GOOD RAPPORT: FIDH’s leader said that politicians resist change as elections near, but urged people to remember that Taiwan’s ‘very existence is an act of courage’
Taipei Times
Date: May 17, 2019
By: Ann Maxon / Staff reporter
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) yesterday said that it would in
International Federation for Human Rights secretary-general Debbie Stothard, right, accompanied by federation CEO Eleonore Morel, second right, and Taiwan Association for Human Rights board member Wu Jia-zhen, second left, speaks at a congress in Taipei yesterday.Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
October hold its 40th congress in Taipei, the first time the event is to be held in Asia in its nearly 100-year history.
Taiwan has been chosen due to the federation’s long-term rapport with Taiwanese human rights organizations and its concern over marriage equality, FIDH secretary-general Debbie Stothard said.
“When FIDH chooses the location of a congress, in addition to our strong relationship to our members who are in the country — in this case the Taiwan Association for Human Rights [TAHR] — we also consider whether we are here to congratulate the country on their progress on human rights and democracy, or whether we are here to push the state to behave better or to improve their position on human rights and democracy,” she told a news conference.
“We very much hope that Taiwan can create history by passing the marriage equality bill tomorrow [today],” she said, adding that it decided to hold the congress in Taiwan from Oct. 21 to 25 in part due to the LGBT Pride Parade to be held on Oct. 26.
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