國際七大行業工會去信日內瓦中國大使支持香港人五大訴求。在專政打壓下，我們需要國際支持，
Dear Ambassador Chen,
Ambassador CHEN Xu
Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other International Organizations in Switzerland
Email:
chinamission_gva@mfa.gov.cn
Geneva, August 30, 2019
11, Chemin de Surville
1213 Petit-Lancy, Geneva
We the undersigned Global Union Federations stand in solidarity with the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) and the courageous citizens participating in the strikes and popular protests defending and promoting democratic rights in Hong Kong.
We call on the Hong Kong administration to agree to the 5 demands of the HKCTU and enter immediately into dialogue with the HKCTU and civil society to restore justice and implement democratic reform.
The HKCTU demands are:
• permanent withdrawal of the extradition law; release of the arrested protesters without charge;
• withdrawal by the authorities of their characterisation of the 12 June protests as “riots”;
• an independent investigation into police violence and abuse of power; and
• implementation of universal suffrage.
Police brutality continues to escalate and the right to freedom of assembly has been seriously infringed. This is in breach of both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (to which Hong Kong is a signatory party), and the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Forces and Forearms by Law Enforcement Officers. Excessive force has been deployed against peaceful protesters.
Police have used rubber bullets, teargas and pepper spray against protesters, and have stood by while gangsters have beaten people participating in the rallies. In an attempt to justify police violence and illegal detention, agent provocateurs have been placed within the ranks of protestors. The Hong Kong Federation of Journalists report hundreds of incidents of police violence used against them in an attempt to obstruct their work.
1
We note with increasing concern that the Government of China has reacted with misinformation, threats and the build-up of military forces near the border in Shenzhen.
As global trade unions we are particularly concerned about the systematic persecution of workers by employers for their involvement in the peaceful protests or for expressing their support for the protests on social media. This persecution must end and all those who were unfairly terminated must be reinstated unconditionally and employers must respect workers' rights to free speech.
We call on the Government of China to immediately withdraw troops from the border with Hong Kong, and to respect the rights of the people of Hong Kong.
Ambet Yuson
General Secretary
BWI – Building and Wood Workers’ International
David Edwards
General Secretary
EI – Education International
Sharan Burrow
General Secretary
ITUC – International Trade Union Confederation
Sue Longley
General Secretary
IUF – International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations
Rosa Pavanelli
General Secretary
PSI – Public Services International
Pierre Habbard
General Secretary
TUAC – Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD
Christy Hoffman
General Secretary
UNI – Uni Global Union
2
