TNAG-2177-FCO40-3114-Hong-Kong-Bill-of-Rights-1990 — Page 64

CODE 18-77

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7.

Subsequently (in April 1967) an interdepartmental working group, which had been established in London under the Steering Committee on International Organisations to consider possible British accession to the ICESCR and ICCPR, commented that Article 26 was acceptable on the understanding that the Article was limited to equality before the law and equal protection of the law. The group produced a report which was circulated under a Memorandum by the then Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary, Mr George Brown, in which he recommended to the Cabinet Home Affairs Committee that the UK should sign both Covenants soon and aim at ratification in 1968 (which had been designated Human Rights Year). report together with Annexes discussing the Covenants in greater detail recommended signature and ratification in two stages, with a statement of interpretation and reservations various articles, together with such additional reservations or statements of interpretation as might be shown to be necessary as a result of consultations with dependent territories. The annex on the ICCPR mentioned Article 26 among articles which presented no difficulties of substance. There was no reference to any problem of discriminatory laws concerning the inheritance of land in dependent territories.

(File refs: UG 33/8 (6) and US 13/12 (121), 1967)

8. The Home Affairs Committee agreed in principle that the UK should sign both Covenants. After further consideration, the UK did so on 16 September 1968. The UK Representative communicated certain reservations by Note to the UN Secretary-General. Several of these related to Hong Kong: ie a reservation on Article 8 of the ICESCR concerning trade union activity; on subparagraph (b) of Article 25 of the ICCPR concerning electoral rights; and on subparagraph (c) of the same article concerning employment of married women in the civil service. There was no reservation concerning Article 3 of either Covenant or Article 26 of the ICCPR.

(File refs: US 13/12 (150), 1967, and US 13/12 (267), 1968)

Consideration prior to Ratification

9. Further official consideration was given to the question of applying the ICESCR and the ICCPR to dependent territories including Hong Kong in 1970, in preparation for eventual ratification. The Interdepartmental Human Rights Working Group was reconvened. The FCO on 9 June 1970 informed the Governors of Dependent Territories that it was hoped to be able to ratify the Covenants before the end of 1970 and asked them, bearing in mind HMG's wish to keep the number of reservations to a minimum, to give very careful consideration to the texts of the Covenants. A number of specific questions about particular articles were addressed to Hong Kong (in a separate Saving Despatch of 3 June 1970), but these did not refer to the question of equality before the law as in Article 26, nor to New Territories land laws. Nor did Hong Kong's reply (6 July 1970) raise these aspects. (File refs UM16/43

(24, 21 and 46), 1970).

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