UN Rights Committee Officials to Visit HK

The chairperson and rapporteur of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) will visit Hong Kong from January 8 to 12, 2001, according to a government spokesman Thursday, December 21.

The visit is aimed at enhancing the committee's understanding of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) prior to its hearing of Hong Kong's report under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in April/May next year.

"We are delighted that the CESCR has accepted our invitation to visit Hong Kong. We hope that, through the visit, the committee will obtain a good understanding of the implementation in Hong Kong of the rights guaranteed in the covenant," the spokesman said.

"They will meet political parties, LegCo Members, NGOs and government officials responsible for matters with which the ICESCR is concerned. They will also visit social facilities including hospitals, public housing estates, bedspace apartments, museums, and so forth," he said.

"We hope that they will hear as wide a range of views as is possible and see as much as they can within the limited time available. We expect that they will share their observations with other members of the committee on their return to Geneva," the spokesman added.






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