Memo: HRJs in Taiwan Human Rights Reviews and Court Cases-Institutional Backgrounds and Initial Observations (For D5.1)

This memo summarizes the research questions posed, the desktop research conducted, and the preliminary observations made by Team Taiwan from Work Package 5 (Migration) over the first 20 months, spanning March 2023 to November 2023. During this research period, the team mapped out HRJ techniques used by the Taiwanese government and made observations to inform policy recommendations for the final research stage.

The team focuses on two distinct forums to understand whether and how the government employs HRJ:1. State reports submitted to the committees of UN human rights conventions domesticated in Taiwan (reviewed during 2023).2.Civil and criminal court cases regarding migrant workers (reviewed during 2024).

Our team identifies notable differences in the use of HRJ in each forum. While the UN human rights reports reveal at least five HRJ techniques employed by the Taiwanese government, court cases reflect a relative absence of HRJs. This contrast suggests that the features of each forum significantly influence the government’s approach. Ironically, the human rights review procedure appears to incentivize the government’s use of (potentially harmful) HRJ. This momo concludes with tentative observations on strengthening institutional designs to help identify and prevent the government's irresponsible use of HRJs.