Common core document forming part of the reports of States parties

Macao, China *

[Date received: 20 December 2019]

I.Introduction

1.The present document is an update in the form of an addendum to the 2010 Addendum (HRI/CORE/CHN-MAC/2010) to Part III of the Core Document of the People’s Republic of China (HRI/CORE/1/Add.21/Rev.2.) submitted by China in relation to the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR). It covers the period from January 2010 to December 2018.

2.Data will be provided based on a census which is taken every 10 years and By-census taken every 5 years, the most recent ones being 2011 and 2016 respectively and on the most recent data provided by the competent departments of the MSAR. A CD-ROM of the 2017 Yearbook of Statistics is annexed to the report with relevant data.

II.General Information about the Msar

A.Geographical, demographic, social, economic and cultural characteristics

1.Geographical indicators

3.The MSAR, part of the territory of China, lies on the southeastern coast of China, in the Pearl River Delta. It consists of the Macao Peninsula and the islands of Taipa and Coloane. Due to land reclamation along its coastline, the MSAR’s total surface area has grown from around 29.5 km2 in 2010 to 32.9 km2 at the end of 2018. Since 2015, the MSAR also exercises jurisdiction over a maritime area of 85 km2.

2.Demographic indicators

(a)General information

4.Information provided by the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the MSAR’s total population as of the end of September 2018 was 663,400. The most rapid population growth was observed between 2011 and 2016, an increase of 17.8% in five years (an average annual growth rate of 3.3%). This was mainly due to a substantial increase in non-resident workers living in the MSAR and a rebound in the birth rate between 2011 and 2016.

5.Indeed, the rates of natural increase for 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017 were 6.2%, 9.6%, 7.9%, 7.5% and 6.8%, respectively. Data on migratory flow (including immigrants from Mainland China, persons authorised to reside, non-resident workers and non-resident students living in Macao), which is the other factor determining population growth, indicated a net migration of 3,800 in 2017.

6.At the end of 2017, the estimated population density was 21,100 per km2.

(b)Place of birth, ethnicity and usual language

7.Incoming migrants have always been an essential component of the population of the MSAR. According to the results of the 2016 By-census, due to an increase in the number of non-resident workers and foreign students living in the MSAR, the proportion of population born outside of the MSAR rose further from 59.1% in 2011 to 59.3% in 2016.

8.Analysed by place of birth, most of the population of the MSAR was born in Mainland China (43.6%), followed by those born in the MSAR (40.7%) and by those in the Philippines, Vietnam and Nepal (the three together accounting for 7.5% of the total population).

9.Analysed by ethnicity and spoken language, according to the 2016 By-census, the majority (88.7%) of the population was of Chinese ethnicity, which has decreased by 3.7 percentage points over 2011. Residents of Portuguese ethnicity accounted for 1.8%, which has increased 0.3 percentage point over the same period. Among the resident population aged 3 and above, 80.1% spoke mostly Cantonese at home, 5.5% spoke Mandarin, 5.3% spoke other Chinese dialects, 3.0% spoke Tagalog, 2.8% spoke English, 0.6% spoke Portuguese and 2.7% spoke other languages.

(c)Gender and age structure of the population and dependency ratios

10.As regards the gender structure, as of the end of September 2018, 46.9% of the resident population were male and 53.1% were female.

11.According to the results from the 2016 By-census, despite the higher number of females over males, the growth of the male population (+18.4%) was slightly higher than that of the female population (+17.2%), causing the gender ratio to rise from 92.3 males per 100 females in 2011 to 93.2 males in 2016.

12.The number of newborns rebounded substantially from 2011 to 2016, causing the youth population (aged 0–14) to rise by 18.2% from 2011 to 2016. The rate of growth was slightly higher than that of the total population (+17.8%), bringing the proportion of the youth population in the total population up by 0.1 percentage point to 12.0%. Meanwhile, the adult population (aged 15–64) rose by 15.0% within five years due to an increase in the number of non-resident workers living in the MSAR, but the growth rate was still lower than that of the total population, bringing its proportion in the total population down by 1.9 percentage points to 78.9%. On the other hand, the elderly population (aged 65 and above) surged by 48.6% from 2011 to 2016 as the incoming immigrants in the 1970’s and 1980’s gradually moved into the elderly population, with its proportion in the total population going up by 1.9 percentage points to 9.1%. The elderly registered a rapid growth, of which those aged 65–74 made up 5.9% of the total population, an increase by 2.0 percentage points compared to five years earlier, and those aged 55–64 constituted 13.5%. The pace of population ageing is expected to accelerate in the next decade.

13.Results from the 2016 By-census revealed that the youth dependency ratio was 14.7 in 2011 and 15.2 in 2016. The elderly dependency ratio was 8.9 in 2011 and 11.6 in 2016. The overall dependency ratio was 23.7 in 2011 and 26.7 in 2016. The ageing ratio was 60.7 in 2011 and 76.3 in 2016.

(d)Disability

14.According to the Social Welfare Bureau, the number of persons holding a Disability Assessment Registration Card totalled 12,646 as of 30 September 2018, corresponding to 1.9% of the total resident population. Among them, 48.2% were male and 51.8% were female. More detailed information is illustrated in the following table:

No. of holders of Disability Assessment Registration Cardclassified by gender, disability type and degree (as of 30 September 2018)

Type/Degree of disability	By type but not by level	Mild disability	Moderate disability	Seve re disability	E xtremely severe disability	M	F	Total no. of persons
Physical disability	8	2 277	1 146	867	201	2 100	2 399	4 499
Visual impairment	1	142	23	180	295	313	328	641
Hearing impairment	17	852	1 104	259	587	1 354	1 465	2 819
Intellectual disability	47	401	381	243	104	520	656	1 176
Mental disability	28	867	604	941	96	1 389	1 147	2 536
Speech impairment	0	13	6	26	0	4	41	45
Multiple disabilities	2	129	194	333	272	419	511	930
Total	103	4 681	3 458	2 849	1 555	6 099	6 547	12 646

Source: Social Welfare Bureau.

1. Remarks: By type but not by level: children under 4 years old are only assessed by disability type.

2. Data criteria selection: (i) as a result of one’s physical, mental or emotional condition that even with the help of auxiliary equipment, one still requires assistance from others in order to move around, communicate with others, take care of oneself and perform other daily activities; (ii) the type of impairment affecting the individual had been lasting continuously for not less than 6 months.

(e)Birth and mortality rates

15.The birth rate was 9.5% in 2010, 12.9% in 2012, 11.0% in 2015, 11.0% in 2016, and 10.1% in 2017.

16.The mortality rate was of 3.3% in 2010, 3.2% in 2012, 3.1% in 2015, 3.4% in 2016 and 3.3% in 2017.

(f)Life expectancy

17.The average life expectancy at birth was 82.3 years in 2010, 82.6 years in 2012, 83.2 years in 2015, 83.3 years in 2016 and 83.4 in 2017.

(g)Total fertility rate

18.The total fertility rate was 1.07% in 2010, 1.15% in 2011, 1.36% in 2012, 1.15% in 2013, 1.22% in 2014, 1.14% in 2015, 1.14% in 2016 and 1.02% in 2017.

(h)Household size and composition

19.Results from the 2016 By-census revealed that the number of households in the MSAR totalled 188,723, including 159 households of marine population. According to the latest figures, the average household size was 3.04 persons per household in 2010, 3.05 persons per household in 2011, 3.03 persons per household in 2012, 3.07 persons per household in 2013, 3.07 persons per household in 2014, 3.09 persons per household in 2015, 3.06 persons per household in 2016 and 3.03 persons per household in 2017.

20.An analysis by household size revealed that the relative importance of 1 to 3-person households rose from 61.7% in 2011 to 63.3% in 2016, while the proportion of 4-person households dropped by 1.6 percentage points to 21.4%. The proportion of households with 5 persons or more rose slightly from 15.2% in 2011 to 15.3% in 2016.

21.Households are categorised into “one-person household”, “nuclear household” and “no nuclear household” according to the relationship among household members. A family nucleus is composed of a couple or a single parent with unmarried child(ren); a household with one or more family nuclei is considered as a nuclear household.

22.“Nuclear households” represented 77.5% of the total in 2016. The majority were composed of a couple and unmarried child(ren) but its proportion in the total households decreased by 1.7 percentage points from 2011 to 36.5% in 2016. As married child(ren) living with parents has become more common, a significant increase was observed in households composed of a father and/or mother, and their unmarried child(ren) and parents, by 36.4% from 2011 to 2016. A “no nuclear household” is a household composed of two or more members, e.g. brothers or friends living together without forming a family nucleus. “No nuclear households” represented 7.3% of the total, a decrease by 0.8 percentage points from 2011. “One-person households” comprised 15.1% of the total; one-person households of elderly aged 65 and above increased by 37.6% from 2011 to 2016.

3.Social and cultural indicators

(a)Share of household consumption expenditures

23.Average biweekly consumption expenditure of households amounted to MOP$ 13,430 in 2012/2013. ‘Food & Non-alcoholic Beverages’ (represented 25.7% of the total in 2012/2013) and ‘Housing & Fuels’, including water, electricity, gas and other fuels (representing 25.7% in 2012/2013) together accounted for 51.4% of the total consumption expenditure in 2012/2013. Meanwhile, the consumption expenditure on ‘Health’ constituted 2.4% of the total in 2012/2013 and ‘Education’ 8.9% in 2012/2013. The latest figures will be made available in 2019.

(b)Gini coefficient

24.The Gini coefficient was 0.35 in 2012/2013.

(c)Prevalence of underweight children under five years of age

25.The low birth weight (<2500g) proportion per annual number of live births was 6.9% in 2010, 6.8% in 2012, 6.8% in 2015, 7.2% in 2016, 7.6% in 2017 and 6.9% from January 2018 to September 2018.

(d) Infant and maternal mortality rates

26.The infant mortality rate was 2.9% in 2010, 2.5% in 2012, 1.6% in 2015, 1.7% in 2016 and 2.3% in 2017. According to the Health Bureau, during the past 20 years there was only one case of maternal death, in 2016.

(e) Rates of infection of HIV/AIDS and major communicable diseases

27.The rate of individuals infected with HIV/AIDS was 0.56% in 2010, 0.74% in 2012, 0.60% in 2015, 0.54% in 2016 and 0.53% in 2017.

(f) Prevalence of major communicable diseases and immunisation rates

28.Cases of major communicable diseases are relatively low and immunisation coverage rates are high as shown in the following tables:

Incidence rate (1/100,000) of communicable diseases
ICD-10	Disease	2010	2012	2015	2016	2017
A06.0	Acute amoebic dysentery	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.15	0.15
B17.0	Acute delta infection of Hep B carrier	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
B15.0-9	Acute hepatitis A	1.10	0.53	0.31	0.46	0.46
B16.1-9	Acute hepatitis B	2.19	3.16	1.87	0.77	1.85
B17.1	Acute hepatitis C(4)	0.55	0.00	0.00	0.15	0.00
B17.2	Acute Hepatitis E	2.92	0.53	1.09	4.03	0.62
A80	Acute poliomyelitis	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
A60	Anogenital herpes viral	0.91	0.88	0.62	0.62	0.31
Z21	Asymptomatic HIV infection	4.75	4.39	6.08	6.97	5.08
A05.0-9	Bacterial Food-borne intoxication	16.81	23.52	12.47	5.73	15.72
A00	Cholera	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
P35.0	Congenital rubella syndrome	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
A90	Dengue fever	1.10	4.21	0.47	1.70	2.62
A91	Dengue haemorrhagic fever	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
A36	Diphtheria	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
B08.4-5	Enteroviral infections	186.93	357.91	510.99	584.81	523.57
A54	Gonococcal infections	2.38	1.23	0.62	1.39	1.39
G00.0	Haemophilus meningitis	0.00	0.00	0.16	0.00	0.00
B20-B24	HIV	0.73	2.46	2.34	2.17	1.39
A83.0	Japanese encephalitis	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
A48.1	Legionnaires disease	0.18	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.46
A30	Leprosy	0.00	0.00	0.16	0.31	0.00
B50-B54	Malaria	0.18	0.18	0.00	0.31	0.15
B05	Measles	0.00	0.18	0.00	0.00	0.31
A39.0	Meningococcal meningitis	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
B26	Mumps	14.80	14.92	16.99	10.99	12.17
A34	Obstetrical tetanus	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
A06.1-9	Other Amoebiasis	0.00	0.18	0.00	0.00	0.00
A55-A64	Other sexually transmitted diseases (not including A59, A60)	0.18	0.00	0.16	0.46	0.46
A35	Other tetanus	0.00	0.00	0.16	0.00	0.00
A17-19	Other tuberculosis	6.40	2.98	4.21	5.88	5.24
J10x	Pandemic Influenza 2009	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
J10-J11	Influenza	321.43	717.92	441.78	512.35	633.28
A01.1-4	Paratyphoid fever	0.37	0.35	0.00	0.00	0.15
A20	Plague	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
A15-A16	Pulmonary tuberculosis	65.60	65.12	51.44	46.14	49.92
A82	Rabies	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
A08.0	Rotaviral enteritis	25.58	26.68	7.33	6.04	12.63
B06	Rubella (German measles)	0.73	1.05	0.31	0.15	0.00
A02.0-9	Salmonella infections	11.88	10.01	15.74	8.98	20.96
B97.21	SARS	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
B97.29	Severe respiratory infection associated with other coronavirus	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
A38	Scarlet fever	2.92	13.34	41.78	60.85	66.87
A03.0-9	Shigellosis	0.00	0.35	0.00	0.00	0.00
A50-A53	Syphilis	6.21	5.97	5.92	5.73	7.86
A33	Tetanus neonatorum	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
A71	Trachoma	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
A59	Trichomoniasis	0.37	0.00	0.47	0.00	0.00
A01.0	Typhoid fever	0.18	0.18	0.16	0.00	0.92
B01	Varicella (chickenpox)	115.49	57.75	82.31	81.91	107.40
A37	Whooping cough	0.00	0.00	0.16	0.15	0.15
A95	Yellow fever	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00

Source: Health Bureau.

%

Vaccine	2010	2012	2015	2016	2017
BCG 1st dose 1	99.6	99.7	99.7	99.7	99.8
Pertussis, diphtheria & tetanus vaccine – third dose 1	93.2	92.6	93.7	94.0	95.0
Poliovirus vaccine – third dose 1	93.1	92.6	93.7	94.1	95.1
Hepatitis B vaccine – third dose 1	93.2	92.7	93.7	94.1	95.2
Measles-containing vaccine – first dose 2	91.4	93.5	93.1	93.5	93.6
Measles-containing vaccine – second dose 2	88.7	91.1	90.9	91.5	91.3
Haemophilus influenzae b vaccine – third dose 1	91.9	91.5	92.7	93.3	94.5
Varicella vaccine – first dose 2	90.5	92.9	92.5	93.1	93.3
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine – third dose 1	-	91.4	92.5	92.9	94.5
Human papillomavirus vaccine – first dose 3	-	-	91.5	92.0	92.2

Source: Health Bureau.

1 Immunisation coverage: children aged 12 months .

2 Immunisation coverage: children aged 24 months .

3 Immunisation coverage: female adolescents aged 13 years .

(g)Ten major underlying causes of death

29.From 2010 to 2017, the ten major underlying causes of death were:

(No.)

Underlying cause of death ICD-10	2010	2012	2015	2016	2017
Ch. II – Neoplasms (C00-D48)	585	640	734	822	737
Ch. IX – Diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99)	458	474	504	548	524
Ch. X – Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99)	263	285	321	382	407
Ch. XX – External causes of morbidity and mortality (V01-Y98)	99	116	106	104	113
Ch. XI – Diseases of the digestive system (K00-K93)	81	56	62	67	66
Ch. XVIII – Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R99)	28	49	54	75	65
Ch. XIV – Diseases of the genitourinary system (N00-N99)	86	51	64	83	57
Ch. I – Certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)	33	33	48	53	53
Ch. IV – Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E90)	77	84	59	50	51
Ch. VI – Diseases of the nervous system (G00-G99)	15	10	10	18	8

Source: Statistics and Census Service, Yearbooks of Statistics 2015 and 2017.

(h) Net enrolment ratio and drop-out rates

30.The net enrolment ratio and drop-out rates in primary and secondary education between Academic Years 2010/2011 and 2017/2018 were as follows:

Academic year (%)

Net enrolment rate	Gender	2010/2011	2012/2013	2014/2015	2015/2016	2016/2017	2017/2018
Primary education	MF	91.1	91.1	94.5	96.5	100.0	100.0
M	90.1	89.6	91.9	94.9	98.0	99.1
	F	92.2	92.6	97.3	98.3	100.0	100.0
Secondary education	MF	76.7	80.4	83.0	82.5	82.2	84.0
M	75.2	79.3	80.2	78.4	79.7	80.3
F	78.4	81.6	86.1	87.1	84.9	89.8

Source: Education and Youth Affairs Bureau.

Academic year (%)

Drop-out rate	Gender	2010/2011	2012/2013	2014/2015	2015/2016	2016/2017
Primary education	MF	1.8	1.3	1.4	1.3	1.1
	M	2.1	1.4	1.5	1.3	1.3
	F	1.5	1.3	1.2	1.4	0.8
Secondary education	MF	4.4	3.7	3.6	3.2	3.1
	M	4.8	4.1	4.2	3.7	3.8
	F	4.0	3.3	3.1	2.7	2.3

Source: Education and Youth Affairs Bureau.

(i)Pupil-teacher ratio

31.The pupil-teacher ratio indicators are as follows:

Pupil-teacher ratio	2010/2011	2012/2013	2014/2015	2015/2016	2016/2017
Tertiary education	12.2	14.5	15.4	15.9	14.5
Secondary education	14.8	13.1	11.4	10.7	10.1
Primary education	14.8	13.7	14.1	13.9	13.5
Pre-primary education	16.7	16.6	15.9	16.2	14.7

Source: Statistics and Census Service, Yearbooks of Statistics 2013 and 2017.

(j)Literacy rate

32.At the time of the 2016 By-census, the literacy rate of the population aged 15 or above was 96.5%, increasing by 0.9 percentage point from 2011. Analysed by gender, the male literacy rate (98.2%) was higher than that of female (95.0%). The growth in female literacy rate exceeded that of males compared to five years before, with the gap narrowing from 4.1 percentage points to 3.2 percentage points. Analysed by age group, the literacy rate of the population aged 15-39 was the highest (99.7%) whereas that of the population aged 65 and above was the lowest (81.2%). On the other hand, the literacy rate of elderly women (72.1%) was far lower than that of elderly men (91.3%) as women were given fewer opportunities to receive education in the past.

4.Economic indicators

(a)Labour participation rates, unemployment and underemployment rates

33.The major labour force indicators are as follows:

(%)

Year	Labour force participation	Unemployment	Underemployment
MF	M	F	MF	M	F	MF	M	F
2010	72.0	78.0	66.6	2.8	3.5	2.1	1.7	2.8	0.6
2012	72.4	78.6	66.8	2.0	2.3	1.7	0.8	1.3	0.2
2015	73.7	79.6	68.0	1.8	2.0	1.6	0.4	0.6	0.1
2016	72.3	77.8	67.2	1.9	2.3	1.5	0.5	0.9	0.2
2017	70.8	76.0	66.3	2.0	2.4	1.6	0.4	0.8	0.1

Source: Statistics and Census Service, Yearbooks of Statistics 2015 and 2017.

(b)Employed population by gender and economic activity

34.The employed population in major sectors of economic activity was as follows:

No. (103)

Sector of economic activity	G	2010	2012	2015	2016	2017
Total	MF	314.8	343.2	396.5	389.7	379.8
M	159.5	176.6	208.5	201.1	188.4
Manufacturing	MF	15.2	10.3	6.9	7.9	6.5
M	7.6	4.9	3.6	4.5	2.9
Textiles and wearing apparel	MF	7.9	4.1	1.4	1.8	1.0
M	2.8	1.4	0.6	0.6	0.3
Other manufacturing activities	MF	7.3	6.2	5.5	6.1	5.5
M	4.8	3.5	3.0	3.9	2.5
Electricity, gas & water supply	MF	0.9	1.5	1.2	1.2	1.1
M	0.7	1.3	0.8	1.0	1.0
Construction	MF	27.1	32.3	54.8	44.4	32.7
M	23.3	28.7	49.4	39.1	28.5
Wholesale & retail trade	MF	41.4	42.3	45.0	44.1	45.8
M	19.8	20.0	21.2	20.5	20.9
Wholesale trade	MF	8.4	7.8	8.7	8.0	8.1
M	5.1	4.8	5.3	5.1	5.0
Retail trade	MF	30.1	30.6	33.9	33.9	34.9
M	12.4	12.0	14.2	13.7	13.8
Hotels, restaurants & similar activities	MF	42.8	53.0	55.0	57.2	54.6
M	20.1	28.3	29.1	29.0	28.4
Hotels & similar activities	MF	15.5	27.1	28.8	30.1	30.7
M	7.6	14.9	16.1	15.8	16.0
Restaurants & similar activities	MF	27.2	25.9	26.2	27.0	23.9
M	12.5	13.5	13.0	13.2	12.5
Transport, storage & communications	MF	18.2	16.0	17.5	19.3	19.1
M	13.8	11.5	13.4	14.3	14.8
Transport & storage	MF	15.8	14.3	15.4	16.4	16.6
M	12.3	10.4	12.0	12.4	13.1
Financial intermediation	MF	7.3	8.2	10.8	10.4	11.3
M	3.1	3.2	4.6	5.1	4.8
Real estate & business activities	MF	27.5	24.3	29.8	39.4	30.2
M	17.0	14.3	17.0	19.7	18.7
Public administration & social security	MF	21.4	25.1	29.4	28.3	28.7
M	13.5	15.8	17.3	16.7	17.1
Education	MF	11.5	13.1	16.6	15.9	17.0
M	3.7	4.2	5.5	5.0	5.9
Health & social welfare	MF	8.1	8.6	11.3	12.1	12.9
M	2.6	2.6	2.9	3.4	3.3
Recreational, cultural, gaming & other services	MF	75.4	89.5	94.2	92.7	93.3
M	33.2	40.9	42.8	41.8	40.7
Gaming & junket activities	MF	62.8	78.8	83.5	81.1	80.4
M	27.5	36.3	38.1	36.6	35.3
Other activities	MF	12.6	10.7	10.7	11.7	12.0
M	5.7	4.7	4.7	5.1	5.4
Domestic work	MF	17.4	18.0	23.6	25.3	26.8
M	0.8	0.5	0.6	0.8	0.8
Others	MF	0.7	0.9	0.5	0.5	0.6
M	0.3	0.5	0.3	0.3	0.5

Source: Statistics and Census Service, Yearbooks of Statistics 2015 and 2017.

(c)Gross domestic product, annual growth rates and per capita income

35.The MSAR economy is an export-oriented economy. Tourism and gaming industries are the main economic activities. The gaming industry generates significant investment inflows, leading to high average annual growth rates of the gross domestic product (GDP). Although the economy of the MSAR was negatively affected for three consecutive years due to the impact of the external economy in 2014, it began to recover throughout 2017, growing by 9.7% in real terms, therefore ending the economic contraction of the three previous consecutive years. The MSAR GDP indicators from 2010 to end of 2017 are as follows:

GDP Indicator

Item	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
GDP (billion MOP$)	225.05	294.35	343.82	411.87	442.07	362.21	362.36	405.79
GDP growth in real terms (%)	25.3	21.7	9.2	11.2	-1.2	-21.6	-0.9	9.7
P er-capita GDP (MOP$)	419 153	536 178	603 525	692 501	710 895	564 635	561 053	625 254
P er-capita GDP growth in real terms (%)	25.6	19	5.3	6.5	-5.5	-24	-1.5	9.2

Source: Statistics and Census Service; Note: USD 1 = MOP$ 8.0809.

(d)Public revenue

36.The MSAR’s public revenue was MOP$88.488 billion in 2010, MOP$122.972 billion in 2011, MOP$144.995 billion in 2012, MOP$175.949 billion in 2013, MOP$161.861 billion in 2014, MOP$$116.111 billion in 2015, MOP$110.502 billion in 2016 and MOP$126.367 billion in 2017.

(e) Consumer Price Index (CPI)

37.The consumer price index was 80.50 in 2010, 85.17 in 2011, 90.37 in 2012, 95.35 in 2013, 101.11 in 2014, 105.72 in 2015, 108.23 in 2016 and 109.56 in 2017. (Statistics and Census Service)

(f) Social expenditures

38.Regarding the social expenditures as the proportion of the total public expenditure and the social expenditures as the proportion of the GDP, the former was 8.4% in 2010, 8.7% in 2011, 12.5% in 2012, 15.7% in 2013, 9.8% in 2014, 9.2% in 2015, 9.4% in 2016 and 10.0% in 2017; the latter was 1.4% in 2010, 1.3% in 2011, 2.0% in 2012, 2.0% in 2013, 1.5% in 2014, 2.1% in 2015, 2.1% in 2016 and 2.0% in 2017.

(g)External and internal debt

39.The MSAR has not incurred any external or domestic public debt.

B.The political and legal framework of the MSAR

40.In general, the information regarding the MSAR’s political and legal framework provided in Part III of China’s Core Document in 2001 and in the 2010 Addendum remains valid. An update is provided in the following paragraphs.

1.The Chief Executive of the MSAR

41.As mentioned in Part III of China’s Core Document, the Basic Law stipulates that the Chief Executive shall be selected by election or through consultations held locally and appointed by the Central People’s Government. The term of office of the Chief Executive shall be 5 years and he/she cannot serve for more than 2 consecutive terms. The method for selecting the Chief Executive is specified in Annex I to the Basic Law and should be read together with Law 3/2004, on the Election of the Chief Executive, as amended by Law 12/2008, Law 11/2012 and Law 13/2018. The 2012 amendment increased the number of the Election Committee members for the election of the Chief Executive from 300 to 400 and the number of votes of each legal person with electoral capacity from 11 to 22. The number of signatories to propose a candidate has increased from 50 to 66 among the Election Committee members. The number of members per sector has also changed: 1st sector (industrial, commercial and financial) from 100 to 120, 2nd sector (cultural (26 members), educational (29), professional (43), sports (17)) from 80 to 115, 3rd sector (labour (59), social services (50), religious (6)) from 80 to 115 and 4th sector (representatives of the LA (22), representatives of the MSAR in the NPC (12) and representatives of the MSAR in the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (16)) from 40 to 50. The 2018 amendment altered the number of representatives of the MSAR in the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference from 16 to 14 and added two representatives of the new municipal body – the Institute for Municipal Affairs.

42.The two Chief Executives of the MSAR have both served two terms of office. A new Chief Executive will be elected and appointed by the Central People’s Government and will assume office on 20 December 2019.

2.The Legislative Assembly of the MSAR

43.The Legislative Assembly, which formation method is stipulated in Annex II to the Basic Law (also described in Part III of China’s Core Document) and Law 3/2001 on the Electoral Law for the Legislative Assembly, as amended, is currently in its 6th term (2017-2021). The term of office of the legislature is 4 years.

44.Law 3/2001 has been amended by Law 11/2008, Law 12/2012 and Law 9/2016. The number of directly elected deputies has gradually increased. In its 1st term, the Legislative Assembly was composed of 23 deputies, of which eight were directly elected, eight indirectly elected by functional constituencies and seven appointed by the Chief Executive; in its 2nd term, it was composed of 27 deputies, of which ten were directly elected, ten indirectly elected by functional constituencies and seven appointed; in its 3rd and 4th terms, it was composed of 29 deputies, of which 12 were directly elected, ten indirectly elected and seven appointed; in its 5th term (et seq.), it is composed of 33 deputies, of which 14 were directly elected, 12 indirectly elected and seven appointed (Law 12/2012).

45.Law 9/2016 increased the number of incompatibilities in relation to the exercise of deputies’ functions, inter alia the non-accumulation of a deputy’s role in a foreign municipal, regional, national or federal parliament or being a member or public servant of a foreign municipal, regional or national government. It also improved the candidatures’ requisites and duties, the electoral propaganda requirements, the establishment of the liability of legal persons, and extra-territorial jurisdiction for the crimes provided for in Articles 151 to 153 (coercion and fraudulent tricks during the campaign) and 168 to 170 (coercion and fraudulent tricks on the electorate and electoral corruption) of Law 3/2001.

3.Main indicators on the political system

(a)Proportions of population eligible to vote and registered to vote

46.By 30 September 2018, there were 310,204 registered electors, of which 52.18% were women. Comparing the 5th term (2013-2017) with the 6th term (2017-2021) of the Legislative Assembly, the number of electors for direct election has increased from 276,034 to 307,020. The number of candidate teams participating in direct election has increased from 20 to 24. The number of legal persons for indirect election has increased from 719 to 857 and that of the participating teams, from 5 to 6.

(b)Complaints on the conduct of elections

47.Concerning the 5th term of the Legislative Assembly Election, the electoral hotline has received 213 cases of complaints and reports while for the 6th term of the Legislative Assembly Election, the Legislative Assembly Committee and the Commission against Corruption have received 206 cases of complaints and reports through the electoral hotline.

(c)Media access by the population

48.The media industry continues to thrive in the MSAR. As of the end of September 2018, the MSAR had 18 daily newspapers, 49 periodicals, three radio and five television stations. The number of Chinese-language daily newspapers has increased from eight to 11, one of them being a free newspaper founded in 2011 while a weekly newspaper turned into a daily one. The number of Portuguese daily newspapers has increased from two to three while there are three English daily newspapers. In 2014, a Chinese-Portuguese bilingual weekly newspaper was founded A Portuguese weekly newspaper has been converted into a trilingual (Chinese, Portuguese and English) weekly newspaper in the same year.

49.According to the statistics provided by the newspapers and periodicals for the Government Information Bureau in 2017, an aggregate of approximately 302,900 copies of the daily newspapers were sold daily and 106,672,500 copies, annually while a total of approximately 9,715,450 copies of the periodicals were sold annually.

50.There is no exact record of the number of journalists, including photo-journalists in the MSAR. However, around 240 media professionals work in the local press and are registered at the health insurance scheme. There are eight press associations and 15 regional and international media organisations operating in the MSAR.

51.Residents can easily connect to the Internet for information and discussions on forums, social media and other platforms. According to the Government Information Bureau, households with internet connection accounted for 88.6% of the total in 2016. Internet users aged 3 and above have reached 499,900 and the internet usage rate was 81.6%. The mobile phone usage rate was 91.7% while the proportion of Internet users using mobile phones to access the Internet was 91.9%.

(d)Recognition of non-governmental organisations

52.The legal framework related to freedom of association, guaranteed under Article 27 of the Basic Law, Law 2/99/M of 9 August and Article 154 et seq. of the Civil Code, remains unchanged.

53.From January 2010 to September 2018, there were 4,510 associations and foundations registered with the Identification Services Bureau. Among them, 1,128 were cultural, 698 charitable, 634 sports, 563 professional, 333 employer, 183 educational and 117 labour associations.

(e)Percentage of women in the Legislative Assembly

54.The percentage of female members in the 5th term of the Legislative Assembly (2013–2017) was 21.2% (7 women) whereas in the 6th term of the Legislative Assembly (2017–2021) is 18.2% (6 women).

Deputies of the Legislative Assembly by gender

Gender/Year	2011	2012	2013*	2015	2016	2018
Male	25	25	26	26	26	27
Female	4	4	7	7	7	6
Total	29	29	33	33	33	33

Source: Legislative Assembly.

* From January to October 2013, the number of females was 4 and of males 25.

(f)Turnout percentage of voters for the Legislative Assembly election direct election

55.The turnout percentage of voters for direct election in the 5th term of the Legislative Assembly election was 55.02% whereas in the 6th term was 57.22%, 151,881 and 174,872 respectively.

4.Judicial, administrative and other bodies with jurisdiction over human rights

(a)The judicial

56.The MSAR judiciary structure remains essentially unchanged – The Courts of First Instance, the Court of Second Instance and the Court of Final Appeal (Law 9/1999, establishing the Legal Framework of the Organic Structure of the Judiciary, as amended). The Courts of First Instance include the Administrative Court and the Lower Court, comprising the civil, criminal, small claims, labour and family and minors’ sections and an examining magistracy section. The Court of Second Instance has general appellate jurisdiction and the Court of Final Appeal is vested with the power of final adjudication (Articles 10 and 27 to 54 of Law 9/1999, as amended).

57.Currently, there are 48 judges, 43 from Mainland China and the MSAR and 5 from Portugal.

Gender/Years	2010	2012	2015	2016	2017
Male	20	22	24	23	25
Female	15	18	21	21	23
Total	35	40	45	44	48

Source: Office of the Court of Final Appeal.

(b)The Commission against Corruption (Ombudsman)

58.The role of the Commission against Corruption (CCAC) and its Ombudsman functions remain valid. The Commission is a local independent institution, which focuses on the protection of rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of the individuals, ensuring that the exercise of public powers abide by the criteria of justice, legality and efficiency. Law 10/2000 on the Legal Framework of the CCAC, as amended by Law 4/2012, increased the responsiveness of the CCAC and reinforced Ombudsman’s supervision powers regarding public acts.

59.Within its Ombudsman functions, the Head of the CCAC exercises them with full autonomy and independence. Indeed, the Commissioner is bound by the fundamental law and Law 10/2000, and adequate financial and human resources are provided for the guarantee of this exercise in an independent and autonomous manner (Article 37(2) of Law 10/2000).

60.The Commissioner can propose the enactment of normative acts or suggestions concerning their amendment, repeal or interpretation, initiate enquiries, issue recommendations as well as propose redress measures. The CCAC is a member of the International Ombudsman Institute and the Asian Ombudsman Association.

(c)Unitary Police Services

61.Law 1/2001, establishing the Unitary Police Service, which is the body responsible for the MSAR’s public security and the operational command of the Public Security Police Force and the Judiciary Police, was amended by Law 1/2017. This amendment confers the Unitary Police Service the competences of planning, coordinating and controlling activities on civil protection as well as of providing logistic support to the new Council for Security (Administrative Regulation 14/2017), which is a consultative body to the Chief Executive for internal security matters.

62.A Coordination and Civil Protection Centre was set up under the Unitary Police Service (Article 9-A of Administrative Regulation 5/2009, as amended by Administrative Regulation 13/2017). Regarding the prevention of catastrophes and civil protection, the Government immediately reviewed the civil protection regime and concluded the drafting of the Civil Protection Legal Framework and the Civil Protection and Contingency Coordination Bureau Framework in February 2018, following Typhoon Hato. The aforementioned bureau will be responsible for the overall civil protection and emergency response coordination. A Ten-Year Plan for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (2019–2028) is being drafted. The construction of a new Civil Protection Action Centre building on the peninsula is also planned, together with adequate software and hardware of a centralised command centre, the setting up of a professional emergency rescue team and the improvement of human resources for disaster prevention, response capability and risk assessment.

(d)Municipal body – Institute for Municipal Affairs

63.According to Article 95 of the Basic Law, municipal organisations, which are not organs of political power, may be established in the MSAR. Entrusted by the MSAR Government, they shall provide services in fields such as culture, recreation and environmental sanitation.

64.Law 9/2018 establishes a new municipal body, the Institute for Municipal Affairs, which is a public entity with legal personality and administrative, financial and patrimony autonomy. This body comprises two organs: a Municipal Council and a Consultative Council. It will start its functions on January 2019.

65.The Municipal Council is the executive body, which is headed by a chair, two vice-chairs and a maximum of five administrators. Members are designated among permanent residents of the MSAR based on civic suitability, experience and capacity within the relevant areas (Article 9). The members of the Municipal Council are designated and exonerated by the Chief Executive and have a term of office of 3 years that is renewable (Article 10).

66.The Consultative Council is the counselling body that provides opinions based on the population’s views, and is headed by a chair, one vice-chair and a maximum of 23 members. Members are designated among permanent residents of the MSAR based on civic suitability, experience and capacity within the relevant areas. The members of the Consultative Council are designated and exonerated by the Chief Executive and have a term of office of 3 years that is renewable (Articles 12 to15).

5.Main indicators of crime and the administration of justice

(a)Incidence of violent death as life-threatening crimes

67.The incidence of violent death as life-threatening crimes reported to the police was as follows:

(No.)

Type	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018 (Jan – Sep)
Homicide	2	4	3	1	1	1	1	2	2
Bodily injuries resulting in death	0	1	1	1	0	1	1	1	0
Total	2	5	4	2	1	2	2	3	2

Source: Office of the Secretary for Security .

(b)Crimes against sexual freedom and sexual self-determination

68.The number of cases of crimes against sexual freedom and sexual self-determination was as follows:

(No.)

Type	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018 (Jan – Sep)
Rape	19	21	27	24	33	30	29	35	19
Sexual Coercion	2	7	2	10	9	17	8	12	5
Child Sexual Abuse	23	18	20	17	13	10	16	18	16
Total	44	46	49	51	55	57	53	65	40

Source: Office of the Secretary for Security .

(c) Number of persons arrested or brought before the court for violent or other serious crimes

69.The number of persons arrested or brought before the court for violent or other serious crimes was 491 in 2010, 672 in 2011, 575 in 2012, 882 in 2013, 945 in 2014, 1,254 in 2015, 1,285 in 2016, 1,272 in 2017 and 757 from January to September of 2018. (Office of the Secretary for Security)

(d)Maximum and average time of pretrial detention

70.Article 186 of the Criminal Procedure Code establishes the exceptional or ultima ratio applicability of pretrial detention. The subsidiary nature of pretrial detention means that it may only be applied if other procedural measures prove to be manifestly inadequate or insufficient. According to this article, pretrial detention may be applied if there is credible preliminary evidence pointing to a person having willfully committed a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding three years, or if a crime has been committed by a person who has entered and remained illegally in Macao, or against whom surrender or expulsion proceedings have been instituted.

71.Article 193 of the same Code prescribes that pre-trial detention may be immediately applied in case of the commission of violent crimes (e.g. aggression to life or to physical integrity or to the freedom of persons, illicit production or traffic of drugs) punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding eight years.

72.The judge re-examines on a quarterly basis the conditions which may, or may not, justify the continuation of such a measure (art. 197 of the CPC). The total length of pretrial detention pending a trial is established in article 199. The pretrial detention must be discontinued: (a) after six months without the detainee having been accused; (b) after 10 months, if pretrial investigation ends without a decision for committal to trial; (c) after 18 months, if no conviction has been delivered by a court of first instance; and (d) after two years, if no res judicata conviction has been delivered.

73.Notwithstanding the above, the term of pretrial detention of each case depends on the litigation stage (case admission), thus it is possible to provide accurate data about the average period of pretrial detention of each case.

74.It is noteworthy that court proceedings comply strictly with the law and judges follow closely the maximum pretrial detention term established in the Criminal Procedure Code. Meanwhile, the Basic Law and the Criminal Procedure Code guarantee that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful detention or imprisonment and those who are subjected to these situations have the right to apply to the court for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus.

75.Based on the information provided by the Office of the Court of Final Instance the average number of working days of the First Instance Court (Lower Court) to set a collegial panel (criminal section) involving detainees for trial was 98 in 2010, 46 in 2011, 60 in 2012, 78 in 2013, 55 in 2014, 85 in 2015 and 2016, 63 in 2017 and 43 in 2018.

(e) Number prisoners

76.The number prisoners was 702 in 2010, 844 in 2011, 874 in 2012, 898 in 2013, 982 in 2014, 999 in 2015, 1,023 in 2016, 1,022 in 2017 and 1,146 as of 30 September 2018. The majority of the prisoners have Asian origin. Most of the foreign prisoners were from Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. The following tables illustrate the numbers and types of crimes committed as well as the length of respective sentences.

Criminal cases committed by prisoners

Drug trafficking

Type of crime/Age group	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018 (Jan – Sep)
M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
16–20	22	4	20	3	9	5	10	2	7	2	6	1	7	0	4	0	4	1
21–30	115	16	145	20	132	24	112	30	101	35	111	34	122	24	128	19	136	16
31–50	100	26	115	33	123	36	139	29	138	32	144	36	155	38	157	42	163	41
50 and above	11	5	15	6	22	6	23	7	27	6	31	4	29	3	24	2	30	6
Subtotal/Gender	248	51	295	62	286	71	284	68	273	75	292	75	313	65	313	63	333	64
Subtotal/Crime	299	357	357	352	348	367	378	376	397

Criminal cases committed by prisoners

Robbery

Type of crime/Age group	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018 (Jan – Sep)
M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
16–20	5	0	7	0	9	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21–30	27	0	34	0	26	1	21	2	24	3	17	2	12	2	9	0	10	2
31–50	53	1	45	0	39	1	42	1	37	0	35	0	39	0	43	0	48	2
50 and above	4	0	6	0	7	0	8	0	6	1	7	0	4	0	4	0	5	0
Subtotal/Gender	89	1	92	0	81	2	73	3	67	4	59	2	55	2	56	0	63	4
Subtotal/Crime	90	92	83	76	71	61	57	56	67

Criminal cases committed by prisoners

Theft

Type of crime/Age group	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018 (Jan – Sep)
M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
16 – 20	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	1	0
21 – 30	16	2	34	3	32	6	29	4	33	2	22	3	17	2	24	3	24	2
31 – 50	56	10	80	18	101	21	105	17	96	19	97	16	101	23	93	34	91	18
50 and above	5	0	8	1	13	1	16	2	31	3	31	0	29	2	25	5	29	4
Subtotal/Gender	77	13	122	22	148	28	150	24	160	24	150	19	148	27	144	42	145	24
Subtotal/Crime	90	144	176	174	184	169	175	186	169

Criminal cases committed by prisoners

Fraud

Type of crime/Age group	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018 (Jan – Sep)
M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
16 – 20	1	0	3	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21 – 30	4	0	6	2	9	5	25	4	22	1	26	1	19	1	27	1	23	2
31 – 50	27	9	25	13	43	12	60	22	63	28	70	29	76	26	73	28	88	23
50 and above	8	2	14	2	18	0	23	8	15	9	14	5	18	4	15	7	18	9
Subtotal/Gender	40	11	48	17	72	17	109	34	100	38	110	35	113	31	115	36	129	34
Subtotal/Crime	51	65	89	143	138	145	144	151	163

Criminal cases committed by prisoners

Homicide

Type of crime/Age group	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018 (Jan–Sep)
M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
16 – 20	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21 – 30	5	0	4	1	3	1	5	1	5	0	4	0	4	0	4	0	4	0
31 – 50	22	3	21	2	25	2	21	2	20	3	17	3	14	3	15	1	15	1
50 and above	11	1	9	1	8	1	11	1	12	1	15	0	16	0	13	1	14	1
Subtotal/Gender	39	4	35	4	36	4	37	4	37	4	36	3	34	3	32	2	33	2
Subtotal/Crime	43	39	40	41	41	39	37	34	35

Criminal cases committed by prisoners

Others

Type of crime/Age group	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018 (Jan–Sep)
M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
16 – 20	37	1	29	0	11	2	8	4	21	4	14	1	7	0	11	0	15	0
21 – 30	190	29	237	30	209	31	220	36	241	54	97	21	263	40	277	24	287	23
31 – 50	359	72	318	61	434	69	441	70	564	113	635	126	701	142	774	134	789	157
50 and above	68	6	57	6	78	12	106	16	130	23	162	23	164	17	169	25	181	40
Subtotal/Gender	654	108	641	97	732	114	775	126	956	194	908	171	1 135	199	1 231	183	1 272	220
Subtotal/Crime	762	738	846	901	1 150	1 079	1 334	1 414	1 492
Total No.	1 335	1 435	1 591	1 687	1 932	1 860	2 125	2 217	2 323

Source: Office of the Secretary for Security .

(No.)

Length of Sentence	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018 (Jan – Sep)
Below 1 year	111	129	128	144	206	265	226	236	216
1 to 5 years	355	476	506	539	605	604	652	650	692
6 to 10 years	289	323	345	347	354	359	379	378	418
11 to 15 years	63	56	56	55	59	61	55	68	67
16 to 20 years	26	24	25	24	21	17	16	18	19
21 years or above	17	17	17	21	20	20	18	18	19
Total	861	1 025	1 077	1 130	1 256	1 326	1 346	1 368	1 431

Source: Office of the Secretary for Security .

(f)Incidence of death in custody and death penalty

77.There is no death penalty or life imprisonment in the MSAR.

78.There was a total of 13 cases of deaths of sentenced prisoners during the period covered and the details are illustrated as follows:

Year	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	201 8 (Jan – Sep)
No. of deaths among prisoners	3	0	0	3	1	1	3	1	1

Source: Office of the Secretary for Security .

79.It should be stressed that the MSAR Government has been committed to the promotion of adequate training to its law enforcement agents that deal with persons under custody to ensure that the persons in detention are respected and treated with dignity. Specialised training with foreign trainers in relation to the implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and of the “Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment”, better known as the Istanbul Protocol has been provided.

(g)Average number of pending cases

80.According to the information provided by the Office of the Court of Final Appeal, the average number of pending cases to be tried by a judge was 302.29 in 2010, 211.9 in 2011, 200.13 in 2012, 185.93 in 2013, 201.22 in 2014, 252.22 in 2015, 296.55 in 2016, 305.02 in 2017 and 252.56 in 2018.

(h) Number of police/security personnel

81.From 2010 until the end of September 2018, the number of police/security personal was as follows:

Year/No. of persons	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018 (Jan – Sep)
Macao Customs Service (Customs Officer)	1 031	1 010	1 041	1 022	1 039	1 041	1 070	1 071	1 143
Public Security Police Force (Military Personnel)	4 191	4 354	4 386	4 551	4 749	4 790	4 969	5 138	5 053
Judiciary Police (Police Officer)	491	552	606	596	675	754	753	789	787
Correctional Services Bureau (Security Guard)	461	455	481	549	595	639	619	638	634
Total No.	6 174	6 371	6 514	6 718	7 058	7 224	7 411	7 636	7 617

Source: Office of the Secretary for Security .

(i) Number of prosecutors and judges

82.The number of prosecutors and judges per 100,000 persons from 2010 to 2018 was, 11.65 in 2010, 12.92 in 2011, 12.37 in 2012, 13.83 in 2013, 13.2 in 2014, 12.37 in 2015, 12.25 in 2016 and 13.63 in 2017.

(j) Share of public expenditure on police/security and judiciary

83.The share of public expenditure on police/security and judiciary was 12.5% in 2010, 11.2% in 2011, 10.4% in 2012, 12.1% in 2013, 10.6% in 2014, 12.3% in 2015, 12.3% in 2016 and 16.6% in 2017.

III.General framework for the protection and promotion of human rights

84.As regards information on the general framework for the protection and promotion of human rights (HR) at the internal level, reference is still made to paragraphs 177-246 of Part III of China’s Core Document to the extent that no substantial changes have occurred in the MSAR legal framework since its submission.

A.Acceptance of international human rights norms

85.In relation to new HR treaties or related treaties applicable to the MSAR, it should be mentioned that the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty and the TRIPS Protocol related to intellectual property rights are applicable to the MSAR, with the first two treaties being applicable since 2013 and the latter Protocol since 2017. Concerning environmental protection, the Paris Agreement and the Minamata Convention on Mercury have also been applicable since 2016 and 2017 respectively.

86.For conventions and protocols concerning foreign affairs or defence which must be applied to the entire territory of a state, please refer to the information provided by China.

B.Legal framework for the protection of human rights at the internal level

1.Structure of the protection of human rights within the MSAR legal system

87.As detailed in Part III of China’s Core Document, fundamental rights and freedoms are enshrined mainly in Chapter III (Articles 24 to 44) of the Basic Law, without prejudice to other rights and freedoms being recognised in other chapters of the Basic Law and in the ordinary law. The information therein provided in relation to the HR legal framework remains generally valid.

2.Further legislative developments

88.A short non-exhaustive summary of some of the most significant legislative developments that have occurred in the field of HR protection during the last years is provided below:

(i)Law 4/2010 on the Social Security System, as amended by Law 6/2018: it alters the social security system by creating two levels of protection - i) the revised social security system with a broader scope of action and ii) a Central Provident Fund System, which is a mandatory social security system for all residents that work in the private sector and an optional system, which is available to all employed or unemployed residents who are 18 or above. In the 1st system, employers and employees are bound to contribute; in the 2nd system, the contribution is on a voluntary basis. The aim is to ensure a minimum social security protection for the retired and the unemployed residents;

(ii)Law 10/2011 on Economic Housing, as amended by Law 11/2015: it contains an overall revision of the previous regime, including the re-definition of the concept of economic housing, application conditions, candidature system; income limits and wealth limits;

(iii)Law 13/2010, Legal Aid to Persons Performing Public Functions: it provides legal aid to persons against whom a legal action was filed due to the exercise of their public functions; legal aid comprises 3 modalities: i) exemption from payment of legal expenses; ii) exemption from payment of court costs; iii) the appointment and payment of pro bono lawyers;

(iv)Law 5/2011, Legal Regime on Smoking Prevention and Control, as amended by Law 9/2017: restrictive measures are strengthened such as the prohibition of smoking in certain places or of tobacco advertisement as well as restrictions to the use of electronic cigarettes;

(v)Law 9/2011, Regime of Disability Allowance and Free Health Care Services: it establishes a system on the grant of disability allowance to permanent residents with disabilities and provides free health care services;

(vi)Law 2/2012, Legal Regime on the Use of CCTV in Public Spaces: it regulates the use of CCTV in public places by law enforcement authorities when empowered with public authoritas to ensure internal security and public order (including the prevention of crimes and assistance in criminal investigation); authorities are bound by the principles of legality, exclusivity and proportionality;

(vii)Law 5/2012 amends the Regime of Copyright and Related Rights: it aims at copyrights in the technological and information society as well as protecting the rights of performers and producers of phonograms in the digital era in line with the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty;

(viii)Law 13/2012, Legal Aid System: Law 13/2012 superseded Decree-law 41/94/M on the Legal Aid System and partially revoked some provisions of Law 21/88/M, regulating the access to the law and to the courts. This new legal framework regulates that the access to legal protection and legal aid, the right of access to the courts and to the respective judicial remedies cannot be denied based on any discriminatory grounds or on the grounds of insufficient economic resources. MSAR residents (individuals and non-profit legal persons) as well as non-resident workers, holders of refugee status and of special permits, such as foreign students may apply for legal aid. This aid comprises 3 modalities: i) exemption from payment of legal expenses; ii) exemption from payment of court costs; iii) the appointment and payment of pro bono lawyers. The Law created the Legal Aid Commission, which is the body that assesses and approves applications and appoints pro bono lawyers.

(ix)Law 4/2013, which amends Law 21/2009 on the Employment of Non-Resident Workers: it allows the stay of the non-resident worker for a period of six months when his/her contract is terminated by mutual agreement before the term of the contract or when the contract ends by the initiative of the worker or of the employer for duly justified reasons;

(x)Law 5/2013 on Food Safety: it introduces, in particular, preventive, control and risk treatment measures on food safety, treatment mechanisms on food safety accidents, the adoption of special preventive measures, management and monitoring mechanisms, food safety criteria and the provision of crimes for the violation of food safety requirements;

(xi)Law 11/2013, Law on the Protection of Cultural Heritage: it follows closely and protects the rights enshrined in the UNESCO Conventions concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Tangible and intangible cultural heritage are equally guaranteed and protected under this Law. An inventory of the MSAR’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage has been created;

(xii)Law 12/2013 on Urban Planning: it establishes, inter alia, norms and criteria for urban and management planning, conditions of land use and exploitation; compensation mechanisms and the establishment of the Urban Planning Council as a consultative body, which comprised of persons from the private sector and representatives from the Government;

(xiii)Law 8/2014 on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Noise: it establishes limits to environmental noise, including those to construction work or daily life;

(xiv)Law 2/2015, amendments to Law 7/2008, Law on Labour Relations: it raises the amount to calculate the compensation clause when there is an unfair resolution to the labour contract and establishes a two-year period for the revision of the amount to be calculated;

(xv)Law 6/2015, which amends Decree-law 40/95/M on the Legal System for Compensation of Damages arising from Work Accidents and Occupational Diseases: it reinforces the protection of the rights of victims of occupational accidents and clarifies the mechanisms and procedures available for compensation of damages arising from occupational accidents and diseases. It also broadens the range of occupational accidents to include, for example, accidents between the employee’s home and his/her workplace, including when certain tropical storm signals are hoisted or accidents during training by providing emergency medical care and by setting new preventive measures to avoid occupational accidents;

(xvi)Law 1/2016, which amends Law 2/2004 on the Prevention, Control and Treatment of Contagious Diseases: it regularly updates the list of diseases in accordance with the one adopted by the World Health Organisation, such as the listing of the Zika virus in 2016;

(xvii)Law 2/2016 on Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence: it creates a legal and institutional framework to prevent and combat domestic violence, including the criminalisation of domestic violence as an autonomous and public crime and adopts specific procedural criminal norm and law enforcement measures. It also sets up preventive intervention and protective measures for victims; strengthens assistance, services and remedies to victims, with the engagement of all the key departments and civil society;

(xviii)Law 5/2016 on the Legal Regime for Medical Malpractice: it aims at safeguarding the rights and interests of the persons who use health care services as well as of those who provide such services both in the public and private sectors. This Law creates a Medical Dispute Mediation Centre and the Medical Malpractice Evaluation Commission;

(xix)Law 7/2017, establishing the Non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund System: it aims at reinforcing the social protection for residents in their old age and complementing the existing social security system by providing a voluntary contribution to a Fund, which is administered by the Government and which can only be withdrawn after the account owner has reached 65 years of age;

(xx)Law 8/2017, which amends the Macao Criminal Code: it broadens the scope of the crimes against sexual freedom and sexual self-determination, reinforcing the protection of physical and psychological integrity of persons, particularly of minors; it adds 3 new criminal provisions to the Macao Criminal Code: Articles 164-A (Sexual Harassment), 169-A (Recourse to the Procurement of a Minor) and 170-A (Pornography of Minor);

(xxi)Law 8/2017, which amends Law 6/97/M, Law against Organised Crime: secret associations or societies are now punished for pornography of minor together with exploitation of prostitution and procuring (Article 1 of Law 6/97/M);

(xxii)Law 10/2017, Law on the Tertiary Education System: it revises and updates the former regime in order to improve the teaching and learning quality of tertiary education, by inter alia reinforcing the means and resources of tertiary education, introducing criteria, certification and an assessment regime, strengthening pedagogical and scientific autonomy of institutions, clarifying the status of public institutions in tertiary education and introducing a credits system. This Law creates the Tertiary Education Council;

(xxiii)Law 8/2018 on Fiscal Benefits for Hiring Persons with Disabilities: it establishes special measures to promote to and guarantee access to work for persons with disabilities;

(xxiv)Law 11/2018, which amends Law 2/93/M, Law on the Right of Assembly and Demonstration: the main change is related to the pre-notice that needs to be submitted to the Head of the Public Security Police Force instead to the Head of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau when the exercise of the right to meet peacefully and to demonstrate is going to be held in public places or in places open to the public; a written notice must be submitted at least three working days in advance but not more than 15 days with the indication of the purpose of the meeting, date, place, time and route (if the demonstrations are labour or politically related, the submission should be completed with two working days). The Head of the Public Security Police Force may change or restrict the route 24 hours prior to the beginning of the meeting or demonstration or may demand a minimum distance to be kept between the meeting or demonstration and government, legislative court or other buildings/premises, premises of the Central People’s Government, diplomatic or consular missions or representations for traffic management or public security reasons when duly justified;

(xxv)Law 12/2018 on the Legal Regime for the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Older Persons: it establishes a comprehensive and integrated regime for the older persons, their families and the society as a whole wherein the rights and interests of the older persons, such as alimony, family and social assistance, health care and the creation of specialised health care services, social security and benefits, facilities or transportations accessibility, older persons participation in social life are safeguarded;

(xxvi)Law 18/2018, which amends Decree-law 87/89/M on Statute of the Public Administration Workers, introduces new modalities related to the working period, weekly rest, holidays, absences and leaves in the public sector.

3.New measures of a restrictive nature

89.Article 40 (2) of the Basic Law stipulates that the rights and freedoms enjoyed by MSAR residents shall not be restricted unless as prescribed by law, and that such restrictions shall not contravene, inter alia, the provisions of the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and of the International Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Nevertheless, in certain specific circumstances, such as the need to maintain public order and internal security, special adopted measures may restrict the rights enshrined in the Covenants. Nonetheless, these norms must be read in tandem with Article 40 (2) of the Basic Law as mentioned in the previous reports.

90.The information provided in relation to Law 9/2002 on Internal Security, as amended, and in relation to Law 2/2004 on the Prevention, Control and Treatment of Contagious Diseases, as amended, remains accurate. All restrictive measures, which are of an exceptional and temporary nature, are subordinate to the criteria of necessity, proportionality and adequacy.

91.Law 2/2009, the National Security Law, may also impose some fundamental rights’ restrictions when there is a violation of the law or when the exercise of these rights poses a threat to national security; these restrictions are in line with other jurisdictions and the restrictions provided for in the ICCPR for safeguarding national security, public safety and public order (Articles 19 (3) (b), 21 and 22 (2)). Until now, no individuals have been charged under this Law.

92.Law 2/2012, which regulates the use of CCTV in public spaces may also interfere with an individual’s freedom, yet law enforcement authorities are bound, as mentioned, by the principles of legality, exclusivity and proportionality (Article 4). The Law establishes limits (Article 6) and prohibitions (Article 7), such as the elimination of excessive data or the prohibition of capturing images and sounds of a house or a building or the duty to inform the use of CCTV in public spaces.

93.Law 10/2012 on the Conditions of Entering, Working and Gaming at Casinos, as amended by Law 17/2018, restricts the age of entering, working and gaming at casinos from 18 to 21 years old as a measure to prevent and control the youth from gaming and from its early practice. The 2018 amendment also restricts all casino workers including junkets employees from entering casinos except in specific occasions and prohibits the use of a third person to game on their behalf in the casinos where they work. A new provision has been added – Article 8-A- prohibiting the record of images and sound or the use of communication equipment within the casino area.

94.Law 6/2016, the Asset Freezing Regime, establishes the enforcement of asset-freezing decisions pursuant to the Resolutions of the Security Council of the United Nations under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations and within the framework of the fight against terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This Law allows the freezing of assets (funds and economic resources of any nature) of natural and legal persons and imposes restrictions on an individual’s rights, the right to private property and data protection in particular. Access to assets in certain circumstances may be authorised (e.g. humanitarian reasons or lawyers’ fees) upon the request of the person concerned (Articles 12, 21, 29). The frozen assets will be administered by an independent entity (Articles13 and 14). Notification procedures and due process are also guaranteed (Articles 19, 26 and 27) as well as a complaint and appeal mechanism (Articles 15 and 31 respectively).

95.Law 6//2017 on the Control of Cross-Border Transportation of Cash and Bearer Negotiable Instruments establishes a declaration system and a customs control of cash and bearer negotiable instruments of a certain amount. Travellers may have to reveal the source or the destination of the cash or of the bearer negotiable instruments being transported. Baggage inspection and body search may be carried out (regular or random checks whenever there is a suspicion) in the premises of the customs authority, respecting the personal dignity and protecting the personal privacy of the target-person in order to reduce the inconvenience concerned to the minimum (Article 6(2)).

4.New bodies for the protection of human rights

96.As mentioned in Part III of China’s Core Document, consultative bodies were created to enhance and protect HR. These bodies are usually composed of representatives of the Government and representatives of the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) as well as prominent members of the civil society. Regarding the newly established bodies, the following commissions and councils set up between 2010 and 2018 should be highlighted: the Council for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (2014), the Urban Planning Council (2014), the Commission for Women and Children Affairs (2005/2016), the Legal Aid Commission (2013), the Medical Malpractice Evaluation Commission (2017) and the Tertiary Education Council (2018).

C.Framework within which human rights are promoted at the internal level

1.Interconnection between promotion of human rights and their full exercise

97.As mentioned in the previous reports, the protection and promotion of fundamental rights are general principles of the MSAR and major policy grounds for the sustainable, harmonised social development of the MSAR.

2.The general principle of law – the principle of publicity

98.As noted in the previous reports, the MSAR is a civil law system, thus the publication of laws is a prerequisite for their effectiveness. All international legal instruments applicable to the MSAR and ordinary legislation are published in both official languages in the MSAR Official Gazette and are made electronically available for free (http://www.io.gov.mo) on the Printing Bureau’s website and on the websites of other Government entities and departments.

99.Efforts have been undertaken to translate some key legislation into English, such as the Law on the Fight against Trafficking in Persons, the Law on Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence, the Asset Freezing Regime and the Law on Labour Relations (http://www.dsaj.gov.mo/ContentFrame_en.aspx?ModuleName=Content/en/dadidir/keyLeg_en.ascx0).

3.Other types of promotion of law and human rights

100.With respect to the HR dissemination and awareness-raising campaigns for the public, the MSAR Government continues to endeavour considerable efforts to disseminate HR widely and comprehensively through several means and actions, inter alia, the provision of information about the Constitution of China, the Basic Law, the HR conventions and legislation through TV and radio programmes, newspapers, seminars, leaflets, brochures, awareness campaigns, school activities, fairs and Government websites (www.gov.mo/www.macaolaw.gov.mo). This responsibility falls primarily on the Legal Dissemination and Public Relations Department under the Legal Affairs Bureau.

101.Moreover, the Legal Affairs Bureau, together with other Government entities (such as the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau) and local NGOs, have been disseminating legal information to youngsters through civic education activities, online and newspaper games, bazaars, booth game design, colouring and quiz competitions. A Youth Law Centre was set up in 2015.

102.The Legal and Judicial Training Centre (LJTC) continues to organise courses on constitutional law and fundamental rights within the magistrate training programme and specific courses, such as the protection of fundamental rights under criminal law - detention, pre-trial imprisonment and the gathering of evidence in criminal procedure law (2015), the origin, the reasons and meaning of crimes against humanity (2016), the protection of fundamental rights under criminal law (2016) and domestic violence (2016 and 2017).

103.The LJTC also provides courses, seminars and workshops on HR protection for the legal profession (particularly targeted at officials, the judiciary, legal practitioners and other community sectors), often in cooperation with other institutions such as the Legal Affairs Bureau and the Institute of European Studies of Macau, and entities including the European Union and foreign renowned universities, on a permanent basis.

104.Within the framework of the Legal Cooperation Programme between the MSAR and the EU, the following HR seminars/conferences were organised: “Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms: the Right of Privacy and the Right of Personal Data Protection” (2011); “Sexual Violence against Children”, “Marriage Legal Regime, the Matrimonial Property Regimes” and the “System of Fundamental Rights” (2012); the “Protection of Fundamental Rights - Cultural Rights: Culture and Patrimonial Heritage Protection” and the “International Judicial Co-operation” (2013); the “Trafficking in Persons” (2014); the “Psycho-Social Affairs in the Contemporary Family” (2015); the “European Union and Fundamental Rights”, “Drug Addiction and Drug Trafficking” and the “Revision of the Criminal Code – Crimes against Sexual Freedom and Self-Determination” (2016), “Countering Financing of Terrorism” (2016), “Paris Agreement – Climate Change and Environment” (2017), “Intellectual Property as Part of a Support Framework in Business Management Strategy” (2017), “Workshop on the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment” (2018), “Multilingual and Bilingual Legislation: Perspectives from the European Union and Experience from Wales and UK” (2018) and “Workshop on the “Common Cultural Heritage of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” (2018).

105.The Legislative Assembly continues to disseminate important laws regarding fundamental HR, which are available online (www.al.gov.mo). In 2016, it published the 2nd and 3rd Conferences on Law and Citizenship of the Legislative Assembly of the MSAR on HR protection. Some court decisions and the opinions and recommendations of the Commission against Corruption (Ombudsman) are also available online.

106.According to their area of intervention, each of the above-mentioned Consultative Commissions plays an important role not only in safeguarding fundamental rights and freedoms in the formulation of local policies and plans, assessing and monitoring their implementation but also in promoting them and raising community awareness. The inclusion of NGOs representatives allows a proactive participation in public affairs, enhances transparency and directs the standards to community needs.

107. The recognised, valuable historical and cultural heritage, as a result of 500 years of cross-cultural characteristics of eastern and western cultures of the MSAR that resulted in the inscription of “The Historic Centre of Macao” on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2005, is a milestone feature of the MSAR. The Government attaches great importance to this classification and has been engaging efforts in its preservation, promotion and dissemination.

4.Budget allocations and trends

108.As mentioned in the previous Addendum, the budget for fundamental rights actions is not specifically allocated in the MSAR’s public budget. The expenditure on the promotion or adoption of measures for the enjoyment of fundamental rights is reflected in all areas of public administration. The allocation of funds is objective and follows strict rules of law.

5.Public consultation mechanism for major policies and legislation

109.The public consultation mechanism for major policies and legislation introduced in 2011 (Chief Executive Order 224/2011) should be highlighted within the context of HR promotion, particularly in what concerns HR awareness-raising, political and civic participation in public affairs and proactive approach of the population as regards governance issues related to the exercise and enjoyment of HR.

110.The aim of this mechanism is to consult the population on public policies, Government strategies or action plans as well as on the adoption of new legislation. It aims at promoting the participation of the population in order to collect their views and to pursue good governance.

111.The following is an illustration of the implementation of this mechanism as regards the consultation on draft legislation and policies: the revision of the Criminal Procedure Code (2011), the Law on Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence (2011), the Environmental Protection Planning of Macao 2010–2020 (2011), the Macao Youth Policy (2012–2020) (2012), the Development of the Political System (2012), the Revision of the Press law (2013), revision of the legislation of Consumers Protection Rights and Interests (2014), the Law on Economic Housing (2014), the Law on Special Education (2015), the revision of the MCC – Sexual Freedom and Sexual Self-Determination (2015), the revision of the Special Education Regime (2015), the 2016-2025 Planning of Rehabilitation Services (2016), the Framework Law for the Management of Maritime Waters (2016), the revision of the Electoral Law for the Legislative Assembly (2016), the Cyber Security Law (2017), the Techniques of Medically Assisted Procreation (2017), the Creation of a Municipal Body (2017), the Plan for the Safeguard and Management of the Historical Centre of Macao (2018), the Framework Law of Civil Protection (2018) and the Legal System for Interception and Protection of Communications (2018).

D.Reporting process

112.The reporting methodology explained in the previous Addendum remains unchanged. China is responsible for the submission of reports in respect of the MSAR under the various HR treaties. The parts related to the MSAR are prepared by the MSAR Government under the supervision of the Secretary for Administration and Justice and are then submitted to the Central People’s Government.

113.The MSAR started a new round of reporting in relation to the ICESCR, the ICCPR, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Under Article 9 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the combined 14th to 17th CERD Report of China, including the 3rd Report of the MSAR, was considered by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination at its 2654th and 2655th meetings held on 10 and 13 August 2018 and its concluding observations (CERD/C/CHN/CO/14-17) were adopted on 28 August 2018. The 3rd Universal Periodic Report cycle related to China, including the MSAR, was also considered at the Human Rights Council at its 31st Session, on 6 and 9 November 2018.

114.The collection of information for the preparation of HR reports involves all the relevant Government departments, inter-departmental Government bodies, all HR-related bodies and NGOs through their participation in these bodies. In addition, an HR inter-departmental working group was created in 2016 to follow up the implementation of HR treaties and their treaty bodies’ recommendations.

115.A public online consultation mechanism has been adopted to which the population and NGOs are called upon to contribute, comment or provide suggestions (by email, fax or in person) in relation to the drafting of the report. Public consultations are disseminated on the official website of the Government, on the website and Facebook page of the Legal Affairs Bureau as well as through local media in Chinese, Portuguese and English (newspapers, radio and TV). Reference is made to the previous reports and concluding observations and an outline of the topics to be covered in the drafting of the report(s) of the MSAR is disseminated in the languages mentioned.

116.It should be emphasized that significant efforts have been made to disseminate HR conventions. Special editions of the “Macau Law Journal” related to the overall reporting mechanism should be highlighted in this context. These editions cover the implementation of the core HR international instruments applicable to the MSAR. Documents are assembled in a systematic manner, in Chinese, Portuguese and English, aiming at producing a user-friendly and ground-breaking compilation to legal practitioners and the general public (it comprises the HR treaties, the MSAR’s reports, the lists of issues & replies, the concluding observations and the follow-up). The editions of the CRC, CAT, CRPD and ICCPR were published in 2010, 2013, 2013 and 2016 respectively. Access to the MSAR’s HR reports, the lists of issues and replies, the concluding observations in Chinese, Portuguese and English are available on the Legal Affairs Bureau’s website (http://www.dsaj.gov.mo/ContentFrame_en.aspx?ModuleName=Content/en/dadidir/hrreport_en.ascx).

IV.Information on non-discrimination and equality and effective remedies

117.As mentioned in the previous reports, the rights to equality and non-discrimination are guaranteed under Article 25 of the Basic Law and reflected in the civil, criminal and administrative legislation of the MSAR.

118.Article 38 (2) and (3) of the Basic Law explicitly provides for special protection of the legitimate rights and interests of women, minors, aged people and people with disabilities. Positive discrimination policies and measures are adopted to correct de facto inequalities when deemed necessary. These policies/measures are echoed in specific legislation and the adoption of target-action plans (e.g. children, persons with disabilities and the older persons) or of concrete measures (e.g. breastfeeding rooms, facilities for persons with disabilities or long-term care services for the older persons). Efforts will continue to be undertaken to reduce inequalities and to promote adequate education on issues of tolerance and anti-bias, in particular through the teaching of and public awareness campaigns on equality and non-discrimination and other fundamental rights. Mechanisms and relief measures will continue to be adopted for supporting vulnerable persons or groups, including women, children, the older persons, persons with disabilities, victims of violence or disasters, refugee seekers and non-resident workers and ensuring their quality of life and the development of a harmonious society.

119.The information provided in the initial report remains mostly unchanged. Article 36 of the Basic Law guarantees that all persons have the right to resort to the law and to have access to the courts, to legal aid and to judicial remedies, as well as the right to institute proceedings at the courts against the acts of the executive authorities and their personnel. Quasi-judicial and non-judicial remedies to safeguard fundamental rights, including the submission of applications, petitions and complaints to any administrative authority, the right to lodge complaints to the Legislative Assembly and to the Commission against Corruption and the right to petition the Chief Executive and the Legislative Assembly, are also available.

120.As already mentioned, and addressed in the previous reports, there are also other local monitoring mechanisms to promote and safeguard HR, which are composed of prominent members of the civil society and representatives of the local NGOs. In this regard, the Senior Citizens Affairs Committee (2007), the Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities (2008) and the Commission for Women and Children Affairs (renamed in 2016) should be highlighted.

121.Actions shall continue to be taken in partnership with the civil society, mainly with the relevant NGOs. Regular dialogue with the civil society, including the participation of local NGOs in many consultative mechanisms, fostering social consensus is an important feature of the MSAR’s governance. Being a multi-ethnic and multicultural society, the promotion of equality and non-discrimination, is the key priority of the MSAR Government.