Human Rights Group Urges UN to Stop Hong Kong’s Human Rights Violations

Hong Kong Central on Nov. 12, 2017. (Bill Cox/The Epoch Times)

The Hong Kong Centre for Human Rights (HKCHR) is urging the United Nations (UN) to stop the Hong Kong government’s (HKgov) human rights violations.

On Jan. 16, HKCHR submitted a report explaining the human rights situation in Hong Kong, which had been extremely restricted and challenging since the imposition of the National Security Law (NSL). They hoped the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) will understand the threats and difficulties to Hongkongers while executing economic, social, and cultural rights (ESC) rights.

The report pointed out that after the imposition of the NSL, Hong Kong’s human rights situation has deteriorated on an institutional level. As a result, the CCP and HKgov have infringed the rights enshrined in the International Covenant on ESC Rights.

By utilizing different policies, laws, and executive powers, the CCP and HKgov have shrunken the civic space and created a chilling effect.

Groups related to ESC rights, including civil society groups and artists, are stigmatized as “anti-government” based on their political opinions or works. Their access to funding is therefore obstructed or threatened to be blocked to stifle their development of advocacy.

The report further adds that defendants accused of offenses under the national security law are under long-term pre-trial detention, which separates them from their families and loved ones.

NSL Extends to Schools

HKCHR said the HKgov national security guidelines extended to schools and dictate how teachers approach national security issues.

The government promotes patriotic education in schools and universities and reformed liberal studies for secondary students, accompanied by stricter censorship of textbooks and removal of discussions on controversial social issues.

At the same time, there is the dismissal of university professors based on political opinions, cases of pressure on scholars, and the deregistration of schoolteachers, according to the report.

Increased Censorship

According to the report, HKgov recently increased censorship on the internet, films, library materials, and literature creation and pulled democracy books from library shelves.

Meanwhile, HKgov refused to accept and comply with the recommendations made in the Human Rights Committee review in 2022. Instead, HKgov accused the groups of smearing Hong Kong and the CCP by making human rights reports. Civil society actors who took part in the review were doxed.

After the imposition of the NSL, the dissolution of leading large-scale trade unions caused a domino effect and an immensely decreased trade union membership. The report criticized that HKgov used the laws to hamper the exercising of labor rights and a significant setback in collective bargaining.

The report also said the COVID-19 policies adopted by HKgov unnecessarily and disproportionately restrict the rights protected by the CESCR in terms of the right to work, education, and health. The submission also records allegations that COVID-19 policies have been used to suppress the exercises of trade union rights.

HKCHR’s report also mentions the police’s excessive use of chemical substances, including tear gas and water cannons, to suppress protests from 2019 to 2020. They also obstructed first-aid during protests, arrested medical volunteers, blocked injured protesters and arrestees from receiving prompt medical treatments, and showed their brutality, especially in handling protests in recent years. The police have also violated special measures to protect children.

The Spokesperson of HKCHR expressed concerns over the deteriorating human rights situation in Hong Kong and demanded HKgov cease violating human rights and take remedial actions immediately. As to the adverse effect of the NSL on ESC rights, they ask the CCP and HKgov to take steps to repeal the NSL following the recommendations by the Human Rights Committee in July 2022.