Joint Statement: Demanding the Hong Kong Government Establish an Independent Commission of Inquiry into the June 12 Police Violence

The Honourable Mrs. Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Chief Executive:

We are writing to you regarding the use of force by the Hong Kong Police against demonstrators around the Central Government Offices on June 12, 2019—including tear gas, firearms discharging bean bag and rubber bullets, batons, pepper spray, and water jets—to demand that the Hong Kong Government promptly launch an independent, impartial, and effective investigation into the aforementioned matters.

On June 12, tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered near the Legislative Council Complex and surrounding roads to demand that the government withdraw the amendments to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance. The Hong Kong Police used the violent behavior of a small fraction of demonstrators as a pretext to employ unnecessary and excessive force against the vast majority of peaceful protesters.

We are particularly concerned about the following incidents:

• The police simultaneously fired tear gas from both sides of Lung Wo Road in an attempt to disperse the large crowd gathered outside CITIC Tower in Admiralty (the building opposite the Legislative Council). With no way out, hundreds of largely unarmed protesters were subsequently surrounded by the police and attempted to enter CITIC Tower to escape the tear gas.
• Outside the Legislative Council Complex, a group of riot police threw a female protester to the ground and repeatedly beat her with batons and the sides of their shields.
• During the daytime on June 12, the Special Tactical Squad fired suspected rubber bullets at crowds of protesters on the sidewalks and footbridges at the intersection of Harcourt Road and Cotton Tree Drive. Footage shows a protester being struck in the face by what appeared to be a rubber bullet.
• During the daytime on June 12 on Lung Wo Road, a police officer in protective gear sprayed suspected pepper water 14 times at close range into the face of a man sitting alone by the edge of an outdoor flowerbed. Because the man posed no threat, the spraying of pepper water was clearly unnecessary and an infringement of rights.

The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials stipulate that law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty, and only when no other non-violent means can achieve the intended result, or when it is anticipated that such means will fail. In using force, law enforcement officials must exercise restraint and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offense and the legitimate objective to be achieved.

Despite strong public calls for the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry to thoroughly investigate the police's conduct on June 12 and the events stemming from it, both you and the Commissioner of Police have flatly refused, on the grounds that the existing police complaint mechanism for handling allegations of police violence and misconduct is effective.

In fact, as of February 2016, multiple UN human rights treaty bodies have repeatedly commented on the inadequacies of Hong Kong's police complaint system. Under the current system, the Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO), which is internal to the police force, is responsible for handling all complaints against the police from both within and outside the force, as well as conducting related investigations and follow-ups. Although the Independent Police Complaints Council ("IPCC") has a role in supervising CAPO's investigations, the UN Human Rights Committee, in its 2013 concluding observations on Hong Kong, rated it as lacking both sufficient powers and independence.

The UN Human Rights Committee further pointed out that the IPCC only has "advisory and monitoring functions in relation to the work of CAPO," and its members are politically appointed by the Chief Executive. The Committee recommended that the Hong Kong Government "should take necessary measures to establish a fully independent mechanism to investigate police abuse of power, endowed with the power to issue binding conclusions."

It is noteworthy that while CAPO receives a substantial number of reportable complaints, only a very small fraction of them are substantiated. From 2004 to 2018, CAPO received 6,412 complaints alleging police assault, of which only four were substantiated, and over half of the complaint cases were concluded as unprovable. From 2010 to 2018, out of all cases concerning police misconduct substantiated by the IPCC, the police prosecuted in only one case, while the majority of the police officers involved merely received advice or warnings.

For the reasons stated above, particularly the failure and lack of independence of the current police complaint system, it is all the more necessary to establish an independent commission of inquiry to independently, impartially, and comprehensively investigate the matters related to the June 12 protests.

Human Rights Watch, Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor, and Amnesty International Hong Kong gravely demand that the Hong Kong Government immediately establish an independent commission of inquiry to independently, impartially, effectively, and promptly investigate the police force's use of force on June 12, 2019. Attached herewith is a proposal for the terms of reference of the independent commission of inquiry. This commission should provide a basis for police officers who used unlawful force and their superiors to be held legally and disciplinarily accountable. If the Hong Kong Government fails to take appropriate measures, the Hong Kong Police Force's reputation for respecting human rights will be destroyed.

We look forward to an early reply from you, and we are very willing to discuss the above matters with any officials you deem appropriate.

Sophie Richardson, China Director, Human Rights Watch
Yip Kuan-yau, Spokesperson, Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor
Man-kei Tam, Director, Amnesty International Hong Kong
June 28, 2019

C.C.

Mr. John Lee Ka-chiu, Secretary for Security
10/F, East Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong
Mr. Stephen Lo Wai-chung, Commissioner of Police
42/F, Police Headquarters, Arsenal House, 1 Arsenal Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Annex

Further information on the current police complaint system, the Commissions of Inquiry Ordinance (Cap. 86 of the Laws of Hong Kong), and proposed terms of reference for the commission

Co-Signatories

Asia Monitor Resource Centre
Chinese Human Rights Defenders
Civil Human Rights Front
Civil Rights Observer
Covenants Watch
Hong Kong Watch
International Association of People's Lawyers
Judicial Reform Foundation (Taiwan)
PEN Hong Kong
Progressive Lawyers Group
Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law School
Taiwan Association for Human Rights
The Hong Kong Society for Asylum-seekers and Refugees
Chosen Power (People First Hong Kong)
Civil Society Development Resources Center
Disabilities CV
Financier Conscience
Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union
Hong Kong Unison Limited
Humanistic Education Foundation, Taiwan
International Domestic Workers Federation
Justice and Peace Commission of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese
la la team
Les Corner Empowerment Association
in Kwun Tong
Midnight Blue
New School for Democracy
Northern California Hong Kong Club
Save Hong Kong Heritages
Scholars' Alliance for Academic Freedom
The Human Commons
Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement