EU parliament considering UN court action against Hong Kong's national security law

The members of of the European Union'sparliament aremulling to sue China in the highest court of the United Nations for imposing a national security law for Hong Kong, according to the South China Morning Post.

According to the draft document, which is expected to be finished on Friday, ''the European Parliament calls on the EU and its member states to consider filing a case before the International Court of Justice, alleging that China’s decision to impose national security legislation on Hong Kong violates the Sino-British Joint Declaration”'' as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Supported by the leading groups in the parliament, the draft resolution also calls for the European Union to follow Britain’s example and provide a ''lifeboat policy''to those people living in Hong Kongbutwish to leave the city.

Britain has vowed to offer 3 million Hongkongers a path to British citizenship should Beijing impose the national security law.

Containing a long list of recommended actions, the draft resolution also urges UN human rights officials to appoint a special envoy in charge of the city; the EU to enact ''Magnitsky-style''sanctions to punish ''leaders who conduct this crackdown on Hong Kong and its people''; and the Chinese central government to “desist from blackmailing European businesses” into supporting the national security law.

Even if passed next week, the resolution is not binding on either the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, or the EU’s member states.

The European Parliament, in Brussels, Belgium. The parliament is working on a resolution calling for the European Union to take China to court over its moves on Hong Kong. Photo: AFP

Still, it would create political pressure on the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel ahead of their annual summit with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in less than two weeks. The meeting will come as Beijing moves closer to imposing the sweeping law that critics fear will curb the political freedoms now enjoyed by the 7 million Hongkongers.

The parliament’s draft motion ''strongly urges''the EU executive leaders to ''address the issue of the national security law for Hong Kong as a top priority on the agenda of the upcoming EU-China Summit.''

The draft also ''strongly condemns the constant and increasing interference by China in Hong Kong’s internal affairs, as well the recent assertion by China that the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 is a historic document, and hence is no longer valid.''

The strong action by the parliament, the EU’s legislative branch, contrasts with the more measured approach so far taken by the commission.

The commission is trying to reach a trade agreement with China, leading some parliament members to ask if that was behind the commission’s relatively soft-spoken response to Beijing’s action against Hong Kong, compared to Washington and London.