The Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF), the leading regional human rights network in the Asia-Pacific region, comprising 28 national human rights institutions from countries including Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Jordan, and Indonesia, issued an official statement on its website yesterday (March 11) expressing serious concern over the substantial reduction of the National Human Rights Commission's (NHRC) budget for fiscal year 2025. The statement was issued under the name of Ms. Samar Haj Hassan, Chairperson of the National Centre for Human Rights of Jordan and current Chair of the APF. It calls upon Taiwan to ensure, in a manner consistent with its constitutional framework and international standards, the financial independence and continued operation of its NHRC in accordance with the United Nations Paris Principles.
The APF statement emphasizes that providing national human rights institutions with sufficient funding to "effectively carry out their activities" constitutes a minimum requirement under the Paris Principles. This safeguard is essential to prevent governments from undermining the independence of national human rights institutions through financial control. The APF expressed concern that the reduction of more than 90% of the NHRC's budget would severely impair its ability to perform its statutory functions. These include conducting research on human rights issues, handling complaints involving human rights violations and discrimination, and developing human rights education and awareness programs, thereby adversely affecting the rights and interests of the public.
The NHRC's fiscal year 2025 budget was reduced by 96.93% by the Legislative Yuan, significantly undermining the operational independence of Taiwan's national human rights institution. As a result, several important initiatives that had been planned in collaboration with civil society organizations have been forced to be suspended. These include the Monitoring Project on the Right to Work and Employment of Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities, the Project for the Promotion of Labor Rights of Migrant Domestic Workers, the Project on Mechanisms for Addressing Teacher-to-Student Violence in Schools, and the Special Interview Project on Forced Evictions Arising from Public Property Management under the Right to Adequate Housing. The suspension of these initiatives will adversely affect the rights of people in vulnerable situations. The budget reductions have also disrupted Taiwan's international exchanges and cooperation with human rights institutions. The NHRC will no longer be able to participate in person as an observer at the APF Annual Meeting, limiting opportunities for international engagement and potentially affecting Taiwan's international human rights profile.
Established in 1996, the APF currently comprises 19 “A-status” national human rights institutions and 9 “B-status” institutions accredited by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI). The APF works closely with the United Nations and has long supported the establishment of independent national human rights institutions in accordance with the Paris Principles throughout the Asia-Pacific region, while promoting the domestic implementation of international human rights treaties. Since 2023, Taiwan's NHRC has been invited to participate in the APF Annual Meeting for two consecutive years, with then-Chairperson Chen Chu personally leading the delegation. In recent years, the APF has actively advocated on behalf of national human rights institutions facing threats across the region. Its efforts have included supporting former Chairperson Leila de Lima of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines, who faced politically motivated prosecution after criticizing the Duterte administration, and assisting hundreds of staff members of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission in relocating overseas after their safety was threatened under Taliban rule. The APF's statement of support for Taiwan's NHRC demonstrates that the disproportionate reduction of the Commission's budget by the Legislative Yuan has raised concerns within the international human rights community regarding the future development of human rights protection in Taiwan.