Hong Kong’s chief executive doesn’t seem to understand that refugee lives matter, too
Tony Read says Leung Chun-ying’s comments about possibly withdrawing from an international convention on torture hint at draconian measures that sacrifice human rights
At the end of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s policy address, he made a brief comment about refugees and the Convention against Torture, which has had every human rights advocate up in arms and speculating wildly about what he had in mind. A reporter from the Oriental Daily asked about abuse of the unified screening mechanism used to assess asylum-seekers’ protection claims, to which Leung replied he would consider quitting the international agreement if necessary.
READ MORE: Rights groups alarmed by Hong Kong chief executive’s remarks on pulling out of UN torture treaty
The condemnation from the human rights community was swift and strong. But everyone is left wondering what is going on. Was this an unscripted personal opinion, to be corrected later? None of the policy advisors seemed to have any knowledge of this.
Is this suggestion to prepare for a less extreme but still rigorous alternative? The Legislative Council security panel is due to discuss this issue, which suggests the possibility of using “holding camps” for asylum seekers. This is a radical solution but would be considered less drastic than arbitrary forced repatriation.
Was this a public knuckle-rapping for the UN Convention against Torture committee itself, which recently issued a critical review of Hong Kong’s progress in handling its asylum seekers?
It would be a sad day for Hong Kong if its leaders traded the human rights of the most vulnerable to deal with a minor problem of society
While the political fallout of revoking the convention and the practical difficulties of dealing with the 11,000 existing claimants make this an unlikely scenario, perhaps the most worrying aspect is that it is being voiced at the highest level. There is clearly a willingness to consider draconian measures that sacrifice human rights as a means of implementing tighter border controls and reducing crime.