CONFIDENTIAL
(i) Economic Commission for Europe (ECE):
The Hong Kong Trade Facilitation Council has participated once, in recent years, in the relevant working party as part of the UK delegation. In addition, certain documents relating to, e.g. transport matters, list Hong Kong separately as a party to agreements. The territory's Associate Member status in ESCAP does not, however, permit them any other special rights in ECE.
(ii) UN Committee on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
The
Hong Kong may participate as part of the UK delegation but seldom chooses to do so. 'group arrangement in UNCTAD poses certain problems as Hong Kong is not accepted in the Group of 77 nor can it appropriately be considered as a member of Group B. Accordingly, Hong Kong normally remains silent even if represented.
(iii) UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
We have recent experience of Hong Kong participation in the UK delegation stemming from the relatively large numbers of Vietnamese refugees currently in Hong Kong. However, Hong Kong's territorial status vis-a-vis the UNHCR activities has never, to our knowledge, been a subject of controversy with the Chinese Mission.
(iv) The Centre for Human Rights.
As far as organs covered by the Centre
are concerned, principally the (annual) Commission on Human Rights, we have no recent experience of Hong Kong participation under the UK banner.
5. The other group, made up of specialised and inter- governmental agencies, are more autonomous in structure and therefore have their own separate (but UN-related) constitutions. This has meant that, in some, Hong Kong's status has been extended (under the umbrella of UK responsibility) to take account of the nature of a particular agency's activities, e.g. WMO. no case, however, do these special arrangements appear to cut across the underlying responsibility of the UK, as set out in Article 73. The annex to this letter sets out the detailed position as it applies in each specialised agency.
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CONFIDENTIAL