Premier Jiang Yi-huah reiterated Taiwan's determination to join international conventions at the Cabinet meeting held today. "As a member of the international community, Taiwan should proactively seek entry into various multilateral international conventions and participate in international activities on its own initiative," he said.
Because of its unique situation, however, Taiwan has had difficulties directly signing or joining such conventions, he pointed out. For example, Taiwan's applications for entry into the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which President Chen Shui-bian and President Ma Ying-jeou signed in 2007 and 2009 respectively, were all turned down by the United Nations. The other pacts Taiwan is seeking to join include the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
President Ma has instructed that Taiwan should strive to join various multilateral treaties to get involved in world affairs, and that the spirit of the international conventions regarding human rights, environmental protection and oceans should be incorporated into the rules and regulations administered by relevant domestic government agencies so as to bring the government's policies in line with international practices, remarked Jiang.
The regulations governing the codification of multilateral conventions and agreements into domestic law by various agencies under the Executive Yuan, drafted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, prescribe the procedures relevant agencies should follow to allow all terms and conditions specified in those conventions to have the same effect as domestic laws, noted the premier.
Jiang said he has requested Minister without Portfolio Tsai Yu-ling to invite various agencies to meet and discuss the issue so these regulations will be followed once they are approved, which will demonstrate the government's determination to gain entry into international conventions.