The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on 23 January in Geneva, Switzerland to examine the human rights situation in China (including Hong Kong and Macau). The issue of Hong Kong is of great concern in the UPR with eight countries submitted advance questions related to Hong Kong. Among them, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States asked the Chinese government to explain when the Hong Kong National Security Law will be repealed in accordance with the recommendation made by UN Human Rights Committee in 2022.
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Session on China (including Hong Kong and Macau):
Time: 23 January 2024, 9:00-12:30 (Geneva time)
Meeting documents: https://uprmeetings.ohchr.org/Sessions/45/China/Pages/default.aspx
Live broadcast of the meeting: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1z/k1z43db5bt
The Hong Kong Centre for Human Rights submitted a report to the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in July last year on the human rights situation in Hong Kong since the conclusion of the last review in 2018. The report called on the governments of China and Hong Kong to implement the recommendations of the United Nations human rights mechanisms, including the repeal of the National Security Law and sedition offence, discontinue all cases against people charged for exercising their free speech, establish an independent mechanism with adequate powers and mandate to conduct investigation into complaints against Hong Kong police’s misconduct, and protect lawyers from harassment, intimidation and attacks. Full report: https://hkchr.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/HKCHR-UPR-HK-July-2023.pdf
Hong Kong Human Rights Report 2023
The Hong Kong Centre for Human Rights released the “Hong Kong Human Rights Report 2023” on 23 January, documenting and analysing the human rights situation in Hong Kong in 2023. The report covers the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL), the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, freedom of assembly and association, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, academic freedom, the right to participate in public affairs, and the rights of sexual minorities.
Full report: https://hkchr.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Hong-Kong-Human-Rights-Report-2023.pdf
This report has identified troubling trends that demand attention and action:
- At least 48 people were arrested in 2023 for violating the NSL or sedition. Four civil society organisations were forced to disband because of their political stance or the threat of the NSL. These incidents reflect that Hong Kong government continues to use the NSL and the sedition offence to suppress civil society and dissidents. The authorities have made more active use of the powers of the NSL, including the exercise of extraterritorial jurisdiction to place warrants and bounties against individuals and exiled activists for their speeches and acts made outside Hong Kong.
- The Hong Kong government has continued to strengthen the national security apparatus as an authority that can exercise enormous power without a corresponding system of transparency or accountability: (i)The Hong Kong government in pursuant of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC)’s interpretation of the NSL, has made decision in a closed-door meeting to overturn the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal’s decision to allow the admission of an overseas lawyer as the legal representative for a defendant in a national security case; (ii) The Hong Kong government has bypassed the legislature to expand the power to seize properties under the Implementation Rules for Article 43 of the NSL; (iii) Hong Kong government has allocated a further HK$5 billion for expenditure on national security which the fund is not subject to scrutiny by the legislature; (iv) the Hong Kong police have invoked Article 63 of the NSL in some cases to prohibit individuals from disclosing any information. In one instance, an organizer of a protest was pressurized to cancel his notification of assembly to the police. He cannot disclose the reason for choosing to cancel the protest to the public by citing the constraints imposed by Article 63. This arbitrary application of the NSL contributes to the increased uncertainty of the law and creates room for potential abuse of power by the authorities.
- Although the NSL has been implemented for more than three years and the courts have concluded a number of cases related to national security, the definition of national security has not become clearer, and combating “soft resistance” has become a slogan to suppress all kinds of dissent, and has also made the definition of criminal acts endangering national security more uncertain.
- The Hong Kong government introduces a stringent political screening mechanism and the once-abolished appointment mechanism in the 2023 District Council elections. This regressive reform of District Council was unanimously endorsed by the Legislative Council that only allows “patriots” to participate. The “patriot”-composed Legislative Council has become a rubber stamp, and all 35 legislative bills put to the vote in 2023 were passed, including those with significant adverse impacts on human rights. The transparency of the legislature has plummeted, with limited voting records and committee minutes no longer identifying the speaker. The ability of the legislature to hold itself accountable to the public and oversee the government has been called into question. This legislature, which suffers from democratic deficiency, is expected to scrutinise and pass another legislation on national security – the domestic legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law – in 2024.
- The international community, including the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), has strongly criticised the NSL. The CESCR has pointed out that the NSL has in effect abolished Hong Kong’s judicial independence, which is a severe blow to Hong Kong as a city once renowned for its rule of law. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention also made an unprecedented opinion that the detention of Chow Hang Tung by the Hong Kong Government was arbitrary, contrary to the international human rights law.
- Freedom of the press in Hong Kong remains precarious, with at least 28 journalists arrested since the implementation of the NSL in 2020, 13 of whom remained in detention as of the reporting period. Independent news organisations have remained resilient despite the pressures of lack of resources and censorship. Censorship of freedom of expression and publications in the name of national security continued and covered different levels and media. For example, the number of publicly available materials on the June 4 massacre in public libraries has decreased from 48 in April 2022 to only one in May 2023. There was a news report that nearly 40% of political books and recordings were removed from public library collections, and a large number of non-political publications deemed sensitive because of their authors were removed from public library collections. 2023 saw at least six films or videos banned or required to be edited before they could be shown publicly.
The Hong Kong Centre for Human Rights makes the following recommendations in the report:
- The international community should remain concerned about the continuing human rights violations by the Chinese and Hong Kong governments, and recognise the need for protection for Hongkongers who may face political persecution in light of the lack of fair trial and rights protection in Hong Kong.
- The international community is urged to recognise that the rule of law in Hong Kong has been severely damaged. Hong Kong’s laws and courts regrettably no longer call for the level of respect and esteem from the international society they once held. The international community should make stakeholders, including their respective local authorities, law enforcement agencies, and corporations aware of this situation. They should take utmost caution in scrutinising requests for legal assistance involving the Hong Kong authorities, so as not to become accomplices in assisting in the suppression or violation of the human rights of the people of Hong Kong.
- Calling on the international community to protect and uphold the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations, and to push the Chinese and Hong Kong Governments to improve the human rights issues in Hong Kong in accordance with the recommendations made by various human rights mechanisms of the United Nations.
A spokesperson for the Hong Kong Centre for Human Rights said:
“The persistence of systematic human rights violations in Hong Kong and the failure of human rights protection mechanisms within the judiciary and the legislature have contributed to the continued deterioration of the human rights situation in Hong Kong.”
“The human rights situation in China, including Hong Kong will be examined in the United Nations Universal Periodic Review on 23 January. We encourage the international community to take an active role in urging Chinese and Hong Kong governments to act in line with the recommendations made by UN human rights mechanisms.”
“We hold the belief that the people of Hong Kong persist in resisting authoritarian oppression, and that we all have incorporated this conviction into our daily lives, finding hope even within the constraints of oppression. This report aims not only to bear witness to the human rights issues in Hong Kong but also to document the ongoing resistance of Hong Kong people against authoritarianism.”