Posted by Zamira Monteiro

Kacey Wong

Only one week to go till the launch of Human Rights Week 2015! Are you as excited as we are?

As part of the line-up, we’re very honoured to have visual artists Kacey Wong and Katie Vajda delivering a special talk on the use of art as a tool to raise awareness of human rights issues. They will speak about some of their projects and the issues they are passionate about, particularly reflecting on the value of protest art and tips for effective art advocacy for emerging artists.

This talk will be of interest to emerging artists, art students and enthusiasts, and anyone interested in activism!

Into Wonderland by Katie Vajda. The donated artwork will be auctioned on December 10.

Kacey is an educator and an active contemporary visual artist in Hong Kong. A former judge of the Hong Kong Human Rights Arts Prize, Kacey’s experimental art project investigates the poetics of space between men and their living environment. He was the winner of the Best Artist Award in 2010, Rising Artist Award and Outstanding Arts Education Award given by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council in 2003. Kacey is well known for using his art as social activism and for his public engagement art projects in the Occupied Zone during the Umbrella Movement. As an art activist, his recent political artworks explore the possibility between art and public demonstration, linking art and political resistance into one.

Katie is a photographic artist living and practising in Hong Kong. Her work is beautifully executed yet challenging, engaging with cultural theory and philosophy. Katie’s work has appeared regularly in Hong Kong media and been exhibited both locally and internationally, most recently at Fine Art Asia, The Arts Centre HK and Art Miami 2015. Katie was also the winner of the Hong Kong Human Rights Arts Prize in 2014, with her series ‘Can you see me yet?’.

Black Cop Candle by Kacey Wong. The donated artwork will be auctioned on December 10.

Both Kacey and Katie have also generously donated artworks that will be auctioned at our invite-only awards ceremony and charity auction on the evening of December 10, which is International Human Rights Day.

Details

Artist talk: Art and Human Rights by visual artist and activist, Kacey Wong (in English)

Date: Wednesday, December 9, 7-8pm

Venue: The Fringe Club, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central.

Admission: Free

RSVP by emailing info@justicecentre.org.hk or calling 3109 7359.

Check out the full line up of events for Human Rights Week 2015 at www.justicecentre.org.hk/events.

You can now preview the gallery of shortlisted artworks for the Hong Kong Human Rights Arts Prize and pre-bid online at www.justicecentre.org.hk/artsprizegallery.  

Posted by Adela Kamaragoda

The Justice Centre team is proud to bring to you Human Rights Week 2015 in the run up to International Human Rights Day (December 10)! Human Rights Week aims to provide a platform for the public to celebrate and learn about human rights through the arts, talks and activities for the whole family.

The Hong Kong Human Rights Arts Prize is a key part of Human Rights Week. Established in 2013 and organised by Justice Centre, the Hong Kong Human Rights Arts Prize aims to harness the power of the visual arts to promote awareness, provoke dialogue, inspire action and bring about change in the area of human rights.

P H, Yang, What Next for Hong Kong – one of the shortlisted artworks

Previous winners have included Filipino photographer Xyza Cruz Bacani, who has just been named one of BBC’s 100 Women of 2015, and Katie Vajda, for her series on domestic workers in Hong Kong.

This year, we had the largest number of entries we’ve ever had – over 100 – from which nineteen artworks have been shortlisted for the Prize by a panel of prominent art experts and human rights specialists. The shortlist features works in a variety of media from both Hong Kong-born artists and those originating from countries as diverse as Belgium, Spain, Canada and Mainland China.

A wide range of themes runs through the artworks, including last year’s Occupy movement, homelessness, the plight of refugees, forced labour, ethnic minorities, LGBT rights, among other human rights and social justice issues.

You can view the Hong Kong Human Rights Arts Prize Exhibition during Human Rights Week at The Fringe Club, December 4-10, from 10am – 10pm (closed Sunday). The exhibition is free and culminates in an awards ceremony and charity auction at an invite-only event on International Human Rights Day, December 10. Preview the exhibition, as well as pre-bid for your favourite pieces online at www.justicecentre.org.hk/artsprizegallery.

We look forward to celebrating Human Rights Week with you! Check out the line-up of events for the week below and RSVP by emailing info@justicecentre.org.hk or calling 3109 7359 stating which event you would like to attend. See you there!

Human Rights Week Talks and Activities

All talks and activities will take place at The Fringe Club, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central.

Children’s activity morning: Refugees, You and Me

A fun-filled morning for children to learn about refugees in Hong Kong through art, story-telling and games. Suitable for children aged 3-10 and their parents.

Date: Saturday December 5, 10:30am-12noon

Admission: HK$100 suggested donation per child.

Each child MUST be accompanied by an adult. Limited places. RSVP essential.

Talk: Refugee Rights in Hong Kong (in English)

Learn more about refugees in Hong Kong

Dates: Tuesday December 8, 7-8pm and Wednesday December 9, 1-2pm

Admission: Free

Talk: Refugee Rights in Hong Kong (in Cantonese)

Learn more about refugees in Hong Kong

Date: Wednesday December 9, 3-4pm

Admission: Free

Talk by Visual Artist and Activist, Kacey Wong:  Art and Human Rights

Learn about how Kacey Wong uses his art as social activism.

Kacey Wong is an educator and an active contemporary visual artist in Hong Kong. He is well known for using his art as social activism and created public engagement art projects in the Occupied Zone during the Umbrella Movement.

Date: Wednesday December 9, 7-8pm

Admission: Free

Talk: Human trafficking and forced labour in Hong Kong (in English)

Learn about human trafficking and forced labour as it relates to migrant domestic workers (helpers) in Hong Kong.

Date: Thursday December 10, 1-2pm

Admission: Free

School visits

We are happy to organise group visits for schools to view the Hong Kong Human Rights Arts Prize Exhibition. If you would like to arrange a school visit, please contact us at info@justicecentre.org.hk. Please note the exhibition is suitable for Years 6 and upwards, at the discretion of the school/teachers.

Adela Kamaragoda is the Fundraising and Development Officer at Justice Centre Hong Kong

Posted by Virginie Goethals

This week we are excited to have Virginie, from our partner Free to Run, blog about her experience of organising hiking and track training groups for refugees in Hong Kong. Free to Run is an NGO that aims to use the power of sport to change lives and communities in areas of greatest need, particularly to empower and educate females in conflict-affected communities. 

My grandfather was a refugee from Hungary who went on to live in Belgium and had refugee status for almost 30 years. He had survived terrible deprivations, amongst them several years in a Russian gulag (forced labour camp). The effects of his experiences on his personality left a profound impact on me: he never locked his house, should anyone need shelter. He invited every street vendor into his home, and said that when everything is taken away, only kindness and love is left to share with others.

My grandfather passed away as I launched my career as a corporate lawyer in New York, but my pro bono work was often refugee-related, letting him slowly back into my life. Three young kids and moving around in Asia made me re-evaluate my career, and I have not looked back since starting to be involved with Free to Run, which I heard about through its founder, my friend Stephanie Case.

The Run for Justice team

This formidable NGO creates and supports an environment for women and girls in conflict zones, like South Sudan or Afghanistan, to participate in sport and physical education. Free to Run also reaches out to women and girls that are escaping war, torture and human cruelty. Very recently, I worked with two amazing Afghan women to participate in a 250 km self-sustained race, and we crossed the finish line with them as the first Afghan ultra-running team. Free to Run is now a new way to see life for me.

I truly believe that running and hiking is extremely empowering and can help anyone overcome their past and troubles. Refugees, particularly female refugees, don’t have a chance to access much sport or physical activity in Hong Kong. It’s usually the women who have to be home with the children, who are here as single parents or who, for cultural or language reasons, may find it difficult to access public space. Also, many of these women suffer from mental trauma as a result of their experiences. This is why, in June this year, together with a bunch of tireless Free to Run volunteers, help from the Hong Kong running community and Justice Centre’s support, we launched two initiatives: a “Hiking to Heal” programme for 20 refugee women and a mixed gender ‘Run for Justice’ track-training group. From the trainings, it’s been amazing to see that the participants in both the women’s hiking programme and the track-training group seem happier; they seem healthier; I think they feel they can enjoy the moment and not worry all the time about their legal case or what will happen to them. It structures their week and gives them a goal to work towards.

I am so proud to announce that these wonderful athletes will be participating in their first 10K running race on November 29, and more hiking programs mainly for refugee women are in the starting blocks. They are raring to go, but they need your support! Please visit the Run for Justice JustGiving page, sponsor them and share within your networks. Funds raised will go towards Justice Centre and Free to Run.

It is true that working with refugees means also letting them into your life, and during the hiking and running activities, we share our joys, frustrations and hopes together as true friends. The refugees that I have met through those programs have a pure kindness that is sometimes hard to find in our overly materialistic world. Having experienced the worst, they know the real meaning of love. They humble me to the bone, and truly deserve the best of life. Free to Run just tries to help them to run over the starting line of a new life.

Join us in cheering for our superstar Run for Justice team – donate via the JustGiving page, leave them words of encouragement and share!

Virginie Goethals is a Belgian mum, a lawyer and is on the Board of Directors for Free to Run. She is also a keen distance runner.

Posted by Lynette Nam

This week, Justice Centre as well as other civil society members had the opportunity to address the Legislative Council Panel on Security (LegCo Panel) in advance of Hong Kong’s periodic review by the UN Committee against Torture in Geneva later this month. The LegCo Panel was a welcome opportunity for long overdue public discussion on the Unified Screening Mechanism (USM), the government’s screening mechanism for asylum claims, and it became apparent that LegCo members shared our concerns; particularly, concerns with the government’s recent negative rhetoric on refugees and with the transparency and standards of fairness.

Watch the webcast of the LegCo Panel session

Notably, and on a more positive note, Social Justice Alliance (SJA), a self-led community group formed by graduates of our Voices for Protection Human Rights and Advocacy Traineeship for refugees, also weighed in on the discussion with their experiences of the USM.  As a new member of Justice Centre, it excites me that I am part of an organisation that strives to make refugees’ voices heard – and to do so in a way that results in real practical action on a public platform.

Since starting as the Justice Centre Fellow last week, I have been familiarising myself with the USM and meeting with some of our beneficiaries who have come to Hong Kong to seek protection. As part of my work here in the legal team, I have been sitting down with beneficiaries to draft testimonies to support their claims; their experiences are often confronting and unimaginable from the comfort of soft couches and mugs of tea at our office.

Many of them have fled highly volatile countries, marred by widespread violence and political unrest. Many have experienced acts that are at the very least degrading and inhumane. While it is easy to be empathetic, our role at Justice Centre is to help them navigate the baffling maze that is the USM.

However, the concern has been that since its inception, the USM seemed to be designed to confound and dissuade. There was limited public consultation upon its introduction; despite repeated requests, there are no comprehensive statistics or database made publicly available to track its progress; and there is no set of precedents to draw upon for guidance, as redacted decisions under the USM are not published.

The lack of transparency aside, what is even more alarming is the rate of rejection of 99.7%, one of the highest in the world. This is rather hard to believe, given that we at Justice Centre are seeing claims for protection from countries with blatant and pervasive human rights abuses. The abysmally low rejection rate raises serious concerns about the underlying fairness and reasonableness of the decision-making process.

What surprises me most is the fact that many of the rejections are based not on the credibility of the claimant, but on the grounds that the decision-makers believed there is no risk in their countries of origin (COI). We find it disconcerting to see rejections of claimants from countries such as Central African Republic, Somalia or Yemen, which have been flagged by UNHCR and numerous governments as countries of concern for asylum purposes due to widespread conflict and persecution in those territories.

It is also concerning that the rejection letters seem to include COI research that does not correlate to the particular circumstances of the claimant, and reveal an exceptionally high bar for the risk of torture, cruel, degrading or inhumane treatment or punishment (CIDTP) and persecution. This puts into question the reasonableness of decisions, especially when pitched against international standards. This is why we are currently conducting a legal analysis of rejected decisions.

Transparency and fairness go to the core of any legitimate and just legal system. Instead, what we have right now places vulnerable people in a system steeped in confusion that focuses on rejection rather than protection.

There is a long road ahead before we arrive at a comprehensive, transparent and procedurally fair system for the vulnerable people who come to Hong Kong in search of sanctuary; yet I believe Hong Kong is a society that embraces solidarity and humanity, and I am hopeful we will get there.

Lynette is the Justice Centre Fellow and the latest addition to our team. Before joining Justice Centre, Lynette worked at Fragomen Worldwide, an international law firm specialising in immigration law, in Australia and Hong Kong.  She also worked as a human rights trainer on the Thai-Burma border, where she developed and implemented a curriculum on non-violent social change for young Karenni refugees. 

Watch the webcast of the LegCo Panel on Security session here.

Read Justice Centre’s full speech to the LegCo Panel on Security here.

Read Social Justice Alliance’s full submission here.

Read Justice Centre’s shadow report to the Committee against Torture here.