united nations campaign

From the United Nations Secretary General to the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, there is opportunity to engage the United Nations to strengthen the response to the deteriorating human rights situation in Hong Kong.

The importance of mobilising action at the United Nations lies in the fact that the United Nations is the most important multilateral forum which writes the historical narrative and provides accountability tools, particularly for violations of international human rights law. The UN’s independent experts, from Special Rapporteurs to Committee members, also play a significant role in raising international alarm and analysing specific developments in Hong Kong. 

Since 2020, Hong Kong Watch has worked on United Nations advocacy and offered training and collaboration opportunities to Hong Kongers and Hong Kong civil society organisations to empower them to do the same. Hong Kong Watch has led international calls for the creation of an International Contact Group to coordinate a global response to the impending crisis in Hong Kong, and the establishment of a United Nations Special Envoy and a Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Watch has also made submissions and joint submissions about Hong Kong to the Universal Periodic Review of January 2024, the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in 2023, and the Human Rights Committee in 2022.

Hong Kong Watch regularly meets with diplomats and governments at the United Nations level to speak about human rights and legal violations in Hong Kong, as well as with the Special Procedures and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. We also regularly organise joint letters and statements related to the United Nations.

News on United Nations campaign