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"prohibit foreign political organisations or groups from carrying out political activities in the Hong Kong SAR; and prohibit political organisations and groups in the Hong Kong SAR from establishing contacts with foreign political organisations or groups".
This addition further detracts from the protections against the detention of prisoners of conscience, that is, persons who are imprisoned, detained or otherwise restricted because of their non-violent political or other beliefs or activities. Though the Basic Law provides some protection for the rights of those persons who might otherwise be detained as prisoners of conscience, it still poses significant risks to politically active individuals and others who might become prisoners of conscience.
Amnesty International works for the release of prisoners of conscience, and is therefore concerned about any law which would appear to allow the imprisonment of people who non-violently exercise their internationally-recognized rights of freedom of expression or association. It believes it is important that the Bill of Rights should compensate for deficiencies to guarantee certain basic human rights in the Basic Law.
9. HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE DRAFT BILL OF RIGHTS
The Draft Bill of Rights Ordinance of March 1990 addressed many of Amnesty International's concerns regarding the provisions of the Basic Law that do not adequately protect the human rights of HKSAR residents. The Draft Bill of Rights specifically adopted most provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, with the exception of Article 1 on the right of self-determination. The Bill of Rights improves on the human rights protections in the Basic Law, for example, by prohibiting not only torture, but also other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Draft Bill of Rights will provide residents of Hong Kong with some human rights protections to which they are presently not entitled. Amnesty International has noted, however, that the Draft Bill of Rights will not come into force for two years after its adoption, which will delay the legal protection it provides to Hong Kong residents. The Draft Bill of Rights also does not include some protections that are in the Basic Law. In situations in which the Bill of Rights affords greater protection than the Basic Law, or vice versa, the residents of the HKSAR should be entitled to the most protective provision. Amnesty International is also concerned about the following issues in the Draft Bill of Rights.
9.1 Protection of the right to life
A provision of the Draft Bill of Rights that concerns Amnesty International relates to the protection of the right to life. The Draft Bill of Rights adopts Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which greatly improved the Basic Law's prohibition of "the arbitrary or unlawful deprivation" of life. Article 6 provides a broad, affirmative protection of the right to life, but also states: "Sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time" (emphasis added). Hong Kong presently has a statute which makes the death penalty compulsory in every case of murder. Since 1966, however, all those sentenced to death in Hong Kong have had
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