GENEVA: A United Nations rights watchdog yesterday pressed Hong Kong to enact democratic reforms, saying moves so far fell short of what was needed.
Amid weeks of pro-democracy protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese city, the UN Human Rights Committee said Hong Kong had failed to properly heed its calls for genuine change.
“We have received a response, but from the response it appears that no actions have been taken that implement our recommendation,” said committee member Cornelis Flinterman, a Dutch human rights expert.
The committee has no power to sanction governments but its rulings carry moral weight. The body oversees global rules on civil and political rights, and submits governments to regular reviews.
Hong Kong’s turn came in 2013, when the committee urged it to “take all necessary measures to implement universal and equal suffrage” and gave it a year to report back.
Hong Kong told the committee that it could grant equal voting rights in time for its 2017 chief executive elections and for the 2020 elections to its legislative council.
But the UN panel criticised the “lack of a clear plan to institute universal suffrage and to ensure the right of all persons to vote and to stand for election without unreasonable limitations”.
Hopes for genuine democracy in the former British colony were dashed in August when China ruled that candidates for the 2017 election would be chosen by a pro-Beijing committee.
The vote will mark the first direct election for the post of Hong Kong chief executive, and activists want the public to have the right to nominate candidates.
They claim vetting by a loyalist committee will create a “fake democracy”, with only pro-Beijing candidates able to run, and have taken to the streets of the Asian financial and trading hub.
AFP
