New briefing on options for action on Hong Kong at the United Nations

Hong Kong Watch has today published a new briefing on advocacy at the United Nations (UN), exploring the range of UN mechanisms that could be used to highlight the human rights situation in Hong Kong.

The briefing, which aims to inform both Hong Kongers who are involved in UN advocacy as well as diplomats and policy-makers engaging at the UN about the range of tools that could be used, is timely, coming as the UN prepares to conduct China’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in January 2024. China (including Hong Kong) has also recently been reviewed at the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), and has an upcoming review at the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

The briefing – titled Options for Action on Hong Kong at the United Nations – outlines the case for co-ordinated multilateral action on Hong Kong, and highlights all current and potential UN mechanisms, from the Human Rights Council to the General Assembly, the role of the Secretary-General and the Special Procedures, and the work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Treaty Bodies. It also reiterates the case first made in 2020 for the establishment of a new Special Procedure mechanism focused on China and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Watch’s Chief Executive Benedict Rogers said: “We hope that this briefing will be a useful primer to help Hong Kongers advocating at the UN understand the range and scope of possible mechanisms to utilise, and that it will remind diplomats and policy-makers about the mechanisms they can engage to highlight the human rights situation in Hong Kong.”

The full briefing can be read here.