IBA gives rights award to Hong Kong lawyers
Two Hong Kong lawyers, both vocal proponents of the ongoing pro-democracy protests, jointly received a human rights award from a global lawyers’ association, Thursday.
Martin C. M. Lee, commonly referred to as Hong Kong’s “Father of Democracy,” and Margaret Ng, a civil liberty advocate, were jointly named by the International Bar Association (IBA) to receive its “Outstanding Contribution by a Legal Practitioner to Human Rights” award.
The award was presented at the IBA conference taking place in Seoul this week.
“We do not believe that this award is conferred on us because of our own achievements. We accept this award on behalf of all members of the Hong Kong Bar who have also been doing their absolute best in upholding the rule of law in the very trying circumstances in Hong Kong,” the lawyers said in a joint press statement.
Lee was the founding chairman of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong from 1994 to 2002. He was also a part of the drafting committee for Hong Kong’s post-handover Basic Law, until Beijing dismissed him in 1989 for speaking out against the Tiananmen crackdown.
Ng, a barrister, journalist and former legislative councilor, is one of the founding members of the pro-democracy Basic Law Article 23 Concern Group. This group was later succeeded by the Basic Law Article 45 Concern Group, calling for better universal suffrage rights in the Beijing-controlled electoral system.
This is not the first time the global representative body for lawyers threw its weight behind the Hong Kong protests. Earlier this month, the IBA Human Rights Institute released a statement urging Carrie Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong, to withdraw the controversial extradition bill and investigate police brutality against protesters.