Taipei, Nov. 22 (CNA) Taiwan has been making substantial moves toward eliminating discrimination against women, but government officials and civil workers will need to increase participation in international networking to achieve higher goals, U.N. representatives said in a conference held in Taipei Thursday.
The ultimate goal is Taiwan's accession to the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), one of the few U.N. conventions which allows non-U.N. members to actively participate.
What Taiwan can do is increase its visibility by actively engaging in international non-government organization (INGOs) events. Aside from the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) , women rights advocates can also participate in the U.N. DPI-NGO (Department of Public Information-Non-government Organizations) , said Denise Scotto, Vice Chair of U.N. NGO Committee on the Status of Women (NGOCSW.)
"You can also work around the U.N.'s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) , " she said, stressing that it will show the world Taiwan's progress in women's rights issues and help Taiwan's accession in the long run.
In February 2007, the Legislative Yuan passed and adopted CEDAW. President Chen Shui-bian has also ratified the convention, stressing the importance of promoting women's human rights. Taiwan's ratification of CEDAW was not accepted by the U.N. because of it the country's political status, however.
In examining the status of women in Taiwan, the Awakening Foundation found that Taiwan has done well in several international reviews, such as the Gender Development Index (GDI) and Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) , ranking in the Top 25 in the world in both. It has also found that Taiwan ranks among the best in the ratio of female representatives among public officials, national and local legislators, and management in private corporations.
However, Taiwan needs to make improvements in areas such as the rights for female immigrants and migrant workers, human trafficking, and the implementation of regulations and laws, the foundation stated in the "checklist".
The ratification of CEDAW could mean much to Taiwan, said Theresa Yeh, a professor at National Taiwan University who's also a women's rights advocate. It provides Taiwan with an all-dimensional platform for cross-national dialogue on women's issues and situates the contribution of Taiwanese women in the global women's human rights movement, while, of course, keeping women's rights issues at the top of the priority list.
Changing attitudes and behaviors are sometimes even harder than legislation and the implementation of the law, noted Nancy Wallace, Treasurer of the U.N. NGOCSW.
"Sometimes it's not happening fast enough for those who are suffering from discrimination. And that's why we have to hit the streets: to help and empower them, " she said.