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Macao: Strengthening Human Rights Safeguards
government in Beijing may issue an order "applying the relevant national laws in the region".
Amnesty International is concerned that the sweeping nature of this article may be used to suspend many of the fundamental rights and freedoms otherwise guaranteed by the Draft Basic Law, to imprison people who peacefully exercise these rights, or to apply the death penalty to a broad range of offences as is currently provided by the laws of the PRC. Unless specific protections are introduced to protect against the death penalty in Macao, Article 18 poses a risk of its introduction, especially in situations in which an emergency is declared by the PRC authorities.
As discussed above, Article 4 of the ICCPR makes clear that none of the obligations it imposes may be derogated from except "in time of a public emergency which threatens the life of the nation and the existence of which is officially proclaimed". It also provides that some fundamental rights cannot be subject to any limitation or derogation even during such an emergency. Those non-derogable rights include the rights to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to be free from arbitrary deprivation of the right to life, and the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The Portuguese Constitution also safeguards against the limitation of fundamental rights during a state of siege or a state of emergency. The residents of Macao currently enjoy protection against the suspension of their rights under Article 4 of the ICCPR and the Portuguese Constitution.
Amnesty International recommends that Article 18 of the Draft Basic Law be revised make clear that any legislation applied in the Macao SAR during a state of emergency must be consistent with the provisions of the ICCPR.
Al Index: ASA 27/01/91
Amnesty International November 1991