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The Hidden Face of Taiwan Lessons Learnt from the ICCPR/ICESCR Review Process

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The Hidden Face of Taiwan Lessons Learnt from the ICCPR/ICESCR Review Process THE HIDDEN FACE OF TAIWAN Lessons learnt from the ICCPR/ICESCR review process Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty. Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. Article 4: No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms. Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, April 2013 / N°605a Cover photo: Communities affected by forced evictions protesting outside the ICCPR/ICESCR meeting, February 2013. Copyright: TAHR. 2 / Titre du rapport – FIDH Map of Taiwan --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4 About this report ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5 INTRODUCTION---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6 1. General facts on Taiwan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------6 2. Historical background ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------6 PART I: Taiwan’s human rights framework ------------------------------------------------------8 1. National human rights mechanisms -----------------------------------------------------------------8 2. The ICCPR/ICESCR Review Process --------------------------------------------------------------9 3. The need for transitional justice ------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 PART II: Death penalty and the administration of justice------------------------------------ 13 1. Death penalty ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 2. The administration of justice ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 a) Conditions of detention ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 b) Judicial reforms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 PART III: The rights of women and migrants -------------------------------------------------- 18 1. Women’s rights in Taiwan -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 2. Migrants’ rights -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19 a) An overview of Taiwan’s migrant population ---------------------------------------------------- 19 b) Human trafficking ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 PART IV: Economic, social and cultural rights ------------------------------------------------ 22 1. Land rights -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22 2. Environmental rights -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23 3. The rights of indigenous peoples ------------------------------------------------------------------ 24 a) General situation of indigenous people in Taiwan ---------------------------------------------- 24 b) Post-Morakot reconstruction --------------------------------------------------------------------- 25 4. Right to housing-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ------------------------------------------------ 29 ANNEX: List of meetings in Taiwan -------------------------------------------------------------- 34 FIDH/TAHR – The hidden face of Taiwan / 3 Map of Taiwan Source: http://www.ezilon.com/maps/asia/taiwan-maps.html 4 / The hidden face of Taiwan – FIDH/TAHR About this report Since the end of Martial Law in 1987, Taiwan has gone through a deep transformation, bringing to an end the authoritarian regime of the past. Among the numerous legislative reforms undertaken, one of the most recent and remarkable took place in 2009 when the Government of Taiwan ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) which it had signed in 1967, prior to its exclusion from the United Nations in 1971. From 25 February to 1 March 2013, a ten-member expert committee visited Taiwan to assess the government’s initial report, released in April 2012, and make concluding observations. Prior to this visit, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR) organised a joint mission in Taiwan from 5 to 14 November 2012 to assess the human rights situation in the country and the government’s on-going efforts to address core human rights challenges highlighted in its initial report1. The mission presented its findings and recommendations to the expert committee. At the occasion of their joint mission, FIDH and TAHR found that while progress has undoubtedly occurred in Taiwan, there remain major shortcomings opposing domestic laws, policies and regulations to international human rights standards. In addition to the critical issue of capital punishment, FIDH and TAHR found that tremendous challenges remain in the field of economic, social and cultural rights, which are not yet adequately addressed by domestic laws and policies. The most pressing issues are related to the pursuit of rapid economic expansion without regard for human rights, a policy exemplified by land expropriation in both rural and urban areas; lack of concern for environmental rights; the continued marginalisation of indigenous peoples; and human rights abuses affecting women and migrants from other parts of Asia. FIDH and TAHR, which met government agencies, non-government organisations and affected communities, valued the work achieved by a multitude of NGOs, which joined in a large coalition2 to express their views and share recommendations with authorities. The government’s willingness to consult with civil society organisations and engage them in the review process was deemed commendable. The present report, published a few weeks following the review of the government’s initial report by the expert committee, details FIDH/TAHR findings and recommendations in view of supporting further efforts to protect and promote human rights in Taiwan. FIDH thanks all government officials who agreed to meet and discuss with FIDH and TAHR; the various Taiwanese NGOs (see annex) who shared extremely valuable data and information; its member organisation in Taiwan, TAHR, in particular Ms. Chi-Hsun Tsai, Ms. E-Ling Chiu and Mr. Yi-hsiang Shih; and last but not least community representatives and other people who took the time to give their testimonies. 1. FIDH team members included Mr. Danthong Breen, director of the Union for the Civil Liberty (FIDH member organization in Thailand); Ms Puri Kencana Putri, researcher at the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence, KontraS (FIDH partner in Indonesia); and Mr. David Knaute (FIDH international secretariat). 2. http://covenants-watch.blogspot.fr/ FIDH/TAHR – The hidden face of Taiwan / 5 INTRODUCTION 1. General facts on Taiwan Name: Taiwan or Republic of China (ROC). Government structure: Taiwan is a republic with a president and vice-president, and five branches of government, known as ‘Yuan’: Executive Yuan (consisting of 29 Cabinet level agencies, including the Ministry of Justice), Judicial Yuan (exercises the power to interpret, adjudicate, and judicial administration), Legislative Yuan (Parliament), Control Yuan (branch of government investigating allegations of abuse of power by government organizations and civil servants) and Examination Yuan. Location: Taiwan is situated less than 160 kilometres off the south-eastern coast of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It includes the islands of Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu (the Pescadores) and some smaller islands and islets. Area: 36,008 km² which corresponds to a total area of 3.6 million hectares including 13% of urban lands, 79% non-urban lands and 8% of natural parks. Total population: 23.16 million.3 Population growth: 2.16‰.4 Ethnic groups: Taiwanese 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, indigenous 2%. Migrant workers: Between 400,000 and 500,000 from South-East Asia (mainly Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam). Languages: Mandarin, Taiwanese (Minnan), Hakka dialects, indigenous dialects. 2. Historical background The history of Taiwan goes back to the foundation of the Republic of China (ROC) in 1911 which then corresponded to the current area of mainland China. From 1927, a civil war erupted, opposing forces loyal to the government led by the Kuomintang (KMT)5 to forces of the Chinese Communist Party. The present territory of Taiwan was at the time not under its own administration, but under Japanese colonial rule. The second Sino-Japanese war (1937- 1945) ended when the Japanese lost World War II. Chiang Kai-shek, then leader of the KMT, represented the
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