The organisation said that the implementation of the legislation without proper consultation with the people was “fundamentally objectionable”
The International Bar Association (IBA) has condemned the National Security Law that was recently implemented by China on Hong Kong.
In a joint statement with the IBA’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), the organisation said that the new legislation was “contrary to the norms of international law, incompatible with the rule of law and fundamental human rights and inconsistent with the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR.”
Under the law, those detained on charges of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces can be sent to mainland China for trial. It was introduced on 30 June under controversial terms, with Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam admitting that she had not seen the text of the legislation prior to its enactment.
The IBA said it was “fundamentally objectionable” that the legislation was enacted “without proper consultation with Hong Kong SAR peoples and institutions.” The organisation pointed out that the legislation veered significantly from the principles of China’s agreement with the UK after the latter transferred governing power back to the former in 1997.
“This bodes ill for the survival of even the attenuated conditions of democracy and human rights that have been practised in recent times in Hong Kong SAR,” the IBA said.
Hong Kong police began enforcing the law last week, taking protesters into custody.
The IBA said that notable activists in the country had already ceased the operations of their campaign groups and deactivated their social media due to fear of arrest.
“Effectively, law is being used to curtail the democratic freedoms of the semi-autonomous territory. This is a sad and deeply worrying time for the people of Hong Kong SAR and for their friends across the globe,” the organisation said.
The IBA and IBAHRI initially protested the law in May, after it was passed through by Beijing’s National People’s Congress.
