TNAG-2496-FCO40-3632-Relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-Macao-(Macau)-1992 — Page 113

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6 April 1992

Clive Alderton Esq

UKRep (fax)

HKC 02013

Foreign & Commonwealth

Office

London SWIA 2AH

Telephone: 071-

270 3647

ла

Dear Clive,

ASIA WORKING GROUP, 7 APRIL

спі

EC/Macao Cooperation agreement: draft mandate

1.

(12)

Your letter to me of 31 March asked for instructions on two points.

(i) Human rights: we agree that following the November 1991 Development Council Resolution the Community's cooperation agreements should contain a human rights clause. By maintaining a consistent line we can avoid accusations of discrimination by other countries in the future. Macao's individual record and PRC's possible reactions are not at issue. The French and Belgian points are valid.

The main difference between the clauses in the association agreements with Central and Eastern Europe and those in Asia/Latin America agreements are references to the Paris Charter for a New Europe and the Helsinki Final Act. Neither seems particularly relevant to Macao. Provided that the Commission envisage a human rights article couched in terms similar to those used for the recent agreements with Mongolia, Paraguay and Uruguay the language will reflect the ALA Regulation and thus will be strong enough.

You might probe the Commission on its interpretation of these clauses. The current model language was inspired by the Argentine side in the negotiations on that agreement. Their intention was to ensure that cooperation could not continue uninterrupted should the democratically elected government be

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