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United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
Speaking Note
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on
in
We wish to raise the subject of the UN Convention
the Rights of the Child. The UK signed the Convention April
1990, ratified the Convention on 16 December 1991
and now wishes to extend ratification to its dependent territories.
2.
The
British side consider that it would be
desirable and appropriate that Hong Kong be included in the
UK ratification.
This would demonstrate to the
international community Hong Kong's commitment to
protecting and promoting the rights of the child. We note
that the Government of the People's Republic of China has recently ratified the Convention.
3.
Hong Kong's legislation and practice concerning the protection of children essentially comply with the
Convention.
Nevertheless, there are inevitably some differences between Hong Kong's legislation and this wide
ranging consensus instrument.
The British side has
identified a number of areas where the UK envisages the need to make declarations or reservations on behalf of Hong Kong upon ratification.
4.
Firstly, articles 1
and 6 of the Convention read
together with paragraph 9 of the preamble may be
interpreted as broadening the
include children before birth.
definition of the child to
Like the UK, Hong Kong
needs a reservation to cover legal termination of pregnancy and to avoid inconsistency with domestic legislation.
5.
Secondly, the provisions in the Convention regarding immigration and nationality are drafted in very As in respect of the UK, a reservation on of Hong Kong is required to reflect the way in which immigration and nationality laws operate in Hong Kong.
broad
behalf
terms.
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