The Executive Yuan's Department of Gender Equality (DGE) announced on Monday that the Review and Presentation of the ROC (Taiwan) CEDAW Third National Report is taking place between July 16 and 20 in Taipei. CEDAW is the United Nation's Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Five former members of the U.N.'s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women have been invited by Taiwan Vice President Chen Chien-jen to serve on the international committee responsible for reviewing the third national report. They will join government representatives and members of non-governmental organizations to discuss the important issue of women's rights. Following an appraisal of the current state of CEDAW implementation in Taiwan, the review committee will identify areas for continued improvement and deliver concrete proposals to achieve this.
The DGE indicated that Taiwan enacted the Enforcement Act of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 2011, and the law took effect in 2012, giving the convention's provisions the force of law. These provisions require that Taiwan release a national CEDAW report every four years. The first report was issued in 2009 and the second in 2013. Work on the third national report began in 2016, and the final document was released in 2017.
Vice President Chen said that since the passage of the CEDAW enforcement law, Taiwan has assiduously upheld the standards of the convention and worked tirelessly to realize gender equality and human rights. Agencies and offices throughout the government have been directed to undertake education and popularization initiatives, as well as review rules and regulations and seek changes where needed in order to advance women's rights and genuine gender equality. This week's review and presentation of the third national CEDAW report, said the vice president, provide an opportunity to demonstrate Taiwan's efforts and dedication to achieve greater gender equality by highlighting the concrete advancements and key successes of the nation's promotion of women's rights.
Ms. Heisoo Shin, chairperson of the international review committee, affirmed that the human rights consciousness and review process evinced by Taiwan over nearly 10 years of reporting could serve as a model for reviews undertaken by other nations party to international conventions. The four other members of the committee are Ms. Silvia Pimentel of Brazil, Ms. Violeta Neubauer of Slovenia, Mr. Niklas Bruun of Finland, and Ms. Bianca Pomeranzi of Italy.