Britain's Minister for Human Rights calls for Hong Kong to abide by international humanitarian law, and calls for independent inquiry
Britain’s Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office responsible for human rights, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, has told Parliament that the United Kingdom takes “allegations of the mistreatment of medical personnel in Hong Kong extremely seriously”.
Responding to a Written Question from Hong Kong Watch Patron Lord Alton of Liverpool, Lord Ahmad said: “We expect the Hong Kong authorities to abide by international humanitarian laws and practices. It is vital that those who are injured are able to receive appropriate medical treatment.”
The questions were tabled the day after Lord Alton hosted a briefing in Parliament by Dr Darren Mann, a British surgeon who has worked in Hong Kong for 25 years and who first brought the arrest and mistreatment of medical professionals in Hong Kong to international attention in an article in The Lancet in November.
In response to another question from Lord Alton, the Minister said that the United Kingdom “made clear” during the crisis at Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University in November that “it was vital that those who were injured were able to receive appropriate medical treatment, and that safe passage was provided to those who wished to leave the area. We take the allegations set out by Dr Mann relating to the arrest of medical personnel at Hong Kong Polytechnic University extremely seriously. We expect the Hong Kong authorities to abide by international humanitarian laws and practices. We have called consistently for a robust, independent inquiry into recent events.”
Lord Ahmad added that: “The Foreign Secretary summoned the Chinese Ambassador on 19 November and set out his concerns about the situation in Hong Kong. The leadership in China and Hong Kong is in no doubt about the strength of UK concern over the current situation, and our commitment to seeing the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Joint Declaration upheld. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Hong Kong SAR Government and the authorities in Beijing.”
Co-founder and Chair of Hong Kong Watch Benedict Rogers said: “We welcome the Minister’s reassurances that the United Kingdom is taking these reports extremely seriously. We urge the British government to go further and to support calls for an international inquiry if a domestic inquiry is not possible within Hong Kong and to impose targeted Magnitsky sanctions on those responsible for serious violations of human rights and of international humanitarian norms. We also urge the Prime Minister himself to now speak out for Hong Kong’s freedoms, human rights and autonomy and to lead the formation of an international contact group of like-minded countries to co-ordinate a worldwide response to the crisis in Hong Kong.”