Access to justice

We work to ensure that the most marginalised members of Hong Kong society – refugees, victims of torture and human trafficking, women, children, racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQI+ individuals, and others – have the legal assistance they need to be protected in Hong Kong.

What’s more, we work tirelessly throughout our clients’ legal asylum processes, from the very beginning through to appeals and at Judicial Review. As needed – and in cases where litigation is likely to set precedent that will strengthen the rule of law for others – we engage in targeted strategic litigation to enhance protection for our clients and Hong Kong society more broadly. In addition to these efforts, we also run student legal clinics in collaboration with international and local universities in order to grow the next generation of human rights professionals.

Our work with asylum seekers is made possible through our groundbreaking pro bono programme, where our small in-house team is supported by a number of leading international law firms who donate their time and resources to working with our beneficiaries.

In order to ensure that those who need it most have the best possible chance of a successful outcome, we undertake a rigorous screening process and prioritise the most vulnerable. We work with counsellors to ensure that each client is in a place where they can tell their story coherently and we bring in independent expert witnesses where necessary to provide medical reports and information on the circumstances our clients have fled.

We supplement these reports with our own legal research and analysis and always ensure our clients have a chance to tell their story in their own language with help from our network of interpreters, whose languages spoken include Amharic, Swahili, Sinhala and dozens of others.