Introduction The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) (hereafter the “two Covenants”) are the two most programmatic and dominant covenants related to human rights that have been codified under the United Nations; these two Covenants encompass and detail the precise substance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Moreover, the importance of the two Covenants to Taiwan is self-evident due to the fact that in the legislation of the “Act to Implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights” this Act is given precedence of application if domestic law is in conflict with it; so when compared with other domestic laws, the Act has priority. Although Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations and is thus excluded from the national report review process undertaken by the United Nations Human Rights Committee, Taiwan has managed to promote the protection of human rights and incorporate international human rights standards by designing a national report review system which resembles that of the UN mechanisms. Starting from 2013, international human rights experts have been invited to Taiwan to evaluate Taiwan’s compliance with the two Covenants and to make conclusive observations and recommendations every four years. Not only is this review model ground-breaking and unique, it is also significant to both Taiwan and the international community. The aim of composing human rights reviews and reports is to provide governments with an occasion for self-examination and reflection. Apart from expanding the scope and accuracy of human rights investigations through existing policy indicators and statistics, the process of human rights reporting also helps to enhance the government’s capacity for human rights review, as well as assisting in the mobilization and learning functions of implementation in the public sector. In addition, the national report review process stimulates governments to examine their existing human rights systems and to further bring to light the challenges and difficulties in enforcing human rights protections, as well as to identify the scenarios which are disadvantageous to specific or vulnerable groups. Self-examination of government departments and entities at all levels helps to verify whether the related policies and administrative actions taken by the government have obstructed the fulfillment of obligations to human rights. If obstructed, possible resolutions should be proposed. Through constructive dialogues with appraisers, civil society, and stakeholders, benchmarks to be achieved prior to the next national report are thus set. Given that the submission and review of national reports form part of the government’s obligations and accountability in human rights protection, aside from conforming to the basic requirements for rigor and credibility, the report contents 1