Press Release

香港人權資訊中心於2024年2月28日向香港政府提交立場書，嚴厲批評香港政府硬推基本法第23條立法，違反聯合國建議，進一步加劇對人權的侵害。

香港政府於今天公布展開《基本法》第二十三條立法的公眾諮詢，香港人權資訊中心批評當局是掩耳盜鈴，無視國際社會及多個聯合國人權監督機制的質疑，進一步增加國家安全法例。我們憂慮此項立法將進一步侵犯市民的基本權利，包括結社及表達自由。

“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.”

The 2023 District Council election (“Election”) was held on December 10, which is the first “patriot-only” election under revamped election system with only 19% of the seats were returned by direct election.

HKCHR published a report on the Election today, documenting in detail the violations of international human rights standards in the Election.

“In recent years, the government has further tightened the power and democratic procedures of the remaining District Council elections. The HKCHR urges the Hong Kong and Chinese governments to fulfil their obligations under the ICCPR. We urge the immediate abolition of the non-compliant nomination and selection mechanisms, and advocate for the full universal suffrage for the District Councils, the Legislative Council and the Chief Executive, so as to safeguard the public’s right to participate in political affairs and their basic rights.”

The Centre believes that the statement of the UN experts reflects that the Hong Kong government’s persistent abuse of the law to suppress human rights is of great concern to the international community. The mass trial and bounties placed against human rights defenders have further tarnish Hong Kong’s international image, causing Hong Kong to be boycotted by the international community that supports the rule of law, democracy and human rights.

Hong Kong Centre for Human Rights urges the Hong Kong government to fulfil its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to stop harassing members and organisations of civil society. Hong Kong government should end the criminal investigation of the 612 Humanitarian Support Fund, and to drop all allegations and restrictions against those arrested.

Hong Kong Centre for Human Rights finds that this joint communication reflects the UN human rights experts’ concern that the Hong Kong government is actively using legislative and administrative measures to stifle the civil society in Hong Kong; the analysis also reveals the purpose of such measures to be decapacitating civil society in Hong Kong. We urge the Hong Kong government to withdraw this legislative proposal immediately, and to review existing legislation for the purpose of creating and maintaining an enabling environment for the enjoyment of civil society organizations’ right to seek, receive and use resources.

Hong Kong Centre for Human Rights (“HKCHR”) made a submission regarding Hong Kong to the HRC on 18 July 2023. The submission focuses on the human rights situation in Hong Kong since the last UPR review (the third cycle) in 2018, consisting of 9 major human rights aspects, namely national security, police violence, rule of law, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, right to political participation and immigration detention.

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (“Working Group”) issued an opinion (A/HRC/WGAD/2023/30) on 1 May 2023 (“Opinion”) concerning Chow Hang-tung, a Hong Kong human rights lawyer and former vice-chairperson of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (“Alliance”). The Working Group concluded that the deprivation of liberty of Chow is arbitrary detention.