§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Hong Kong is party to the international convention on civil and political rights proclaimed in the charter of the United Nations; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RifkindWhen ratifying the international covenant on civil and political rights, we extended it to Hong Kong, subject to certain reservations.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is satisfied that the Hong Kong Government have complied with the provisions of the international convention on civil and political rights in its handling of the detention of the Iranian refugees held in Hong Kong prisons.
§ Mr. RifkindThe persons concerned are being lawfully detained, pending completion of immigration investigations, by the Hong Kong authorities according to the provisions of the Hong Kong Immigration Ordinance. In the circumstances, the international covenant on civil and political rights has no application, in view of the reservations made by the United Kingdom in respect of Hong Kong when ratifying the covenant.