Top Issues of Concerns of Hong Kong SAR NGOs
7 May 2014
1.
The failure to incorporate ICESCR provisions into domestic legislation: ICCPR is
incorporated in HK via the Bill of Rights Ordinance, but there is no equivalent incorporation of
ICESCR in HK law, in spite of the Committee’s concerns on this issue in 2001 Concluding
Observations, para.15(a). This undermines the status of ICESCR, and renders the protection
thereunder inadequate and incoherent. We urge the Committee to recommend that HK
comprehensively incorporate ICESCR standards fully into domestic law. (Karen Kong, Law
Faculty, HK University & HK Bar Association)
2.
Human Rights Institution: A Human Rights Commission should be established in HK with a
broad mandate covering all international human rights standards. (Equal Opportunities
Commission)
3.
Suppression of media development and press freedom hinder implementation of the
Covenant: Mainland and HKSAR authorities suppress media development by deterring the
media from accessing public information, refusing to issue new licenses to broadcast free
television programmes on dubious grounds, etc. We urge the Committee to ask authorities to
stop interfering in the media's creativity and freedom of expression, stop interfering in the
independence and autonomy of RTHK, open the free television market, introduce Archive Law
and Freedom of Information Ordinance, and combat and deter violence against journalists and
media organizations. (Democratic Party of Hong Kong)
4.
No comprehensive poverty alleviation strategy (Q.54, List of Issues): The number of poor
population in HK in 2012 rose to 1.31 million, the highest since 2000. We urge the HK
Government to adopt a proactive public financial ideology by allocating more public resources
to tackle income disparity, introducing a long-term comprehensive poverty alleviation strategy
and a time schedule to reduce poor population and eradicate poverty. (HK Human Rights
Commission and Society for Community Organization)
5.
Difficulties faced by people living in inadequate housing (Q.55, List of Issues): There are
more illegal cage homes and high private rents are beyond the affordability of the poor. We
request the HK Government to increase the supply of public housing and legislate on rent
control. (HK Human Rights Commission and Society for Community Organization)
6.
Labour rights: We urge the Committee to reiterate your concerns on HK’s lack of legislation
on standard working hours, universal retirement protection and collective bargaining. (HK
Human Rights Commission and Society for Community Organization)
7.
4.18 requirements, training for women, gender budgeting: The labour laws should be
revised to abolish the unreasonable “4.18 requirements”, which make protection and benefit
entitlement for employees working 18 hours a week for a continuous period of four weeks or
more, resulting in many casual work patterns and serious exploitation of part-time workers,
mostly women. Gender budgeting should be introduced to help to have a more balanced
training resources for women, and for equitable enjoyment of other covenant rights. (HK
Human Rights Monitor)
8.
Health inequality of the poor, marginalized and elderly (2005 Concluding Observations):
We hope the Committee to express concern that the Government’s promotion of the private
medical sector and medical industry by providing benefits and subsidies to private hospitals
and voluntary private insurance scheme brings brain drain, medical inflation and decline of
service quality in the public health sector. Long waiting time, overloaded medical staff, and
non-subsidy of many expensive drugs in public hospitals leads to compromising right to health
of the general public who cannot afford private services. We urge the HK Government to
increase resources allocated to the public health sector in response to the increasing demands
of aging population, and to suspend development of the private sector before capable of
providing sufficient medical personnel. (HK Human Rights Monitor & Legal Academic Karen
Kong)
9.
Mental illness (Q.56, List of Issues): We hope the Committee will express concerns on
discrimination against mental patients and rehabilitants, the over-emphasis of medical
treatments in community care, and the inadequacy and lack of coordination of community
support, and urge the HK Government to accept the request of the EOC and the civil society to
establish the Mental Health Council. (HK Human Rights Monitor)
10. Discrimination on the basis of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity: In its Response to
the List of Issues the HK Government called such legislation “highly controversial” citing
concerns about “family, religion and education.” Such misplaced concerns will be easily
dispelled when the Government puts forward a draft bill to begin a public consultation process.
We encourage the committee to press the HK Government to specify a date that they will
release a draft Sexual Orientation Discrimination Ordinance. (Rainbow Action and EOC)
11. Discrimination against New Immigrants from Mainland China (Q. 42, List of Issues): In
response to growing discrimination, we recommend the Government to amend the Racial
Discrimination Ordinance to include mainlander or new immigrant from Mainland China
status. (HK Human Rights Commission and Society for Community Organization)
12. Split single parent family reunion (Q.51, List of Issues): There are approximately 7,000 HK
children whose mothers are Mainland residents and their fathers, who are HK citizens, died or
have abandoned them. We urge the HK Government cooperate with Chinese Government to
issue one-way permit to these mothers and exercise discretionary power to issue identity cards
to them. (HK Human Rights Commission and Society for Community Organization)
13. Migrant Domestic Workers (2001 and 2005 Concluding Observations): We urge the
Committee to reiterate its concerns about abuses against migrant domestic workers, agency
exploitation and discrimination, the two-week rule and live-in rule. We also suggest the
Committee consider migrant domestic workers’ debt-bondage contracts as a modern form of
forced labour and human trafficking. (HK Human Rights Monitor)
14. About ethnic minorities, we urge the Government to:
 Eliminate the de facto racial segregation in the public education system (para. 58 of list of
issues);
 Provide details of recent Chinese-language education policy initiatives for ethnic
minorities to ensure new initiatives, unlike the old ones, really give ethnic minorities an
equal opportunities to learn Chinese (para 59 of list of issues); and
 Propose amendments to the Race Discrimination Ordinance to bring government's
exercise of powers and performance of functions as well as discrimination on the ground
of nationality within its purview (para 42 of list of issues). (Hong Kong Unison)