The United Nation’s Committee on the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights published its concluding observation on the implementation of relevant rights in Hong Kong on 6 March.
The committee raised concern over Hong Kong’s independence of the judiciary, trade union rights, and Human rights defenders and lawyers working on human rights.
The report said the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law has de facto abolished the independence of the judiciary of Hong Kong. The committee is also concerned about the arrests, detention and trials without due process of civil society actors, journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers working on human rights and the lack of transparency regarding their detention and trials. The Committee call on the Hong Kong authorities to abolish the national security hotline as it poses detrimental effect on civil society organisation and trade unions’ work.
The Committee is also concerned that the statutory minimum wage in Hong Kong does not apply to student employees and live-in domestic workers. It is also concerned about the persistent difficulties faced by migrant domestic workers owing to the rule of having to leave the territory of Hong Kong, China, within two weeks after termination of a contract (the two-weeks rule), as well as the live-in requirement applied to them.
