TNAG-2512-FCO40-3665-Future-of-Hong-Kong-International-Rights-and-Obligations-(IR-1992 — Page 8

布政司

港下亞畢道

A CUR REF :

* YOUR REP:

28 December 1992

RESTRICTED

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

85/1

031/4

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

1993

Mr RAJ Bunten

Hong Kong Department

Foreign and Commonwealth office

SW1A 2AH

London

Dear Rod,

23

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

REGISTRY

PA

Action Taken

83A

Thank you for your letter of 22 December 1992.

The Governor replied to the "open letter" from the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) on November 1992. A copy of the reply is at Appendix I. It appears that Miss Hoe's letter to Mr Goodlad (also dated 23 November) had been sent before she received the

Governor's reply.

Separately, Miss Emily

Lau moved a Motion in the Legislative Council on 16 December 1992 calling on the Hong Yong Government "to support the extension to Hong Kong of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and to request the British Government to take the necessary action to so extend the Convention forthwith".

We are not prepared to have CEDAW extended to Hong Kong before we are satisfied that it is practicable and desirable to do so, having regard to the far-reaching implications that extension of CEDAW would entail. An inter-departmental working group which concluded its study recently has found no evidence to suggest that sex discrimination in employment is a serious or widespread problem here. (A copy of the working group's findings is at Appendix II.) CEDAW would require the introduction of equal pay and anti-discrimination legislation affecting the private sector.

This would involve a high degree of government intervention in the operation of the labour market and may give rise to rigidities in employment practices. we have so far had a regular dialogue only with women's groups on the question of discrimination against women. We would like to ascertain wider public views on

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83B)