'At China's Universal Periodic Review, European states must defend human rights in Hong Kong', Megan Khoo and Anouk Wear

On 23 January, China’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) will take place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The UPR is a mechanism by which all of the United Nations (UN) member states review a specific state’s compliance with international human rights law and it is China’s turn to be reviewed — for the first time since 2018.

The UPR is a pivotal moment for EU member states to reaffirm their policies on human rights in China, which is also consistent with the statements of the EU institutions. If EU member states do not stand up for human rights in Hong Kong at China’s UPR, they send Beijing a message that human rights are not a unified priority for the EU.

How the UPR functions and what is at stake

In a three-hour review of human rights in China, all other UN member states can make recommendations to encourage China to improve its human rights record. These should be seen as constructive criticisms of China for improving the overall status of human rights. Although the UPR takes place in the UN compound and is facilitated by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as its secretariat, it is designed to be a process where the UN member states review one another.

The review is further facilitated by a ‘troika’ of three states. For the 2024 UPR, these states will be Albania, the United Arab Emirates, and Malawi, a trio which has raised concerns about the neutrality of the process and is therefore expected to make greater efforts to monitor the process and ensure transparency. The UPR does not have enforcement tools thus far. Still, it is very useful for human rights advocates and shapes the historical narrative as the recommendations are recorded and become part of the UN archives, a reference and accountability tool to many.

China has generally been cooperative in the UPR process by participating and submitting the required information in a timely manner. However, Beijing has created obstacles for NGO participation and increasingly rallied its friends to make statements endorsing the country’s human rights record, skewing the narrative in its favour.

For EU member states, this is a much-anticipated and rare opportunity to make concrete recommendations to China at the UN level. The UN is the most significant multilateral forum on human rights and an added layer on top of other measures that EU member states can take at the domestic and EU level. To make similarly strong and coordinated recommendations at this review can reflect and underscore EU member states’ principles and consistent position towards China, especially on specific issues such as the developments in Hong Kong.

Specifically, Hong Kong is the region of China that has changed most drastically since the last UPR of China in 2018, so it is vital for EU member states to make direct comments signalling that they are paying close attention and condemning China’s violations of human rights and international law in the city.

Why China’s UPR is significant for EU member states

Hong Kong’s human rights situation has drastically deteriorated in the last few years. The European Parliament and EU member states have responded accordingly in a way that has been timely and targeted.

The European Parliament has hosted several debates and passed resolutions on Hong Kong, including a 2019 resolution calling for export controls and reform to implement direct elections. The European Parliament also issued resolutions when Beijing imposed the draconian National Security Law in Hong Kong in 2020, and in 2023, noting the case of British citizen and pro-democracy newspaper owner Jimmy Lai. Each resolution reaffirmed the previous ones and called on EU Member States to take action to support the rights of the people of Hong Kong while urging China to uphold its international legal obligations. However, resolutions on other issues remain necessary as Jimmy Lai’s trial is underway, Hong Kongers desire to seek refuge in Europe, and religious freedom is increasingly under threat in the city.

The European Parliament Informal Hong Kong Watch Group has released multiple statements, including condemning Hong Kong’s fixed district council elections and calling for sanctions against Hong Kong government officials. Many individual members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have also called for action regarding the quickly deteriorating human rights situation in Hong Kong.

All of these measures are important because they show that the European Parliament continues to monitor the deterioration of human rights in Hong Kong, draw attention to human rights violations, and call out those responsible. The sustained and coordinated way in which they have done this is impactful from this level, to member states, to the level of individual activists and civilians in Hong Kong and the diaspora who feel heard and supported.

At the level of EU member states themselves, where more direct and thus impactful policies can be set and enforced, less action has been taken. However, when it is taken, it is extremely strong and impactful. When the National Security Law was passed in 2020, Germany and France took concrete action by suspending or no longer ratifying their extradition treaties with Hong Kong. Finland, Ireland, and the Netherlands followed suit.

Members of country-level parliaments have also been able to speak out more strongly in condemnation of human rights violations in Hong Kong, in a way that is not seen on the European Parliament level. The Hong Kong Informal Friendship Group in the German Bundestag called for the release of all political prisoners in Hong Kong and an end to the arbitrary persecution of Hong Kong's civil society as well as the abolition of the National Security Law. In Paris, French Senators Olivier Cadic, André Gattolin, André Vallini (also a former minister), Representative Constance Le Grip, and members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) warned that European ignorance of attacks on human rights in Hong Kong could send the wrong signals to Taiwan, and that time is running out. In Vilnius, Lithuanian MPs called on the Chinese government to release all political prisoners in Hong Kong, including those convicted for taking part in pickets to commemorate the Tiananmen Square massacre 32 years ago.

Recommendations for EU member states

At the UPR, EU member states need to make recommendations specific to addressing the drastic deterioration of human rights in Hong Kong. This includes calling for the repeal of and refraining from using the National Security Law, including its extraterritoriality clause, and the sedition law as well as for the release of political prisoners including Jimmy Lai and Chow Hang-tung. Member states must also apply more pressure and call for the independence of the judiciary, freedom of assembly, and safeguards for law enforcement.

The UPR is an opportunity to enhance what EU member states have been practising at the domestic and EU level over the past five years, and one which complements and solidifies their positions. It also has a significant historical impact in documenting Hong Kong’s human rights violations, making sure they are still on the table and a core part of the historical narrative. Furthermore, it sends a strong signal to Hong Kongers in the EU, and in Hong Kong itself, that the EU stands with them in their fight for democracy, human rights, and freedom.

This article was published in 9DASHLINE on 23 January 2023.