TNAG-0679-FCO40-828-Allegations-of-corruption-and-bribery-in-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 206

(2) Human Rights-their protection and the rule of law in the

one-party state;

(3) the definition and scope of minority rights within the United

Nations.

The conclusions reached in plenary session will be published and obtainable by members in due course.

General Activities

The Secretary-General was able to report another very active and fruitful year. Perhaps the most notable international event was the Seminar held in Dar-es-Salaam in September last year on Human Rights— their protection and the Rule of Law in one-party states. The general conclusions of the Seminar, which were endorsed at the meeting of the Commission referred to above, were that the existence of one party states throughout Africa, and elsewhere, has to be recognised, and that, in the absence of democratic checks on the power of governments, there is a greater need and considerable scope for safeguarding human rights through legal and Ombudsman-type institutions, freedom of the press and of association, and popular consultative procedures.

A memorandum prepared by the International Commission of Jurists on torture in various countries was circulated to members of the United Nations Sub-Committee on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities which met in Geneva in August, 1976. It was given a hostile reception by some of the countries named in it and as a result received world-wide publicity. In the same month, the Secretary- General gave oral evidence before a Working Group on Chile of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, and a number of supporting documents were later submitted.

The Commission has been active in its efforts to safeguard the rights both of Parliamentarians and of lawyers where these have been threatened and violated. It has agreed to provide the Secretariat of the Inter- Parliamentary Union with background material on the legal situation in the countries concerned, and has encouraged Bar Associations and Law Societies to give all possible support to lawyers in other countries who are victimised for their defence of human rights. We are very glad to report that our own Law Society has responded favourably to this request.

In the course of the last twelve months the Commission has sent observers to the trial of Christian leaders in Seoul, South Korea, for issuing a statement declaring their adherance to democratic principles and to the trial of Bishop Donald Lamont in Rhodesia for failing to report terrorists. Missions of enquiry have been sent to the Philippines to gather information on the operation of martial law, and to South Korea to enquire about political prisoners and lawyers believed to be held in detention. In addition to the above, the Commission has made well over fifty interventions by way of press statements or representations on unsatisfactory situations in some thirty different countries.

The Commission now has national sections of varying strength in

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