Hong Kong Watch is pleased to invite you to join a panel discussion on Magnitsky-style sanctions and how governments worldwide can contribute to fighting the impunity for the violations of human rights in Hong Kong.
Event Details
Date: 24 November 2020 (Tuesday)
Time: 15:00-16:00 (UK) / 23:00-24:00 (HK) / 10:00-11:00 (DC, Ottawa)
Location: Online Event & Facebook Livestream
Registration: Sign up here to access the webinar via video conferencing. The event will also be live-streamed on Hong Kong Watch's Facebook.
Since the imposition of the National Security Law in Hong Kong by the Chinese Communist Party in June 2020, Hong Kong Watch has been rallying international support for Hong Kong in the face of the draconian National Security Law, which directly breaches China's obligations under the Joint Declaration and has destroyed the city's autonomy. We believe that likeminded international partners must coordinate a response to the current crisis, including imposing sanctions on the perpetrators of human rights abuses in Hong Kong.
As we confront severe attacks on fundamental human rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, our high-level panel of five distinguished speakers will reflect the importance of the adoption of Magnitsky-style Sanctions legislation and the use of such legislation to hold the human rights violators accountable for their actions.
Host:
Benedict Rogers
Ben is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hong Kong Watch. He is also the co-founder and Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, a member of the advisory group of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), an advisor to the World Uyghur Congress, Senior Analyst for East Asia at CSW, a trustee of several other charities, author of six books and a regular contributor to international media.
Speakers:
Bill Browder
Bill is the pioneer of Magnitsky legislation around the world and a leading human rights activist. After the murder of his lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in Russia, he started campaigning at the US Congress and led to the adoption of the ‘Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act’ in 2012, which imposed visa sanctions and asset freezes on those involved in the detention, ill-treatment and death of Sergei Magnitsky. This law became the model for all subsequent US sanctions against Russia. Bill is currently working to have similar legislation passed in Magnitsky’s name across the European Union. Bill is the author of "Red Notice: How I Became Putin’s No 1 Enemy".
Miriam Lexmann MEP
Miriam Lexmann is a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Slovakia, serving on the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs. Together with Reinhard Buetikofer MEP, Miriam launched an informal EU-HK Friendship Group in the European Parliament in June 2020 to monitor the situation in Hong Kong and to coordinate action with other parliamentarians across the world against the growing encroachment of Beijing in Hong Kong. She also serves as the co-chair of Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC).
James Bezan MP
James is a Member of the Canadian Parliament for Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman and the Shadow Minister for National Defence. James was instrumental in carrying through the Magnitsky Act in 2017, calling the Canadian government to use the Act to impose targeted sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials who are responsible for violating human rights in Hong Kong.
Sarah Owen MP
Sarah is the British Labour MP for Luton North since 2019. Sarah is British Chinese, making her the first Labour MP of East Asian descent, and the first female MP of Chinese descent. She also served as the chair of Chinese for Labour.
Nathan Law
Nathan is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, its youngest ever elected legislator, and a founding chairperson of Demosistō - a youth movement activist group in Hong Kong that promoted democracy and progressive values. After China's new security law came into effect in Hong Kong on June 30 2020, the movement disbanded, and Nathan fled the city to avoid arrest.
