IPAC STATEMENT ON THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE PERIODIC REVIEW OF HONG KONG
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) welcomes the concluding observations of the United Nations Human Rights Committee fourth periodic review of Hong Kong’s commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and fully supports its recommendations.
The review confirms what we already knew to be true: that civil and political rights in Hong Kong have deteriorated rapidly since the advent of the National Security Law in 2020. The law has significantly undermined Hong Kong’s once exemplary judicial system and effectively hollowed out the fundamental freedoms guaranteed under the ICCPR, while the Hong Kong Police Force has used excessive force against protesters with a serious disregard for human life.
IPAC welcomes the Committee’s recommendations to repeal both the National Security Law and the charge of Sedition under the Crime Ordinance. IPAC endorses the appeal to discontinue all pending cases against journalists and others charged for exercising their freedom of expression.
The violations of human rights and international law taking place in Hong Kong are clear and undeniable. IPAC calls on all democratic governments to act urgently to hold those responsible for these abuses to account, including by:
- Recalling all overseas judges who sit on Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal.
- Imposing individual sanctions on officials responsible for the crackdown on civil and political liberties in the city and further scrutinising export controls on dual use goods and other items that can be used for surveillance and human rights violations in Hong Kong.
- Suspending all outstanding extradition treaties with HKSAR and China.
