2013 CCPR&ESCR Report Review: 2012 Alternative Reply on Climate Change, Agriculture, Land Expropriation and Public Participation Issues
Taiwan Rural Front, Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, Taiwan
2013/02/22

Climate  change  and  environment  issues  have  an  unquestionably  close  link  to human  rights.  As  Taiwan  is  located  in  a  region  especially  sensitive  to  climatic change,  directly  addressing  the  relationship  between  climate  change, environmental issues, and human rights is all the more pressing. This alternative reply is a joint submission from Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, Taiwan, an  environmental  law  group  with  a  focus  on  environmental  and  social sustainability,  and  Taiwan  Rural  Front  (TRF),  an  organization  which  works  on issues  of  land  justice,  ecological  sustainability,  agricultural  development,  and conditions for farmers. We believe that both the Taiwanese government’s Initial Report to the ICCPR and ICRSCR show insufficient concern for climate change issues  and  are  furthermore  ambiguous  with  regard  to  environmental  and  land conflicts  in  recent  years,  which  in  fact  have  seriously  violated  the  rights  of Taiwanese citizens to life, an adequate standard of living, health, and property, as well as their legal rights to due process and public participation. In our submission, we  specify  three  major  areas  of  neglect:  national  land-use  programs,  land expropriation policy, and a lack of transparency obstructing public participation in decision-making  process.  Through  the  examination  process,  we  hope  that  the Taiwanese  government  will  be  urged  to  address  these  issues  with  concrete reforms.

Taiwan Rural Front, Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, Taiwan
Keywords
#CCPR&ESCR Report Review, 2013
#Economy and Industry
#Taiwan Rural Front
#Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, Taiwan