Taiwan's National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAP) was approved by the Executive Yuan on December 10, 2020, and subsequently made public. The Ministry of Economic Affairs was tasked by the Executive Yuan to act as the secretariat and coordinating agency for the plan, working in collaboration with relevant ministries and committees to drive its implementation. To mark the second anniversary of the NAP, the Ministry of Economic Affairs provided an update on the latest progress and addressed concerns raised by civil society groups on December 8, 2020, which noted that "only 9% of the promotional measures have been achieved halfway through the plan's implementation period, and no effective supervision mechanism is in place."
The NAP encompasses 31 action points, which are being implemented by relevant ministries and commissions. To support effective implementation and oversight, the Executive Yuan introduced the "Strategic Roadmap for the Implementation of the NAP." This roadmap organizes the plan's execution through five key strategic approaches: routine operations and monitoring, cross-sector collaboration between the public and private sectors, international exchange and cooperation, education and promotion of business and human rights, and the development of innovative regulatory sandboxes.
Since 2021, each competent authorities has been reporting on the implementation progress of the plan every six months. The third round of management review and summary is currently in progress. Key implementation progress to date includes:
- The Second Review of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) National Report was concluded and approved in August 2022;
- Submitted the First National Report under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in December 2022;
- The review phase of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICMW) has been completed through Executive Yuan deliberation, with the Convention currently undergoing the process of domestic legislation incorporation;
- Implemented the Constitutional Court Procedure Act in January 2022;
- Incorporated individual fundamental rights protection into the "Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act" and completed its announcement for legislative review;
- Enacted and implemented the " Labor Occupational Accident Insurance and Protection Act " on May 1, 2022;
- Revised and promulgated the "Gender Equality Policy Guidelines" in May 2021 to strengthen women's labor rights;
- Completed the partial installation of sanitation facilities and rest areas (prayer rooms) for fishery workers, and established the Action Plan for Fisheries and Human Rights to improve fishery workers' rights;
- Revised foreign investment application forms to require disclosure of environmental protection, labor law compliance, and sustainability reporting for investment cases exceeding TWD 1.5 billion (approximately USD 46.095 million);
- Sustainable taxonomy standards have been developed for major industries in Taiwan regarding financial institutions' investment and financing practices, which will serve as reference guidelines for the financial sector, investors and corporate sustainable transformation;
- Review of current domestic regulations in reference to the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (February 23, 2022) and Japan's Guidelines on Respecting Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains (September 2022), including hosting at least two workshops and one international symposium for Taiwan's legal framework development;
- Strengthening extraterritorial jurisdiction through the Judicial Yuan's commissioned research on international jurisdiction; According to the analysis conducted by the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Economic Affairs based on current judicial practice, Article 184 of the Civil Code of the Republic of China (Taiwan) (hereinafter 'the Civil Code') ,which stipulates tort liability, applies to legal persons (referencing the Supreme Court’s 2019 Tai Shang Zi No. 2035 Civil Judgment), making companies liable for tort damages, while Article 185 establishes joint liability for parent-subsidiary company violations, and Articles 8 and 23 of the Company Act stipulate joint liability between company responsible persons and the company for damages to victims.
The NAP is being implemented as scheduled. The Ministry of Economic Affairs, in collaboration with the relevant competent authorities, will closely monitor the timeline and actively advance the implementation efforts to further enhance the development of business and human rights in Taiwan.
Contact Information:
Spokesperson:
Mr. Ming-pin CHANG
Director
Investment Services Department
Ministry of Economic Affairs
Tel: +886-2-2389-2111 ext. 811
Mobile: +886-910-232199
Email: mpchang@moea.gov.tw
Business Contact:
Ms. Mei-hsing LIN
Section Chief
Investment Services Department
Ministry of Economic Affairs
Tel: 02-2389-2111 ext. 610
Mobile: 0988-158298
Email: mhlin2@moea.gov.tw
