TNAG-0979-FCO40-1198-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-British-nationality-1980 — Page 142

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sentiment of human rights conventions and anti-

discrimination laws. For example, the 4th Protocol to

the European Convention on Human Rights, inter alia,

includes the exclusion of a person from the country

of which he is a national. The UK has not been able

to ratify it given our present laws.

4. The main political parties are committed to

radical reform of our nationality law. It was in

the Conservative Party's election manifesto and

legislation was promised in The Queen's Speech for

this session of Parliament; and though the Home

Secretary has announced that this will not now be

possible he is committed to a White Paper which will

set out the new legislation in considerable detail

We need to settle the question of citizen-

this year.

ship of colonial belongers soon.

5.

Given the need for a departure from the unitary

afraid

form of citizenship I am convinced that we cannot

retain the title CUKC. However, the agreement of

Home Office officials (following your request) to

recommend to Ministers a three-category citizenship

scheme so that colonial belongers could be in a

separate category, does present an opportunity to

reopen the question of the retention of "British

though not in the present sence synonymous with subject " to be used as a common status linking the¬ Commonwealth Citizin

three categories.

There are, however, considerable

arguments which we can expect to be used against it.

A common title to some extent blurs the distinction

which the three-category citizenship system was designed

to make; many think it an outmoded title; it is arguably

out of place in a citizenship scheme closely linked to

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