Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Refugees fear detention law change

A human rights organization that assists asylum seekers and refugees said it is dangerous for the government to propose amending an immigration ordinance that would expand its powers on detention.
The Justice Centre Hong Kong said the proposed amendment to the Immigration Ordinance will make it easier for the Immigration Department to keep non-refoulement claimants in detention.

"It is dangerous because we have seen how traumatizing immigration detention could be for someone," said Preston Cheung, advocacy and communications officer of Justice Centre Hong Kong.

"Especially for asylum seekers and refugees who have experienced traumatic events before arriving in Hong Kong."

Under the existing requirement for a unified screening mechanism, asylum seekers must overstay in Hong Kong before they are eligible to lodge non-refoulement claims.

The ordinance states that claimants may be detained pending final determination of their claim and pending their removal from Hong Kong.

The amendment bill, which is being studied by the Legislative Council's bills committee, seeks to strengthen the removal of unsuccessful non-refoulement claimants and enhance detention.

The amendment allows factors such as manpower and financial resources allocated to the removal of persons from Hong Kong or determination of unified screening mechanism claims to be taken into account when deciding whether the period of detention is reasonable and lawful.

"The amendment justifying prolonged detention on the basis of administrative and bureaucratic inefficiency, or factors beyond the control of authorities or the person concerned, is thus potentially arbitrary and unlawful," the organization said in the written submission, as part of Refugee Concern Network, to the bills committee.

The center added that the existing immigration detention regime already suffers from an array of unresolved issues, including a lack of effective complaints and monitoring mechanisms.

Cheung said the experience of a recognized refugee, who received help from the organization regarding their unified screening mechanism claim, shows that there is a lack of an effective complaint mechanism in the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre.

A claimant, Tina, described her three-month experience at the center as "prison-like." She refused to reveal her real name and details of her background for fear of persecution.

"From the day I entered, nobody explained to me the procedure, nobody told me how long I will stay. If I ask them questions, they say if you don't want to go back to East Africa, just keep quiet and wait," she said.

Tina said a senior officer enters the center daily to ask if anyone will lodge complaints but other officers who monitor detainees on a regular basis told her "when this officer comes, you cannot say anything, you have to just say good morning and keep quiet."

The organization said the government should address long-standing issues within the immigration detention regime for the amended ordinance rather than enhancing the use of detention and militarizing the immigration services.

It also recommended establishing an independent mechanism to receive and investigate complaints in all places of detention, as well as to allow civil society organizations regular access to monitor detention facilities and offer assistance to detainees where necessary.

In response to Tina's experience, an Immigration Department spokesman said detainees were given information leaflets on their rights and channels of complaints during detention upon admission to the center.

"The detainees at CIC have all along been fairly and properly treated with due respect to human dignity in accordance with the relevant legal provisions and established mechanism," a spokesman said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×