UN calls on Hong Kong to repeal security law

HONG KONG:HONG Kong’s controversial national security law should be repealed, experts on the UN Human Rights Commitee said on Wednesday, amid concerns the legislation is being used to crack down on free speech and dissent in the former British colony.

Chinese and Hong Kong officials have repeatedly said the law, imposed by Beijing in 2020, was vital to restore stability ater the city was rocked for months by sometimes violent anti-government and anti-china protests in 2019.

The commitee, which monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) by state parties, released its findings on Hong Kong following a periodic review.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a signatory to the ICCPR but China is not.

The recommendations are the first by the independent UN expert body since 2020.

“The commitee urged Hong Kong to take action to repeal the national security law and, in the meantime, refrain from applying it,” Christopher Arif Balkan, commitee vice chairperson, told journalists.

Commitee members said they hoped the law could be amended for the beter, given indications from the Hong Kong government it is contemplating new national security legislation.

“We have to be hopeful that they will live up to their undertaking and that in doing so they will address one of the key deficiencies (lack of public consultation),” Balkan said.

Since its enactment in 2020, the law has reportedly led to the arrests of more than 200 people, including 12 children, the commitee added.

Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the guarantee of a high degree of autonomy, including freedom of speech, under a “one country, two systems” formula. Critics of the law say that autonomy is being eroded fast.

Earlier this month, Hong Kong Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang told the commitee via video link that his government was “firmly commited to the protection of human rights” including under the ICCPR.

But he added that such rights could also be restricted to safeguard national security.