Govt objects to UN official’s comment

October 13, 2022

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today expressed strong disapproval of a United Nations official’s recent remarks on a Hong Kong court case concerning the National Security Law.

 

The remarks were made by a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights about the Hong Kong court’s reasons for the sentence delivered on October 8 in regard to a case of conspiracy to incite the commission by other persons of the offence of subversion under the National Security Law, the Government said in a press release.

 

As the legal proceedings are yet to be completed, it would not be appropriate to comment on the details of the case, it explained.

 

Stressing that the principles of human rights protection must be observed when safeguarding national security, the Government noted that human rights, as well as the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights are enshrined in the National Security Law.

 

It further elaborated that Article 4 of the National Security Law provides that human rights shall be respected and protected in safeguarding national security in the Hong Kong SAR, and Article 5 affirms adherence to the rule of law while enforcing the law against offences endangering national security.

 

“The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal has pointed out that these two articles are centrally important to the interpretation of the National Security Law generally.”

 

The National Security Law was enacted to restore the enjoyment of rights and freedoms that citizens had been unable to enjoy during the period of serious violence between June 2019 and early 2020, the Government reiterated.

 

“The National Security Law has indeed achieved the intended effect, and has swiftly and effectively restored stability and security,” it added.

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