Rapid deterioration of the situation in Hong Kong leads AI to close its headquarters

The rapid deterioration of the situation in Hong Kong has prompted the human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) to terminate its operations in the semi-autonomous territory before the end of this year.

In a statement sent to the press today, TO THE indicated that “the decision, made with regret, has been motivated by the Hong Kong National Security Law, which has effectively made it impossible for human rights organizations in Hong Kong to work freely and without fear of serious reprisals from the government ”.

The aforementioned law, designed and imposed by Beijing and which entered into force on June 30, 2020, punishes with up to life imprisonment, assumptions such as “secession”Or the“collusion with foreign forces”And has led to a cut in freedoms in the former British colony.

According to the announcement published today, the local branch of AI in Hong Kong (focused on the awareness campaigns on human rights in the territory) will cease to be operational on the 31st, while the regional office – dedicated to research and Human rights advocacy in East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific – will be closed before the end of the year.

The organization indicated that “all regional office work will continue to be carried out from new locations”.

An ideal base

“Hong Kong has long been an ideal regional base for international civil society organizations, but the recent targeting of local human rights groups and trade unions is a symptom of the authorities’ intensifying campaign to get rid of all opinions. jarring of the city”Said the president of the board of directors of TO THE, Anjhula Mya Singh Bais.

“It is becoming increasingly difficult for us to continue operating in such an unstable environment. The atmosphere of repression and perpetual uncertainty – added Bais – created by the National Security Law makes it impossible to know what activities can lead to criminal sanctions.”.

For Bais, this law has been used to repress “chants of political songs or the debate on human rights in the classroom”, Among other cases.

“The pattern of raids, arrests and prosecutions against those perceived as opponents has revealed that the vagueness of the law can be manipulated to prosecute whoever the authorities choose.”He added.

Indelible legacy?

For its part, the Secretary General of TO THE, Agnes Callamard, highlighted the work of the organization during the last 40 years with achievements such as the abolition of the death penalty in Hong Kong in 1993 or “the disclosure of evidence of the use of excessive force by the Police during the massive protests of 2019″.

“In the region, our investigations and campaigns have addressed issues such as freedom of expression in North Korea, conscientious objection to military service in South Korea, the right to housing in Mongolia, atrocities during the war against ‘women comfort ‘, and the raid on human rights lawyers in China”, He recapitulated Be quiet.

According to the general secretary of the organization, the work of the local branch of TO THE “human rights awareness has increased not only in the city’s schools, but also among the general public. Nothing and no one can demolish that legacy”.

While in the case of TO THE It is a transfer of headquarters, dozens of Hong Kong civil society organizations of very diverse objectives and fields, such as unions or student associations, have been forced to dissolve to reduce the risk that their members would be prosecuted by the Security Law National.

The Chinese legislature drafted this law in the first half of 2020, in response to the massive anti-government demonstrations that took to the streets during the second half of 2019.

In these protests, which began with opposition to a controversial extradition bill that ended up being rejected, Hong Kongers called for an improvement in the city’s democratic mechanisms.

In some of them, the most radical sectors ended up clashing violently with the security forces.