and give renewed consideration enactment of a bill of rights. to accession to the Optional Protocol and the 412. With regard to the specific Bituatioa of Hong Kong, it was emphasieed that the legal system should be in a position to guarantee full respect for human rights by 1997. It was noted in that connection that the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law represented important steps towards addressing human rights i66ue6 in Hong Kong. HOWeVerr the Hong Kong Bill of Right6 was not yet law, the Letter6 Patents had aot yet been amended and the Law Reform Commission was still considering laws regarding privacy, illegitimacy, police powers and other matters. Measures also had to be taken to coordinate and hnrmoniae the content6 of articles 25 to 37 of the Basic Law, articla 39 of the Basic Law, which provided for the applicability of the Covenant, and the The necessity of continued implementation of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights. reporting mechanisms provided for in the Covenant after 1991 was also reiterated. 413. The representative of the State party thanked the member6 of the Committee for the dialogue they had established with the delegation and assured them that his Government placed great importance on the consideration of it6 reports by the Committee and would he duly notified of the Committee’s concerns and comments. He drew the Committee’s attention to the fact that the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region had been drawn up by the People’s Republic of China, and that the delegation therefore had not been in ( position to give authoritative interpretations of individual provision6 of that tent. 414. In concluding the con, ‘deration of the third periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Chairman also expreesed satisfaction at the outcome of the dialogue with the State party’s The Committee’s observations on the situation in the representatives. United Kingdom and its dependent territories had focused on Nc.rthern Ireland and Hong Kong. In that respect, he welcomed the United Kingdom’s recent decision to conduct negotiations in order to reach a solution in Northern Ireland that would provide full protection for hwnan rights, The United Kingdom also had a reSpOn6ibility to hand over the territory of Hong Kong to China under conditions that would prevent any erosion of the current standard of protection for human rights. Furthermore, it was clear that China had entered into international legal obligations in respect of Hong Kong and that the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law encompassed the implementation of all the provisions of the Covenant , including those which were of a procedural nature. -103-