Hong Kong Watch welcomes UN Special Rapporteurs' letter expressing concerns about the enactment of Article 23

On Wednesday, six UN Special Rapporteurs published a letter to the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations, expressing their concerns that Hong Kong’s new Safeguarding National Security Ordinance violates human rights.

The 18-page letter comments on the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, which is implemented under Article 23 of the Basic Law and colloquially referred to as ‘Article 23’. Specifically, they write that it “includes numerous measures that would significantly and unduly limit the exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms and would be incompatible with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).”

The letter details how Article 23 will violate freedoms of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association, freedom from arbitrary detention, the right to a fair trial, freedom of movement, the right to privacy, the right to take part in the conduct of participation in public affairs, and the right to academic freedom.

The wide range of Special Rapporteurs who signed this letter also conveys the extent of the rights and freedoms that will be violated by the new legislation. The signatories include: Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education; Clement Nyaletsossi Voule, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Margaret Satterthwaite, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; and Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.

During the public consultation process for Article 23 in February, Hong Kong Watch made a submission to the Hong Kong Government which highlighted concerns and made recommendations regarding due process, fair trial rights, and the peaceful exercise of rights and freedoms. We also published a joint statement signed by 85 civil society organisations and a joint statement signed by 89 parliamentarians and public figures from around the world, both condemning the severe implications of the new legislation and urging governments to respond. 

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

“We welcome the UN Special Rapporteurs’ timely and detailed letter on the new Article 23 legislation in Hong Kong. The contents of the letter and its wide range of signatories confirm our analysis that Article 23 will violate a broad spectrum of rights and freedoms that are guaranteed under international law. 

We continue to call for targeted sanctions, reviews of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices and Hong Kong’s special status in international fora, and new and improved immigration pathways for Hong Kongers in response to the deteriorating situation.”

香港監察歡迎聯合國專家批評23條侵害人權

週三（27日），六名聯合國特別報告員公布發送予中國常駐聯合國代表團的信函，表達對香港《維護國家安全條例》侵害人權的憂慮。

信函就《維護國家安全條例》（俗稱23條）作評論，長達18頁。特別報告員明言23條「載有多項措施，這些措施嚴重且不當地限制行使人權和基本自由，不符合《世界人權宣言》、《公民及政治權利國際公約》和《經濟、社會及文化權利國際公約》。」

信函詳細分析23條多項條文如何侵害意見和表達自由、和平集會和結社自由、不受任意拘留的自由、公平審訊權、行動自由、私隱權、參與公共事務權和學術自由。

香港監察研究及政策顧問華穆清（Anouk Wear）表示：

「我們歡迎聯合國特別報告員就香港23條立法發出這封既及時又詳盡的信函。信函內容及不同範疇的聯署專家證實我們的分析：23條會侵害國際法所保障範圍廣泛的權利和自由。

我們繼續呼籲各國政府施行點名制裁；檢視香港駐海外經濟貿易辦事處及香港在國際論壇上的特殊地位；為香港人推出及改善救生艇計劃，藉以回應香港不斷惡化的局勢。」