TNAG-1847-FCO40-2622-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 136

Wood,

Mr Wood, HKD

pa Ryisiv

Miss Marsden

Reference

290

I have amended the

draft to take account

of Mrs Britten's views, and

added

Clearly

الامنية

but we

ހ

we

para

to

cover

do not need

paz 3.

defensive

(hightsighted) for the memorandum;

them for the second

need

rand might exidence. of

FAC ENQUIRY: HONG KONG: HUMAN RIGHTS

1.

You asked for comments on the paper on human rights prepared for the FAC enquiry by the Hong Kong Government (your minute of 10 April).

2. am returning my copy of the paper with a few comments marked in red. These are largely self-explanatory except:

Paragraph 1, line 5

the Covenants have been extended to only 10 DTS. Those eluded are those without resident populations (British Antarctic Territory and British Indian Ocean Territory) and Anguilla (which was not dependent at the time of the United Kingdom's ratification in 1976).

Paragraph 5 - 7

- There is some confusion in these paragraphs about the Human Rights Committee's responsibilities. The implication is that it monitors both Covenants whereas it is concerned only with the ICCPR. A different and much newer Committee monitors reports submitted under the ICESCR. It has met only three times and has examined only one report from the United Kingdom (which was the fifth report submitted by us under the ICESCR). Unlike the previous four reports this last did not include a section on the

I can provide defensive line on this omission.

if required.

the FAC will no doubt spot from these paragraphs that something has gone wrong with the timetable of our reporting under the ICCPR. Again I can provide a defensive line if required.

3. The paper does not refer to other major international human rights instruments. The United Kingdom's ratification of the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination applies to Hong Kong and ratification of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Degrading or Inhumang Treatment will be extended to Hong Kong once local legislation is in place (around the end of April). You may need a defensive line from Hong Kong about

HKB 011/3