Two days before National Children's Day, a non-governmental organization (NGO) alliance appealed to the newly-elected government to campaign for Taiwan so it could join the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by 2003.
The Steering Alliance of Taiwan's Acceding to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, composed of 23 NGOs and endorsed by 57 legislators, asked president-elect Chen Shui-bian (
The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the UN in 1989 and has been signed by more than 167 member states.
It was dedicated to every child under the age of 18 and is one of the most strongly supported UN human rights conventions.
"Joining the UN convention is a new starting point for establishing human rights diplomacy as well as public diplomacy," an alliance statement read.
Liao Fu-te (
"In Taiwan we do have a specific welfare policy for children. However, compared to the UN's recognition of children as subjects and respect for their inherent rights, our concept of `welfare' does not favor adults over children," Liao said. "Every child is an individual and is entitled to their own rights."
Lai Chin-lin (
A timetable was also scheduled to incorporate children's rights into the curricula of primary and high schools, as well as establish a budget for foreign aid for the children in developing countries by 2002, regardless of whether they have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
"We hope to submit the application to the UN in 2003," he said.
Aware of Taiwan's pariah status in the international community, the alliance also considered the campaign's possible hurdles but did not expect to encounter hostility auch as Taiwan faces when it attempts full membership in the UN.
"Although China has veto power in the UN Security Council, it has none in the General Assembly," said Liao, adding that the campaign would not be easy.
Liao urged the government to seek support for the campaign from UN member states in Europe, the US and Japan.
"The European countries are most concerned with human rights and we believe few countries would deny Taiwan's entry to the convention," he said.
In 1996, End Child Prostitution Association Taiwan (ECPAT) launched a similar campaign on a smaller scale same but was stalled by opposition from UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund).
"We wrote letters to UNICEF demonstrating our efforts to join the convention," said Lee Li-feng (李麗芬), secretary-general of ECPAT. "But UNICEF was as political as all the international organizations and denied our application. However, they suggested Taiwan restart its campaign from the private NGOs and then connect with international NGOs."
"Submitting to the UN is the last stage. We still have a long way to go," she said.
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
CHIPS AND DEFENSE: Trump said the US had lost its chip business and Taipei should pay it for defense, and added that ‘we’re no different than an insurance company’ Taiwan-US relations are solid, and both sides are in agreement that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region are everyone’s concern, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday following comments by former US president Donald Trump that Taiwan “should pay” for US defense. Taiwan is thankful to the US for supporting Taiwan’s bid to participate in international organizations, Cho told a news conference in Taipei. “I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100 percent of our chip business,” Trump told Bloomberg on June 25 in an interview that was published on Tuesday. “I think
SHOW OF SUPPORT: Taiwan has been one of the largest buyers of US defense equipment, supporting American businesses and jobs, US lawmakers said Taiwan has been paying for its own defense, a US Department of State official said on Wednesday, adding that purchases of military equipment are important to the US economy and for ensuring regional security. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller was asked at a news conference about comments by former US president Donald Trump, the Republican nominee in November’s US presidential election, who said during an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that Taiwan should pay Washington for its defense needs. “The purchases that they [Taiwan] have made not only are important, we believe, to regional security, but are important to the United States economy,”
END OF SESSION: Other changes that passed involved the removal of restrictions on group tours to China and raising the sentence for people found guilty of child abuse Legislators yesterday passed the third reading of amendments to Article 49 of the Electricity Act (電業法), which stipulate that at least half of the electricity price evaluation committee should be made up of civilian representatives, and a resolution to invite President William Lai (賴清德) to present a state of the nation address at the Legislative Yuan. They also passed a motion proposed by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) that the government remove restrictions on group tours to China. On the last day of this year’s first legislative session, the legislators attempted to deal with dozens of bills