On March 19, a cross-party international coalition of 89 parliamentarians and public figures issued a statement condemning the Hong Kong government’s passage of the Safeguarding National Security Bill under Article 23 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong. New legislation under Article 23 will bring a further devastating blow to the city’s autonomy, rule of law, rights, and fundamental freedoms, beyond the impact of the National Security Law imposed by Beijing in 2020. The new law prohibits seven types of activities that Hong Kong officials intend to declare as ‘offenses’, under vague and expansive provisions which will criminalize the peaceful exercise of human rights. The legislation undermines due process and fair trial rights and violates Hong Kong’s obligations under international human rights law. The coalition calls for democratic governments to unite against this “flagrant breach of the Basic Law of Hong Kong and international human rights law.”

Read the statement here.