The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) held a launch event on February 4 to officially release its Children's Rights Monitoring Indicators. Based on key children's rights issues in Taiwan, the NHRC reviewed and analyzed international children's rights monitoring frameworks and compiled a set of 239 monitoring indicators, which are now publicly available as a reference for government agencies, civil society organizations, and the public. The event opened with remarks by Vice Chairperson Chi Hui-jung, followed by presentations from Commissioners Yeh Ta-hua and Wang Jung-chang, who oversee the project. They highlighted the importance of the indicator set as a tool for assessing the implementation of government policies related to children's rights. The indicators are also intended to support civil society organizations and children and youth representatives in preparing CRC parallel reports, thereby expanding the practical applications and impact of the initiative.
The NHRC also invited child and youth representatives as well as non-governmental organizations to participate in the event and engage in dialogue on the implementation of children's rights policies in Taiwan. To make the indicators more accessible, the launch event featured a clear and easy-to-understand video presentation demonstrating how users can utilize the indicator set to explore issues of concern, understand how relevant data are categorized and analyzed within both the United Nations human rights system and Taiwan's government agencies, and identify long-term trends for monitoring purposes. Representatives of youth groups and NGOs provided overwhelmingly positive feedback, and discussions during the event were lively and constructive. Participants also expressed interest in collaborating with the NHRC on future development and application of the indicators.
The two overseeing commissioners explained that the Executive Yuan's current human rights indicator framework focuses on six priority rights areas but does not adequately cover several issues closely related to children's rights, including the right to education, participation in public affairs, and children's rights within the justice system. For this reason, the development of a children's rights monitoring framework was identified as a key component of the NHRC's 2023–2026 Medium-Term Strategic Plan, specifically under the subproject on developing a children's rights monitoring mechanism.
The indicator set is primarily based on the SDGs-CRC framework developed by UNICEF. It also incorporates relevant indicators from the Executive Yuan's six priority human rights areas and draws upon a range of international frameworks, including indicators on the right to education and the right to a fair trial developed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); human rights indicators under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) contained in the SDG-CRPD Resource Package; the Council of Europe's Child Participation Assessment Tool; the Manual for the Measurement of Juvenile Justice Indicators jointly published by UNICEF and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); and Taiwan's Sustainable Development Goals (T-SDGs). The NHRC also incorporated key issues highlighted in the Concluding Observations and Recommendations issued during international CRC reviews and in its own independent assessment reports. These include indicators such as child and youth suicide mortality rates, mortality rates resulting from road traffic accidents, the proportion of qualified teachers, and the proportion of identified victims of human trafficking. The resulting framework comprises 239 monitoring indicators covering a broad range of areas, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the right to education, participation in public affairs, and children's rights in the justice system, providing a comprehensive picture of children's rights conditions in Taiwan.
The NHRC emphasized that the publication of the indicator set marks the first step in a new chapter for children's rights monitoring in Taiwan. However, it also noted that only through more detailed and substantive monitoring can overlooked issues be brought to light. Likewise, only through a more comprehensive and diverse set of indicators can a stronger protective framework be built to ensure that no child or young person is left behind. The NHRC will continue to track developments related to each monitoring indicator and assess progress over time. Through these efforts, it hopes to advance the full realization of the spirit of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), ensuring that all children and young people in Taiwan can grow up in an environment characterized by dignity, protection, security, and well-being.