NHRC Chairperson Chen Chu met with John Dennis, the Representative of the British Office Taipei, in the afternoon of the 15th of November, accompanied by Human Rights Commissioners Fan Sun-lu and Wang Yu-ling, and the Control Yuan Members Hsiao Tzu-yu and Dr. Lin Sheng-fong. All participants discussed human rights issues and possible cooperation in the future. Chairperson Chen also invited Dennis to attend the NHRC's "2021 International Conference on Human Rights Development" to be held on the 23rd and 24th, and the “2021 Forum on Taiwan's Human Rights and Business Actions” to be held on the 6th of December.
Chairperson Chen thanked Dennis for facilitating a video conference between the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the NHRC in April, which also led Luke Taylor, Policy and Human Rights Monitoring Director of the EHRC, being the speaker of the third session of the upcoming 2021 International Conference on Human Rights Development, and would discuss the development of the EHRC and its policies. Chairperson Chen highlighted that nine national human rights organization representatives or experts will speak on different topics and share their experiences in the conference.
Chairperson Chen also said it was a great encouragement for Taiwan that the UK community attended Taiwan Day event on November 7 while the UNFCCC COP 26 was in session in Glasgow, Scotland. Chairperson Chen further said that the NHRC attaches great importance to issues related to climate, environment and sustainable governance. The“2021 Forum on Taiwan's Human Rights and Business Actions” to be held on December 6 features government departments such as the National Development Council, as well as the Taiwan External Trade Development Council and private companies, with discussion on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, in the hope that corporate governance can move forward in tandem with human rights protection.
During the meeting, many issues were discussed, including ESG, human rights under the pandemic, migrant fishers' rights, judicial treatment of the mentally challenged,cyberviolence, death penalty, and the impact of constitutional reform on NHRC, etc. Taiwan and the UK will continue to exchange and collaborate on human rights issues.
Representative Dennis affirmed that NHRC has taken a serious attitude towards human rights issues since its establishment more than a year ago, and has explored the important human rights issues in depth. Chairperson Chen expressed her hope that the two sides can further exchange and collaborate on more human rights issues in the future, as the UK has many important influences and experiences in the history of human rights development.