At the invitation of the Government of Taiwan and Covenant Watch, a coalition of NGOs in Taiwan, the ICJ led a three-day training programme in Taipei, Taiwan, on the UN treaty body periodic reporting process.
As a territory not recognised by the international community as a sovereign state, Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations in its own right. The UN Secretary General has consequently been unable to accept Taiwan’s deposit of instruments of accession to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The UN Human Rights Committee and Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights have similarly been unable to review Taiwan’s initial reports under the ICCPR and ICESCR.
Taiwan has therefore initiated a parallel review process, whereby two Committees of Independent Experts will review the implementation of the provisions of the ICCPR and ICESCR in Taiwan. The ICJ delivered training in Taipei from 29 to 31 October 2012 on the treaty body review process and the way that Taiwanese civil society and the Government may engage in this parallel review process.
Taiwan-TBReviewProcess-TrainingAgenda (2012) (download training agenda in PDF)