.

In fact, we all know that the pressure comes from Beijing. When the subject is a sovereign State, the PRC blocks Taiwan’s ways to the international community, even

though in international human rights regime, which should be universal regardless one’s international status. Still the PRC tries to prevent President Chen Shui-bian, who received a freedom prize awarded by Liberal International, from going to Denmark to receive the award. It can be argued that it would be ironic if the recipient of the 2001 Prize of Freedom would be stripped of the freedom to receive the honour because of pressure from Beijing.

International human rights treaties are for all peoples and all nations regardless of the country in which they live and without distinction of the international status of the country. International human rights monitoring mechanism has been urging states to participate in as many international human right treaties as possible. It is obviously unfair to turn she down when Taiwan wishes to be abided by international human rights regime. If the international community takes universal human rights seriously, it shall make Taiwan’s accession available. There will be no universal human rights without Taiwan.