WRITTEN QUESTION E-3295/98

by José Barros Moura (PSE) to the Council

(10 November 1998)

Subject: Transfer of Macao to Chinese administration - death penalty

The recently renewed EU-Macao agreement contains a commitment for the parties to respect human rights.

In recent statements, the Member of Parliament and member of the Preparatory Commission Vitor Ng has accepted the reintroduction of the death penalty in that territory following its reintegration into the sovereignty of the People's Republic of China.

Nevertheless, the territory's penal code - which recently came into force after being adopted with the assent of the Chinese side in the Joint Liaison Group and the remaining in force of which (together with all other legislation applicable at the time of the transfer of sovereignty) was the subject of a commitment given by the authorities of the People's Republic of China in the Sino-Portuguese joint declaration and in the Basic Law of the Special Administrative Region of Macao - not only makes no provision for the death penalty but expressly provides for its prohibition and abolition.

How does the Council assess the implications of the possible reintroduction of the death penalty in Macao from the point of view of the CFSP and EU trade policy, which must respect human rights?

Reply

(22 and 23 February 1999)

The respect for and upholding of internationally recognized human rights is an essential part of the Union's foreign policy. The death penalty as such is not prohibited by any binding international legislation. Nevertheless, the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) has established strict conditions under which the death penalty may be used. Furthermore, the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR provides for States to commit themselves to permanent abolition of the death penalty. The European Union has moved beyond this and throughout the world it speaks out for the abolition of the death penalty.

The Council has decided, as an integral part of its human rights policy, to strengthen its international activities in opposition to the death penalty. The EU works towards the universal abolition of the death penalty. In the process of attaining this primary objective, the EU will call, in countries where the death penalty still exists, for its use to be progressively restricted. The EU has on various occasions explained its policy regarding capital punishment in its contacts with the Government of China, which recently signed the ICCPR.

Regarding Macau, the view of the Union is that it is of great importance that China abide fully by the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration of 1987 and the Basic Law of the future Special Administrative Region. The European Union is attached to the preservation of the standards already agreed upon in the Sino-Portuguese Joint Liaison Group, including standards established in the major Legal Codes, among which the Penal Code, precluding the use of the death penalty. Respect for these commitments will be a challenge for China, and an important test for the Union, in safeguarding the essential principles of democracy and respect for Human Rights and the rule of law now existing in Macau.