CCPR/C/58/Add.6 page 112
7. A major concern in Hong Kong is the protection of human rights after 1997, in particular the continued application and implementation of the two International Covenants on Human Rights in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as provided for in the Joint Declaration. Under section 4 of annex II to the Joint Declaration, the means by which the British and Chinese Governments will ensure the continued application of the international rights and obligations affecting Hong Kong is a matter for consideration in the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group and its sub-group on international rights and obligations. It is essentially a question of how best the People's Republic of China can succeed in 1997 to the treaty rights and obligations which the United Kingdom has at present in respect of Hong Kong, under the Covenants.
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In addition, article 39 of the second draft of the Basic Law states:
"The provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as applied to Hong Kong shall remain in force and shall be implemented through the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
"The rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents shall not be restricted unless prescribed by law. Such restrictions shall not contravene the provisions of the preceding paragraph of this article."
Section XIII of annex I to the Joint Declaration also specifies inter alia: "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government shall maintain the rights and freedoms as provided for by the laws previously in force in Hong Kong, including freedom of the person, of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, to form and join trade unions, of correspondence, of travel, of movement, of strike, of demonstration, of choice of occupation, of academic research, of belief, inviolability of the home, the freedom to marry and the right to raise a family freely. Chapter III of the second draft of the Basic Law contains relevant provisions.
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10. The question of a human rights ordinance for Hong Kong is the subject of intense discussion both in public and within the Hong Kong Government. The question was first formally raised at the end of 1987 and beginning of 1988 when, partly in relation to issues being discussed in the drafting of the Basic Law and partly in response to calls for human rights legislation in Hong Kong, the Attorney General of Hong Kong convened a series of meetings with members of the legal profession drawn from both the public and private sectors and from academic institutions. The aim of the meeting was to provide a forum for members to discuss the subject of human rights and the form human rights legislation might take were it decided to enact such legislation.
11. Following these meetings, members of the Attorney General's chambers began a study of how article 39 of the draft Basic Law, if eventually promulgated, could be implemented in Hong Kong. The current mood in Hong Kong has strengthened calls for further measures to protect human rights to be introduced in Hong Kong before 1997.
12. The Governor of Hong Kong announced in his annual speech at the opening session of the Legislative Council on 11 October 1989 that it was the intention of the Hong Kong Administration to give effect in local law to the