UN committee calls for repeal of Hong Kong national security law

A United Nations monitoring committee is calling for the repeal of Hong Kong’s National Security Law. It said, undermines the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people in the territory. The 18-member U.N. Human Rights Committee said, it was deeply concerned about the overly broad interpretation of Hong Kong’s National Security Law. It also noted the law was passed by the National People’s Congress of China without consultation with the people of Hong Kong. Committee Vice-Chair Christopher Arif Bulkan in a statement said that more than 200 people, including 12 children, have been arrested since the enactment of the law in 2020 on grounds of endangering national security. The committee expressed concern about the chilling effect the NSL is having on civil society organizations. It said many trade and student unions under threat from the law have relocated or ceased to operate. 

Britain handed control of Hong Kong to China in 1997 under the “one country, two systems” principle. The agreement, which is enshrined in the so-called “Basic Law,” protects rights such as freedom of speech and assembly in the territory for 50 years. China replaced the agreement, 23 years after it was enacted, with the National Security Law. Hong Kong is a signatory of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights under the Basic Law. As such, Bulkan said, the territory must abide by the obligations, the rights and freedoms prescribed in the document.