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Letters | Three ways Hong Kong can respond to UN human rights concerns: the world is watching
- Regardless of how many rankings the administration cites, concerns with Hong Kong’s trajectory continue to grow
- The UPR recommendations on Hong Kong cover migrant domestic worker rights, children’s rights, political rights and more. Doing nothing is not an option
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Why you can trust SCMP
For the first time, Hong Kong was singled out by 12 countries through recommendations, statements and questions in advance at the five-yearly United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) hearing of China last November. The unprecedented outcome was reflective of growing concerns from the international community on the human rights environment and concerted civil society engagement.
On March 15, China accepted five out of six of the UPR recommendations on Hong Kong. The Hong Kong UPR Coalition, an alliance of 45 civil society organisations, has welcomed this development.
The coalition has been at the centre of UPR engagement on Hong Kong over the last two years. We believe in constructive engagement rather than just criticism, which is why we have developed the following proposals in response:
- a cross-sector UPR advisory group with civil society and government representatives to monitor and implement the recommendations;
- a database of human rights treaty body and UPR recommendations to improve the accountability of government responses to UN human rights mechanisms; and
- reforms to improve the government’s treaty body and UPR consultation methods, including making all draft reports available for public consultation.
These proposals come from our observation that “established practice”, which the government regularly refers to, is not working.
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The UPR recommendations on Hong Kong cover a wide range of human rights issues: migrant domestic worker rights, children’s rights, political rights and more. Accepting them is a commitment to address international concerns through implementing changes to policy and law.
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Being the first time that Hong Kong has attracted so much attention in the UPR, foreign governments will closely watch the government’s response. It is an opportunity to show that when speaking about “connecting” and adhering to the rule of law and human rights as core values, they are more than just words.
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