Hong Kong: Human Rights

(asked on 8th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken, if any, to protect the rights of people living in Hong Kong.


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 22nd December 2020

The UK Government remains deeply concerned about the situation in Hong Kong and has declared two breaches of the Joint Declaration in the last six months. In response to imposition of the National Security Law, the Government has put in place a new bespoke immigration path for BN(O)s, suspended our extradition treaty with Hong Kong, and extended our arms embargo on mainland China to Hong Kong. On 13 November, following the decision to arbitrarily remove elected pro-democracy legislators from their positions, the FCDO Permanent Under Secretary summoned the Chinese Ambassador to register our deep concerns.

We continue to bring together our international partners to stand up for the people of Hong Kong, to call out the violation of their freedoms, and to hold China to their international obligations. At the UN Human Rights Council in June the UK delivered a joint statement on behalf of 28 countries raising China's assault on Hong Kong's autonomy and rights and freedoms. At the Council in September, the UK reiterated these serious concerns in a national statement, and the UK joined a statement on these issues at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Third Committee on 6 October; 39 countries supported the statement, a significant increase from June. On 18 November, the Foreign Secretary issued a statement with his Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and US counterparts, urging China to re-consider its actions against Hong Kong's elected legislature.

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