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International Federation for Human Rights holds congress in Taipei

  • 21 October, 2019
  • John Van Trieste
International Federation for Human Rights holds congress in Taipei
President Tsai Ing-wen at the opening of this year's International Federation for Human Rights

The International Federation for Human Rights has opened its 40th annual congress in Taipei. The federation, also known by its French acronym FIDH, is an NGO that aims to defend human rights worldwide.

The federation says it has chosen Taiwan to host this year’s conference because Taiwan is a democratic country with a vigorous civil society. Therefore, it said, Taiwan stands in sharp contrast to some of its neighbors. The federation also says that Taiwan has become one of the most democratic and progressive countries in Asia.

President Tsai Ing-wen gave an address at the conference’s opening ceremony on Monday. She spoke about her administration’s work to further human rights protections in Taiwan.

The president highlighted efforts to end workplace discrimination against women, as well as work to advance judicial reform, strengthen the social safety net, and expand protections for the disadvantaged. In addition, Tsai spoke about Taiwan’s legalization of same-sex marriage, a first in Asia.

She said that while Taiwan is not a member of the UN, it has adopted many of its human rights conventions, writing them into domestic law. She also said that Taiwan has invited experts and scholars to examine its domestic human rights situation. 

However, Tsai said that Taiwan still has more work to do.

"Like [the road to] democratization, human rights is a journey of many, many small steps. The path before us is long, and many issues remain unresolved. But we are working each and every day to make Taiwan fairer [and] more just," Tsai said.

Tsai said that government efforts alone are not enough to ensure the protection of human rights. She said that NGOs play a key role, too, in helping the government find ways to protect human rights and communicate with the public.

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