Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the statement by Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton in a press release on 19 March that the new Article 23 National Security Legislation in Hong Kong "undermines Hong Kong’s implementation of binding international obligations including the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights", what steps they are taking to ensure that human rights and civil liberties in Hong Kong are protected.

We will continue to raise our strong opposition to the continued erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong and China's ongoing non-compliance with the Sino-British Joint Declaration in international fora and at the highest levels of government. The Foreign Secretary last did so with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 16 February. Our Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva also set out our concerns at the Human Rights Council on 20 March, noting the view of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that the law was likely incompatible with international law. We will monitor the application of the new Safeguarding National Security Ordinance in Hong Kong closely and not hesitate to speak out in defence of international rights and norms.