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The
Legislative Yuan's Foreign Committee on December 18 passed a proposal for
Taiwan
to make a bid to join the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) adopted in 1979 by the U.N. General
Assembly.
Taiwan's accession to the CEDAW -- which has been signed by national
women's groups from 185 countries around the world and is often described as an
international bill of rights for women – would help boost gender equality in
Taiwan and make clear Taiwan's resolve to join the international community as
well, said Yang Tzu-pao, a vice foreign minister, at the Legislative Yuan.
Giving a report on Taiwan's bid to join the CEDAW at the Foreign
Committee, Yang said the CEDAW, which accepts non-U.N. member countries in a
category known as "state parties," is an overarching framework for
women's rights whose membership is the second largest among all groups
concerning human rights, behind only that of the U.N. Convention on the Rights
of the Child (CRC).
Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party
said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) , which submitted the proposal,
should "practice what it preaches" by promoting more women to major
posts within the ministry.
(Source:
Central News Agency)
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