TNAG-2525-FCO40-3688-Future-of-Hong-Kong-International-Rights-and-Obligations-(IR-1992 — Page 3

CODE 18-77

Ms Shelagh Brooks

Legal Advisers

Reference

CONFIDENTIAL

031/29

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IRO SUB-GROUP: MULTILATERAL TREATIES WARFARE AND DISARMAMENT

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1.

I attach Hong Kong telno 2898 and the three draft discussion papers on warfare and disarmament treaties to which it refers. I would be grateful for any comments you may have on the papers themselves and on the suitability of the treaties in question for discussion in the sub-group.

2.

The telegram refers (para 3) to item 22.20 on the list of multilateral treaties. This is the "Convention on the prohibition of military or any other hostile use of environmental modification techniques", Geneva and New York 1977. Hong Kong have provisionally decided not to suggest that this continue after 1997, as China is not a party to the

Convention.

I find some of the statements made in the discussion papers rather odd. For instance, referring to the Red Cross

3.

Conventions:

"It is vital that these protections should continue to extend to individuals in Hong Kong so that in the event of conflict involving the territory, other States would be bound to respect and fulfil the obligations imposed by these Conventions." And referring to the Convention on Biological Weapons: "It is well recognized that bacteriological weapons are extremely dangerous and capable of causing mass destruction and suffering..."

"I don't see the need to spell things out like this: the Chinese aren't stupid. If there are no particular benefits in the continued application of some of these treaties (as Hong Kong admit in the telegram) then we might as well say

So.

Прав

Jonathan Mashall

J N Marshall

Hong Kong Department

WH305

270-3287

15 December 1992

CONFIDENTIAL