The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau (CMAB) submitted a paper to the Legislative Council’s Panel on Constitutional Affairs today (22 June 2018) with an outline of the Discrimination Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill currently under drafting by the Department of Justice, and confirmed its plan to submit the bill to the Legislative Council by the end of 2018.

The Bill will implement eight recommendations of priority in the EOC’s submission on the Discrimination Law Review (DLR), including the introduction of an express provision prohibiting direct and indirect discrimination of the ground of breastfeeding, the extension of protection from sexual, racial and disabilility harassment to persons in a common workplace, and the repealing of provisions under current legislation that require proof of intention to discriminate in order to award damages for indirect discrimination claims.

EOC Chairperson, Professor Alfred CHAN Cheung-ming, said, “We are encouraged to learn that the Government is taking forward some of our recommendations with a planned timeline. However, we remain concerned at the delay in introducing a Bill, and that many of our other priority recommendations under the DLR are not currently being taken forward by the Government, such as introducing a distinct duty to provide reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities (in education, employment, disposal of premises, as well as the provision of goods, services and facilities); expanding protections from racial discrimination to cover Government functions; or ensuring that women have a right to return to work after maternity leave. A comprehensive reform is essential to rooting out entrenched discriminatory practices and promoting equal opportunties for all in society.”

• Read the EOC's submission to the Government on the Discrimination Law Review
• Read CMAB’s submission to LegCo