include more specifically the human rights protections of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and that there be an assurance that international procedures which monitor implementation of the Covenants would continue to apply to Hong Kong. (See Hong Kong Memorandum on the Draft Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, AI Index: ASA 19/02/88 (July 1988); and Summary of Comments on the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Draft) Issued in February 1989, AI Index: ASA 19/04/89 (November 1989).)
Some of Amnesty International's human rights concerns about the drafts of the Basic Law were addressed by amendments to the Basic Law. The Draft Bill of Rights responds to other Amnesty International concerns, particularly regarding the failure of the Basic Law to comport with certain standards of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
2. SUMMARY OF COMMENTS
There are still significant human rights concerns regarding the Draft Bill of Rights:
(1) The Draft Bill of Rights does not provide for recognition of
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(3)
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international monitoring procedures which are necessary to ensure that the International Covenants "remain in force".
Domestic implementation of the Bill of Rights should be strengthened by providing that the Bill of Rights may be invoked in any administrative, civil or criminal proceeding, that any person who believes that his/her rights have been violated shall be able to seek redress in a court, and that the courts have the power to review the compatibility of any laws with the rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. A tort remedy alone would be insufficient.
The Draft Bill of Rights may not adequately protect against the detention of prisoners of conscience for peaceful political activity, which might occur under the Basic Law.
The Draft Bill of Rights provides for protection against the deprivation of the right to life, but should include the assurance that the current policy of not carrying out the death penalty will be maintained.
The Draft Bill of Rights should not include reservations which infringe the internationally-recognized rights of prisoners or of asylum-seekers.
The Bill of Rights will not adequately protect Hong Kong residents in a state of emergency, because of the Basic Law's sweeping provisions.
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