XN000022-1995-11-03 — Page 2

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Government welcomes UN Committee report on human rights

The Government today (Friday) welcomes the concluding observations made by the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) after its hearing in Geneva last month on the civil and political rights situation in Hong Kong.

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The Committee's concluding observations and recommendations published in Geneva today following its examination of the British Government's report on Hong Kong under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in Geneva on October 19 and 20.

A Government spokesman welcomed the Committee's appreciation to the UK Delegation, which included five officials from the Hong Kong Government, for "the high quality of the report, abundance of additional information and detailed and frank answers provided in response to the oral and written questions posed and comments made by the Committee during its consideration of the report".

The spokesman pointed out that it was particularly significant for the Human Rights Committee to issue a statement to facilitate the continuing discharge of reporting obligations for Hong Kong after 1997.

The Committee took the view that, as a matter of international law, human rights treaties devolve with territory, and that States continue to be bound by the obligations under the ICCPR entered by the predecessor State. Once the people living in a territory find themselves under the protection of the ICCPR, such protection cannot be denied to them by virtue of the mere dismemberment of that territory or its coming within the jurisdiction of another State or more than one State.

The Committee also referred to the Joint Declaration whereby the parties have agreed that all the provisions of the ICCPR as applied in Hong Kong shall remain in force after July 1, 1997, which provisions include reporting procedures under article 40. As the reporting requirements will continue to apply, the Human Rights Committee considers itself competent to receive and review reports that must be submitted in relation to Hong Kong.

The Committee accordingly concluded that it is ready to give effect to the intention of the parties to the Joint Declaration and to cooperate fully with them to work out the necessary modalities.