HRC61: NGOs denounce escalating repression in Hong Kong

Delivering a joint statement under Item 2 General Debate, NGOs echoed concerns raised by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Treaty Bodies, pointing to a pattern of prosecutions and reprisals that undermine fundamental freedoms and accountability in Hong Kong.

The statement, delivered by ARTICLE 19 on behalf of 14 NGOs, highlighted emblematic cases including the sentencing of media owner Jimmy Lai and the targeting of family members of exiled activists such as Anna Kwok. NGOs called on States to speak out and take concrete action to address both domestic repression and its cross-border impacts.

Full statement below:

Thank you, Mr. President,

This is a joint statement, co-sponsored by eight ECOSOC-accredited NGOs. 

ARTICLE 19 thanks the High Commissioner for his global update and his ongoing efforts to address the human rights crisis in Hong Kong. 

In 2022, the Human Rights Committee raised its grave concerns and called for the repeal of the National Security Law. In flagrant disregard of the Committee’s concluding observations, the National Security Law – alongside the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance – continues to be weaponised to persecute independent media actors and facilitate transnational repression against overseas Hong Kong human rights defenders and their families.

We welcome and share the High Commissioner’s condemnation of the sentencing of Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison, an effective death sentence for the 78-year-old, along with the parallel sentencing of eight co-defendants to six to ten years, under the National Security Law. 

We further condemn the sentencing of Kwok Yin-sang, father of overseas human rights defender Anna Kwok, to eight months in prison under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. This is an act of transnational repression and reprisal against Anna Kwok’s human rights advocacy abroad, including engagement with UN human rights mechanisms. The targeting of overseas human rights defenders carries overwhelming chilling effects and psychosocial harm, often leading victims to choose between protecting their family or abandoning their work, and is a deliberate strategy to obstruct scrutiny and accountability of domestic human rights violations. 

We urge States to speak out against these violations and step up efforts to help ensure the release of all human rights defenders in Hong Kong. We also urge relevant States to take all measures to prevent, investigate, and ensure accountability for all acts of transnational repression on their territory.

Thank you.

This statement is co-sponsored by the following ECOSOC-accredited NGOs:

1. ARTICLE 19 
2. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
3. Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
4. Fortify Rights
5. International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
6. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
7. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
8. Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

It is also supported by the following non-ECOSOC-accredited NGOs: 

1. Campaign for Uyghurs
2. Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD)
3. Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation
4. Human Rights in China (HRIC)
5. Index on Censorship
6. Students for a Free Tibet (SFT)