A Year of Human Rights Covenants: Great Leap for Taiwan
National Human Rights Commission, Taiwan
9
NHRC-Expertise France Cooperation
Program: Clarifying the Role of an NHRI
Through Peer to Peer Exchange
Author: Jérémie Beja
International Human Rights and Government Expert
National Human Rights Commission of Taiwan
I joined the Taiwanese National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) as a special advisor in
September 2022. My positioning is the result of
a cooperation agreement between the NHRC,
Expertise France and the French Bureau of
Taipei and aims at developing the relationships
between the NHRC and its French counterparts,
as well as providing technical support to the
NHRC, two years after it was established by an
organic law passed by the Legislative Yuan.
I. Human Rights institutions in
France and Taiwan: Different
administrative structures
but similar mandates
During these first few months I started getting
familiar with the NHRC’s organization, its work
and its position in the Taiwanese administrative
infrastructure. Moreover, the foundations for
the strengthening of the bilateral cooperation
between the NHRC and the French national
institutions in charge of protecting different
types of Human Rights were laid. Unlike Taiwan,
France does not have only one independent
institution whose mandate is related to the
protection of Human Rights but three. The French
National Consultative Commission on Human
Rights (CNCDH) is the oldest Human Rights
Commission in the world and was originally
founded in 1947. Unlike the NHRC, it is not
mandated to take individual complaints. Its main
work is to monitor the Human Rights situation in
France by issuing public opinions and reports on
a wide range of Human Rights issues (racism,
disabled people rights, refugee rights, women’s
rights, environment protection, rights of LGBTQI
people, fight against human trafficking, etc.) and
promote Human Rights culture through public
education activities and joint programs with
schools, universities and civil servants training
schools. It also plays an important role in writing
opinions on bills discussed in Parliament and
national policies promoted by the government.
Furthermore, The CNCDH participates in the UN
treaty monitoring system for all Human Rights
Conventions signed by France by providing
independent opinions and participating in the
various’ Committees’ sessions.
National Human Rights Commission 2022 Annual Report
89