(New York) – Foreign ministries should reject the new National Security Law that China imposed on Hong Kong and act to uphold human rights in the city, Human Rights Watch said today in an open letter from 17 nongovernmental organizations.
The letter – sent to 40 governments, including all 27 European Union member states, Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and the United Kingdom – sets out various policy options governments should pursue to preserve human rights in Hong Kong while imposing penalties on those curtailing them. The recommendations for governments include imposing targeted sanctions against officials responsible for the law, and refusing publicly to cooperate with the law’s extraterritorial elements
“In just one month, Chinese and Hong Kong authorities have made painfully clear that the new law is a tool of repression, not national security,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. “Some governments have taken initial steps to push back, but consistent, coordinated responses will show solidarity with the people of Hong Kong.”
In addition to Human Rights Watch, the letter was signed by independent scholar Andrea Worden, the China Aid Association, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, Citizen Power Initiatives for China, CSW, Dialogue China, Freedom House, Georgetown Center for Asian Law, Hong Kong Democracy Council, Hong Kong Watch, Human Rights in China, Humanitarian China, International Campaign for Tibet, International Tibet Network Secretariat, Uyghur Human Rights Project, and Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
