The establishment of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), founded on August 1, 2020, is evidence that human rights protection in Taiwan is reaching a new milestone. It is an autonomous national human rights authority established in conformance with the Paris Principles of the United Nations; and it is the keystone to the protection of human rights in Taiwan.
After enduring nearly forty years of martial law that violated the very essence of human rights, and with the fortitude and painstaking sacrifices of many pioneers of democracy, Taiwan finally in the 1990s achieved a national legislature with full popular representation, and then in 1996 direct presidential elections as well. Since then, it has fulfilled the promise of rule by the people and instituted a system of constitutional democracy that ensures basic human rights.
On December 10, 2010, the predecessor of the NHRC, the Presidential Office Human Rights Consultative Committee, was established in response to advocacy since 1999, a persistent call from civil society partners, experts, and scholars, for creation of a national and autonomous human rights authority. Concurrently, legislation was enacted for the purpose of bringing domestic law into compliance with the several human rights covenants of the United Nations, and a national mechanism for reviewing and reporting such compliance was also instituted. Finally, the relevant legislation obtained support in the Legislative Yuan and was fully set into law, such that this much-anticipated national-level independent human rights institution was realized, manifesting Taiwan’s belief in and determination to move towards becoming a nation that is based in principles of human rights.
Now and again our government has carried out assessment of Taiwan’s compliance with the international standards on human rights, as seen now in the Third National Report regarding the Taiwan government’s implementation of the United Nations’ human rights covenants, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); this report was compiled by the Executive Yuan and issued in June 2020.The goal of this assessment is to facilitate a better understanding of Taiwan’s current human rights conditions, and to acquire pertinent reviews and recommendations from the international experts.