A Year of Human Rights Covenants: Great Leap for Taiwan National Human Rights Commission, Taiwan Two Covenants, the second National Report on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the second National Report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the fourth National Report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and responded to the IRC’s List of Issues (Table 4). We have also invited IRC experts to take part in interactive discussion and seminars, and collaborated with NGOs to organize international expert forums in 2022 (Figure 1). a. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Although the international review meetings of the third national report on the Two Covenants were not held until May 2022 after repeated postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government had submitted the national report in 2020, and the NHRC its Independent Opinion on the Third National Report on the ICCPR and ICESCR (Independent Opinions on the Two Covenants) on December 10 in the same year and the response to the “List of Issues” to the IRC on February 28, 2022. When the NHRC met the IRC members for the first time in May 2022, IRC members specifically mentioned that the Independent Opinions on the Two Covenants had helped them understand the status of implementation of human rights protection in Taiwan, thus affirming the NHRC’s oversight function in Taiwan. In her remarks to the IRC meeting on May 9, 2022, Chairperson Chen Chu pointed out that Taiwan had experienced a martial-law period for 38 years and had a difficult democratization process. With Taiwan on the road towards freedom and democracy in the pursuit of human rights, her responsibility as the first chairperson of the NHRC was especially heavy. The independent opinion covered human rights during the years of the pandemic, digital rights, the right to adequate housing and migrant workers. In the “Exchange meeting between the NHRC and the IRC for the third National Report on the Two Covenants” on May 13, we sought to learn from international experience, understand the functions and operation of national human rights institutions and the best practices for overseeing the government’s implementation of concluding observations. Dr. Eibe Riedel, IRC chair of the third review on the implementation of the ICESCR, stated that our independent opinion had spoken truly. He also looked forward to seeing the NHRC take a more proactive approach to monitor the relevant responsible agencies and ensure complete implementation of the international human rights law. Dr. Manfred Nowak affirmed Taiwan’s establishment of the NHRC and expected that its pluralism and independence will help further its work. The NHRC’s agenda should include legislation on prohibition of torture, protection of migrant worker and refugees, as well as prevention of enforced disappearances as recommended by the review committee. They also proposed unilateral acceptance of international obligations. On May 14, we invited Chairman Nowak, Chairman Riedel, and Ms. Rosslyn Noonan (member of the ICESCR Review Committee) to a seminar on “Local Implementation of Human Rights Conventions: Role and Responsibilities of the NHRC and the Judiciary”, co-sponsored with the Judges Academy and Covenants Watch. Chairman Nowak urged that the government of Taiwan should continue promoting the abolishment of death penalty, and conducting impartial investigations into any allegations of potential torture through legal amendment in compliance with the UN’s Convention Against National Human Rights Commission 2022 Annual Report 31