Hong Kong Watch welcomes publication of Advance Questions in preparation for UN Universal Periodic Review of China

This week, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published Advance Questions in preparation for the upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of China, which will take place on 23 January 2024. The UPR is a UN review process which every member state is required to go through every four to five years, and is a mechanism to ensure scrutiny of every country’s human rights record and recommendations for improvement. 

Hong Kong Watch made three joint submissions to the United Nations (UN) UPR of the People’s Republic of China. These focus on human rights violations related to the 2019 pro-democracy protests, the Beijing-imposed National Security Law, civil society, political prisoners, women’s rights, and media freedom. The full submissions are available here. 

Hong Kong was mentioned 25 times in the Advance Questions. This includes questions regarding the repeal of the National Security Law from the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Belgium and Australia also asked questions about Hong Kong.

The United States also asked questions about transnational repression. In one question, the US said: “Hong Kong’s National Security Law (NSL) does not apply in the United States, nor does it apply to persons on US soil.  What is Hong Kong’s justification for violating its commitments under the ICCPR and the Basic Law of Hong Kong and violating other states’ sovereignty by issuing cash rewards that unjustly target 13 human rights advocates who reside outside of Hong Kong, including a US citizen, pursuant to attempts to apply its NSL extraterritorially?” This is an important question concerning the 13 total arrest warrants and bounties issued by the Hong Kong authorities, which Hong Kong Watch commented on and led a civil society response towards.

On 5 January 2024, the OHCHR published the NGO submissions in advance of the UN Universal Periodic Review, which Hong Kong Watch welcomed. 

On 21 December 2023, the OHCHR published the Summary of stakeholders’ submissions on China, the Compilation of information prepared by the OHCHR, and the National report submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolutions 5/1 and 16/21. The documents are available for download here. 

In November 2023, Hong Kong Watch’s co-founder and Chief Executive Benedict Rogers addressed the United Nations Pre-Session for the Universal Periodic Review on China in Geneva, calling on Member States to ensure that Hong Kong is highlighted extensively during the UPR in January 2024. More information about the Pre-Session is available here. 

Anouk Wear, Hong Kong Watch Research and Policy Advisor, said:

“We are grateful to our allies in Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK, and the US for asking these targeted questions to Beijing, concerning human rights violations in Hong Kong and abroad. We are also glad to see excellent questions concerning other regions from these States and others. 

“As we prepare for the China UN UPR that will take place next Tuesday, we are glad to see Hong Kong raised in the Advance Questions and urge UN Member States to make Recommendations on Hong Kong during the UPR. This will highlight and rightly condemn the drastic deterioration in rights and freedoms since the last review, which was in 2018.”

聯合國即將對中國展開普遍定期審議 香港監察歡迎多個成員國預先提出香港人權問題

本週，聯合國人權事務高級專員辦事處（人權高專辦）發布成員國預先提交問題，為即將於2024年1月23日舉行的中國普遍定期審議（UPR）做準備。普遍定期審議是聯合國的審議程序，要求各成員國每四至五年接受審議，是審議各國人權紀錄並提出改善建議的機制。

香港監察早前向聯合國對中國的普遍定期審議提交三份聯合報告書。報告書重點關注涉及2019年抗爭、《國家安全法》、公民社會、政治犯、婦女權利和媒體自由的侵犯人權行為。完整報告書請見此處。

香港在預先提交問題中出現25次。荷蘭、瑞士、英國和美國就廢除《國安法》提問，比利時和澳洲提交的問題亦涉及香港。

此外，美國就跨國鎮壓提問。美國其中一條問題為「香港《國家安全法》不適用於美國，也不適用於身處美國領土的人。香港憑甚麼理由在境外採用《國安法》，不正當地針對身在香港境外的13名人權倡議者（當中包括一名美國公民）發放賞金，繼而違反其在《公民及政治權利國際公約》和《基本法》下的承諾，並侵犯其他國家的主權？」這是就香港當局懸紅通緝一共13名海外港人的重要問題，香港監察曾聯同民間社會組織就此發表聯合聲明回應。

2024年1月5日，人權高專辦在聯合國普遍定期審議舉行前發布非政府組織所提交文件，香港監察對此表示歡迎。

2023年12月21日，人權高專辦發布利益相關者就中國提交的報告書概要、人權高專辦編製的資訊彙編和根據人權理事會第5/1號和第16/21號決議提交的國家報告。有關文件可在此處下載。

2023年11月，香港監察共同創辦人兼行政總監羅傑斯（Benedict Rogers）到訪日內瓦，在聯合國對中國的普遍定期審議會前會議上發言。他呼籲成員國在2024年1月普遍定期審議展開期間，確保香港得到廣泛關注。有關會前會議的詳情請見此處。