TNAG-1152-FCO40-1432-Relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-the-Commonwealth-1982 — Page 7

I

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DSR 11C

the proposal for a Commission.

It distinguished between

promotion of human rights and their protection and

maintenance and made the following two recommendations:

a) establishment of a special unit within the

Commonwealth Secretariat charged with promoting

respect for human rights (including economic,

social and cultural rights) throughout the

Commonwealth;

b)

establishment of a Commonwealth Advisory

Committee on Human Rights charged

with examining, confidentially and in consult-

ation with governments concerned, situations

which appear to reveal a consistent pattern of

gross and reliably attested violations of

human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Discussion at the 1981 CHGM

7. The 1981 CHGM considered both recommendations

(para 6(a) and (b) above). Reaction varied from the

clearly hostile to the unenthusiastic.

Objections

were focussed particularly on the proposal for an

Advisory Committee. The proposal for setting up a

special unit within the Commonwealth Secretariat was

generally seen as more tolerable, provided that its

role was purely 'promotional'. In more detail, Sri

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