local campaigns

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Japan Hanging on to Death Penalty

HRF/75/03 　Embargoed for 23 April 2003 JAPAN is one of only two industrialized democracies that use the death penalty Currently, there are 57 people on death row waiting to be executed, and approximately an additional 50 inmates whose death sentences are still under appeal. Japan’s death penalty practice has been called “inconsistent with the [ICCPR]” by the UN Human Right Committee, “a violation of the most fundamental human rights” by the Council of Europe, and tantamount to torture and cruel punishment by numerous independent observers. Japan’s death penalty practice is cloaked in secrecy, and administered under antiquated, unreformed laws leaving…

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A Musical Look at Human Rights in Taiwan

Human rights apply to many different aspects of our lives, and different groups of people face different kinds of human rights problems. Naturally, people deprived of life or liberty because of their opinions or through miscarriages of justice are victims of human rights violations. Likewise, people denied equal treatment because of their gender, ethnic or national origin, or sexual orientation are also victims of human rights violations. So are abused children or workers mistreated by their bosses. Through this CD we hope to bring everyone’s attention to some of these problems and the disadvantaged groups in our society who are…

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For Human Rights, Let them free

2001.05 The Greek cargo vessel, M/V Amorgos, was grounded off the coast of southern Taiwan, on Jan 14, 2001. The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) of the Executive Yuan sent a letter to the Hualien Harbor Bureau (HLHB) requesting that they restrain the Master of ship Evangelos Lazaridis, Chief Engineer Vasileios Sardis, and other crewmembers from leaving Taiwan. The HLHB then sent a letter of request to the Immigration Bureau of the Interior Ministry (IBIM) to do the same. So far, they have been restrained in Taiwan for more than 4 months. To protect their human rights, we request that the…

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Human rights get mixed report card

By Irene LinSTAFF REPORTERNews from Taipei Times Human rights conditions in Taiwan have improved over the past year, but causes for concern remain, according to a year-end evaluation released yesterday. The Taiwan Association for Human Rights (台灣人權促進會) released its evaluation of human rights conditions in Taiwan for the year 2000 yesterday, listing improvements as well as setbacks. Lin Feng-jeng (林峰正), chairperson of the association, said it is expected the society could use the evaluation as an indicator of human rights conditions in Taiwan. Four out of the 10 items on the evaluation pointed to areas where change has been for…