We’re pleased to share that our Executive Director, Lynette Nam, was named one of the winners of the Tatler Front & Female Awards Hong Kong 2024. The award recognises women in the city who are quietly but powerfully reshaping their sectors—and it’s a thoughtful acknowledgment of Lynette’s steady leadership and years of commitment to those seeking protection in Hong Kong.
Sector colleague and human rights lawyer Patricia Ho highlights not only her deep legal expertise but also her determination to ensure that people forced to flee their homes are met with dignity, care, and fairness. You can read Patricia’s reflection on working alongside Lynette here.
For those curious about Lynette’s journey and what inspires her, last year’s Tatler Gen.T feature offers a deeper insight into her path to Justice Centre and the vision she brings to our work. It’s a reminder that behind every policy paper or case file is a real person—and Lynette continues to shape how our organisation meets that responsibility with clarity and compassion. You can read the full piece here.
At a time when protection pathways are narrowing and the challenges are many, recognition like this is important—not for the spotlight, but for what it reflects: that the work of supporting people seeking safety matters. That doing so with care, professionalism, and persistence matters. And that leadership grounded in purpose makes a difference.
Making Good on our Pledge
How do we create more effective legal solutions for the hundreds of millions of people who have been forcibly displaced around the world?
This is the guiding question behind the Global Refugee Forum Legal Community Pledge—a collaborative initiative bringing together legal actors committed to improving access to quality legal assistance for people on the move.
Since 2020, Justice Centre Hong Kong has been proud to work alongside PILnet and other Core Group members of the Pledge to push this conversation forward. Through collective action and shared learning, the Pledge seeks to make legal help not only more available but also more impactful—tailored to the real and evolving needs of refugees and displaced communities.
The recently released 2020–2023 GRF Legal Community Pledge Impact Report, coordinated by PILnet, offers a snapshot of progress made so far. It’s filled with practical examples of how legal aid organisations, Refugee-Led Organisations (RLOs), and pro bono lawyers are working together to protect rights and expand access to justice.
Justice Centre’s contribution to this effort is shaped by our own experience here in Hong Kong. We’ve long known that legal solutions are most effective when built through partnership—between communities, practitioners, and systems. Whether through direct casework, training lawyers in trauma-informed practice, or building tools that make legal information more accessible, our focus remains on ensuring that those seeking protection are supported by quality legal help every step of the way.
In these critical times, we renew our commitment to the Pledge’s aims. For us, this means continuing to strengthen our partnerships, reflect critically on how we work, and stay accountable to the people we serve. We know legal assistance alone cannot fix displacement—but it can make the path to safety clearer, fairer, and more humane.
In recent months, two major resettlement pathways for refugees in Hong Kong have been abruptly closed—leaving many in limbo and directly affecting several Justice Centre’s clients.
Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order indefinitely halting the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. This decision immediately suspended the planned departures of refugees vetted and approved by the U.S., including families in Hong Kong who had already resigned from their jobs in preparation to begin new lives in the United States.
This follows Canada’s announcement to temporarily stop accepting new applications from Groups of Five and Community Sponsors under the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) programme, effective from 29 November 2024. Together, these two developments have closed off the main third-country resettlement options for substantiated refugees in Hong Kong, for whom resettlement was the only visible exit from a system that offers no permanent solution.
The impact is real and personal. Some of our clients were just days away from resettlement when their departures were cancelled. Others, whose vetting processes were underway, now face indefinite delays and a future of uncertainty.
At Justice Centre, we are responding. Our welfare team is working closely with affected individuals and families to ensure they can continue living in Hong Kong with dignity. We’re helping clients apply for permission to work, access healthcare and mental health support, and find pathways toward stability—however temporary those may be.
These recent setbacks are a sobering reminder of how fragile resettlement opportunities can be. But with your continued support, we remain committed to walking alongside those affected, doing all we can to ensure no one is left behind.
Across jurisdictions, there’s growing recognition that family violence can amount to persecution. Yet in Hong Kong, this area of non-refoulement law remains complex, underdeveloped, and too often misunderstood. As a form of persecution, it can trigger international protection obligations under the Unified Screening Mechanism (USM).
For lawyers and decision-makers, the challenge lies in the detail. Family violence doesn’t always fit into narrow legal categories. It may come from intimate partners, in-laws, or other relatives. It often combines physical, sexual, psychological, and economic harm—and crucially, it’s often cumulative, persistent, and shaped by unequal power dynamics. Many applicants delay disclosure or lack evidence, and common misconceptions can lead to flawed credibility assessments.
Still, progress is possible. Hong Kong’s legal framework for domestic violence has evolved, and there is a growing body of international guidance and local case examples showing how such claims can—and should—be substantiated. At Justice Centre, we are committed to helping advance legal practice in this area by supporting practitioners and raising awareness of how intersectional forms of harm impact those seeking protection.
Family violence, in all its forms, must be seen for what it is: a public concern, a systemic issue, and in many cases, a valid ground for international protection. As we look ahead, we invite the legal community in Hong Kong to take part in the conversation—and to ensure that the most vulnerable are not left without recourse simply because the harm they fled took place behind closed doors.
What happens when young people who have experienced forced migration are given the space to lead? At Justice Centre Hong Kong, we’ve seen how powerful the answer can be.
The Community Leadership Academy (CLA) was developed to respond to a gap we saw: refugee and asylum-seeking youth, particularly those aged 18 to 29, often face long periods of uncertainty and exclusion, with imperfect access to education, work, or leadership opportunities. CLA was created to find a space within limitations—to offer structured support where there was little, and to help young people strengthen their confidence, skills, and networks so they can lead within their own communities and beyond.
Over ten weeks of workshops, followed by a mentoring phase and community action planning, we witnessed meaningful changes in participants. Some entered the programme unsure of their voice or role, hesitant to speak in groups or share ideas. By the end, many were leading presentations, facilitating discussions, and sharing thoughtful reflections on the issues that matter most to them and their communities.
Importantly, the CLA also focuses on building longer-term capacity. Alumni from the previous year returned to take on facilitation and mentoring roles, shaping this year’s programme with their insights and experiences. This growing network of peer leaders reflects the programme’s core goal: to support refugee youth not only to build individual confidence but to strengthen collective leadership within their communities.
Training and Events
4 June: Annual legal training. If you are a lawyer working within one of our partnering firms or in-house counsel interested in collaboration, and you have not yet signed up, get in touch via probono@justicecentre.org.hk.
20 June: World Refugee Day. Follow our social media for updates about events.
8 June – 8 August: Young Advocates Summer Camp; 4 sessions. If you know a young person aged 14-18 with a passion to learn more about law and social impact, our Summer Camps (YASC) are engaging, two-week programmes based on our professional legal trainings. For more information please click here.