amnesty international
MACAO
Strengthening human rights safeguards
Memorandum from Amnesty International to the Basic Law Drafting Committee
NOVEMBER 1991
SUMMARY
AI INDEX: ASA 27/01/91
DISTR: SC/GR
Macao, a territory under Portuguese administration on the South China coast, will revert to Chinese sovereignty on 20 December 1999. The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration on the Question of Macao, published in 1987, stipulates that Macao will become a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) upon retrocession by Portugal.
This memorandum highlights Amnesty International's concerns about the Draft Basic Law proposed to be implemented in the Macao SAR when the PRC resumes sovereignty over that territory.
The analysis examines selected provisions of the Draft Basic Law which appear in their present form to be incompatible with international standards for human rights. It also makes recommendations for amendments to these provisions with the goal of ensuring that the Basic Law enacted in the Macao SAR will afford full safeguards for the protection of human rights.