ENG-2006 — Page 65

The Legal System ❘ 37

year, to organise a series of cultural events to promote integration of ethnic minorities into the community and better public understanding of their traditions and cultures.

The Committee on the Promotion of Racial Harmony

The Committee was established in 2002. It advises the Government on promotion of race relations and oversees a funding scheme to subsidise publicity and public education activities by non-governmental organisations.

Children's Rights

The CRC obliges governments to ensure that children and adults are aware of the rights of children enshrined in the convention and that children are provided with opportunities to express their views about matters affecting them. The Government has sponsored awareness-raising initiatives, such as the Child Ambassadors Scheme and the Children's Council. In 2005, the Government further established the Children's Rights Forum to provide a direct channel of communication for exchange of views with children and children's rights advocates. The Government also launched the Children's Rights Education Funding Scheme this year in support of initiatives by non-governmental organisations for promotion of public education on children's

rights.

Equal Opportunities Commission

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) is an independent statutory body established under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance in 1996 to implement the Sex Discrimination Ordinance, the Disability Discrimination Ordinance and the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance. Its functions include handling complaints, encouraging conciliation, providing assistance to aggrieved persons, and undertaking public education, research and training programmes to promote equal opportunities and eliminate discrimination on the grounds of sex, marital status, pregnancy, disability and family status. In 2006, the commission received 4 361 enquiries and 658 complaints relating to the three anti-discrimination ordinances; 157 complaint cases were conciliated.

The Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) was established in 1996 as an independent statutory body under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO) to monitor, supervise and promote compliance with the ordinance.

As a pioneer in the field of protection of personal data privacy in the Asia-Pacific Region, the PCPD played host to the 26th Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities Forum in Hong Kong in November 2006 for the first time. The forum, attended by representatives of international and local authorities, passed important resolutions to strengthen international cooperation to forge personal data protection.

Capitalising on the rich experience it gained over the past 10 years, the PCPD published a book entitled Data Protection Principles in the PDPO from the Privacy