Taiwan – Indigenous peoples

By Daniel Morris | 9. November 2021

III. The State duty to protect human rights

B. Actions taken

  • Promoting human rights through government procurement operations (page 8)

‘Taiwan has implemented regulations that include such measures, including […]”Indigenous Peoples Employment Rights Protection Act.” All these acts prohibit discrimination, encourage green purchasing, and promote environmental protection.’

This information is also covered under Appendix 4: Overview of the implementation of the state duty to protect and the access to remedy, The state duty to protect, UNGP6, Actions taken (page 45).

 

 IV. The corporate responsibility to respect human rights

C. Actions planned

  • Advocate for disclosure of non-financial information (pages 14-15)

‘In addition to studying the feasibility of expanding the range of businesses subject to a compulsory requirement to prepare CSR reports, the Taiwan government will also advocate for disclosure by businesses of non-financial information (related issues will include important environmental, social, and governance (ESG) topics — such as […] indigenous land rights […] – all of which are matters of concern to stakeholders).’

This information is also covered under Appendix 4: Overview of the implementation of the state duty to protect and the access to remedy, The state duty to protect, UNGP3, Actions planned (page 43).

 

Appendix 1: Concrete actions taken by Taiwan to fulfill the state obligation to protect

  • Government procurement (page 24-25)

Article 12 of the “Indigenous Peoples Employment Rights Protection Act” stipulates as follow:

“I. Companies winning bids according to the Government Procurement Act with more than one hundred staff shall hire indigenous people during the term of contract performance, with the total number of indigenous people accounting for no less than one percent (1%) of the total number of working staff thereof.

  1. The indigenous people hired according to the provision in the previous section shall receive pre-job training before commencement of their work; training fees shall be subsidized by the government; the conditions, duration and amount of subsidies shall be determined by the competent authority for labor issues in the central government.

III. In the event that the winning bidder fails to hire enough indigenous people based on the requirement set out in paragraph I above, it shall make a cash payment to the employment fund of the Aboriginal Comprehensive Development Fund.”’

  • Other legislative action and measures (page 29)

[…] ‘Article 8 of the “Public Welfare Lottery Issue Act” provides as follows: “Disabled persons who are capable of working, indigenous persons, and single-parent families with low income shall be given first priority for lottery retailer licenses. Retailers which have more than five employees shall hire at least one disabled person who is capable of working, one indigenous person, or one head of a single-parent family with low income.”’