Human Rights Committee

Concluding observations on the third periodic report of Hong Kong, China

Addendum

Information received from Hong Kong, China, on follow-up to the concluding observations *

[Date received: 11 January 2016]

1.Further to the Concluding Observations of the United Nations Human Rights Committeeon the third report of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in the light of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the HKSAR’s earlier follow-up reports, the HKSAR hereby provides the following information –

On paragraph 6 of the Concluding Observations

2.After conducting two rounds of extensive public consultations which lasted for a total of seven months, the HKSAR Government presented to the Legislative Council (LegCo) a package of legislative proposals for the method for selecting the Chief Executive by universal suffrage in 2017 (the 2017 proposals).The 2017 proposals were drafted in accordance with the Basic Law of the HKSAR and the relevant decisions of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, also making reference to the views collected during public consultations.Unfortunately, the motion was vetoed at the LegCo meeting on June 18, 2015, when 28 out of 70 Members voted against the motion (it would require endorsement bya two-thirds majority of all the LegCo Members).As a result, the work of the current term HKSAR Government to take forward the 2017 proposals has to come to an end.

On paragraph 21 of the Concluding Observations

3.The importation of Foreign Domestic Helpers (FDHs) into Hong Kong started in the 1970s, to meet the acute shortage of local labour to take up full-time live-in domestic helper positions in Hong Kong.The live-in condition is the raison d’etre and cornerstone of the FDH importation policy.The HKSAR Government therefore would not propose to repeal the “live-in requirement”.

4.The FDHs enjoy the same protection as the local labour force under the Employment Ordinance, the same protection by the law enforcement agencies, as well as equal access to the courts and all the complaint channels in Hong Kong.FDHs are apprised of their legal rights and obligations before their arrival and during their stay in Hong Kong.

5.The HKSAR community is highly appreciative of the contributions of FDHs.Most FDHs have a cordial relationship with their employers.The HKSAR Government and community do not tolerate any abuse or exploitation of FDHs.Should there be any such incident, responsible law enforcement agencies will take resolute actions to investigate and initiate enforcement action against the perpetrator where appropriate.If necessary, the Police will also provide protection to the FDH concerned.Other government departments and non-governmental organisations will also provide translation/interpretation, medical and counselling support as well as temporary accommodation, as needed.

On paragraph 22 of the Concluding Observations

6.From the 2014/15 school year (starting September 2014) onwards, an additional funding of HK$200 million is made available to strengthen the support to schools in the learning of Chinese language by non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students.Ample teaching training, practical research and school-based support services have since been provided.With the implementation of the “Chinese Language Curriculum Second Language Learning Framework” and the Applied Learning Chinese (for NCS Students) subject, it has been observed that NCS students’ motive to learn Chinese and the effectiveness of their learning have improved.More schools are accepting NCS students and more parents of NCS students are willing to enrol their children in a wider range of schools.Overall speaking, the outcomes of the package of initiatives are positive thus far.We will continue to monitor progress and refine the implementation details to suit the prevailing needs of NCS students.

7.Further details of the topics above will be elaborated in the next periodic report of the HKSAR.