Hong Kong Watch Welcomes UN Concluding Observations on the state of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in China and Hong Kong

The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights yesterday released its concluding observations on China’s record on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights, following a periodic review that took place in Geneva in February. The full document can be found here.

Hong Kong Watch made a submission to the review highlighting the violations of cultural rights and trade union rights since the National Security Law was passed in 2020. 

Hong Kong Watch attended the review in February and delivered a statement again highlighting violations of cultural rights and trade union rights, and the state of media freedom, based on our own in-depth research.

We welcome the Committee’s concluding observations, and appreciate their consideration of our submission and statement, and the specific recommendations for the Hong Kong SAR government to uphold its economic, social and cultural rights obligations. 

In particular, Hong Kong Watch welcomes:

  • The urge for the Hong Kong SAR to establish an independent national human rights institution (§99);

  • The concern about reports that the NSL “has de facto abolished the independence of the judiciary of Hong Kong SAR” (§100);

  • The urge “to ensure the full independence of the judiciary and to ensure that national security legislation is not arbitrarily used to interfere with it” (§101);

  • The concern about “lack of transparency regarding their detention and trials, and the lack of access to lawyers during the proceedings” (§102);

  • The concern that the national security hotline is used to restrict the work and expression of civil society, trade unions, teachers and other actors in relation to working on human rights (§102);

  • The recommendation for the Hong Kong SAR to “immediately provide all due process guarantees of human rights defenders, civil society actors, journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers working on human rights and others working to defend economic, social and cultural rights, including access to independent and effective legal representation at every stage of the proceedings” (§103);

  • The recommendation to review laws and ordinances in a form to enable the rights to freely form trade unions (§115);

  • The concern that the NSL “is being used to put pressure on staff and students in higher education institutions, censorship of content, and undermine their academic freedom, and has led to the dismissal and arrest of students and teachers and other university staff” (§126);

  • The urge “to ensure the full academic freedom of students, staff and other university staff” (§127);

  • The urge to review the NSL “to ensure full artistic freedom and enjoyment of the rights to history, culture and science” (§129).

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

“We are grateful for the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’s thorough consideration of all submissions to the review and their comprehensive questions and balanced concluding observations regarding the Hong Kong SAR. 

These concluding observations are further evidence that the National Security Law is not just targeting a small number of dangerous individuals as the Hong Kong SAR states, but rather that it is having a detrimental effect on all people in Hong Kong. It has a clear impact on restricting the freedom of the media, academic freedom and trade union rights, among others. 

This news furthers the findings of the Human Rights Committee in July 2022, which recommended the repeal of the National Security Law and that the government refrain from applying it until then. It is clear that the overly broad and ambiguous nature of the National Security Law is restricting economic, social and cultural rights in addition to civil and political rights, drastically reducing the rights and freedoms in Hong Kong.”

NewsSam GoodmanUN