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What We Do

We challenge inequality with the ultimate aim of benefitting all Hong Kongers. We use legal services, research, social welfare services, and awareness raising to support, defend, and protect those who are most vulnerable to violations of their rights. 

How We Work

We provide direct assistance to those who have faced violations, helping them begin to heal by working to make sure those violations don’t happen again.

And when community members’ rights and personal wellbeing are under threat, we assist with asylum claims, raise awareness, and work to ensure that others don’t someday face the same mistreatment.

Using the legal system

Research & Awareness Raising

Social Welfare & Technical Assistance

Working in Partnership

Using the legal system

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 support 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 Judicial Reviews. We work to strengthen the rule of law for others – 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.

Using Research & Awareness Raising

Justice Centre Hong Kong partners with community members across Hong Kong to utilise strategic awareness raising efforts that strengthen the rule of law in favour of the most marginalised members of society. Our community-centred work is based upon our expertise, with a human rights and rule of law lens.

Justice Centre Hong Kong believes that a fair and just society creates practices based on evidence. At Justice Centre we seek to contribute to the building of this evidence base on issues that affect our clients and Hong Kong more widely. We conduct research and use this evidence to raise awareness to strengthen human rights protections. We also partner with civil society and academic institutions to support their research efforts.

Some of our most recent research covers human trafficking, gender-based violence, and statelessness.​ Our research and awareness-raising is focussed around the following strategic priorities:

  • ensuring our efforts are localised and rooted in community-centred partnerships that work in collaboration with our fellow Hong Kongers to create a fairer society;
  • working for change alongside civil society organisations;
  • providing technical support and advice to government officials and Legislative Council members;
  • contributing positively to the social awareness of the clients we serve in the Hong Kong community, using both traditional and new media.

Social Welfare & Technical Assistance

We provide social welfare support services for our clients as well as training, technical assistance, and capacity-building for the wider civil society sector.

Our social welfare services are aimed at helping people access the services they are entitled to, including education, healthcare, and housing. Our clients often experience logistical hurdles and challenges to accessing the services they have the right to use, and our team helps them navigate the system.

This is particularly important because it is very difficult for our clients to focus on their legal cases if they don’t have food to eat or a place to live. Where it is not possible to access a service that they need, Justice Centre works in partnership with private organisations to fill those gaps, for example through the use of private speech therapy or mental health assistance.

Working in Partnership

Collaboration is at the heart of our working model. Justice Centre Hong Kong is proud to be an active member of several local, regional and global rights networks. These networks enable us to ensure our services, partnerships, and advocacy/policy work are focused, relevant, and in line with larger-scale movements around the world.

Currently, we are members of the following networks:

  • International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)
  • Inter-Agency Forum
  • Hong Kong UPR Coalition (Hong Kong)
  • Refugee Concern Network (Hong Kong)
  • Hong Kong Civil Society Anti Human Trafficking Task Force
  • The Business and Human Rights Forum (Hong Kong)
  • The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women
  • The Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN)
If you would like to refer clients to our organisation, please complete the appropriate form below:
  • Referral form for external NGOs
  • Referral form for Duty Lawyers

Our Services

Our direct services allow victims to access rehabilitation and redress through legal and social welfare assistance.

Our local, national and international research, and awareness raising work is based on a unique expertise gained through our direct assistance work.

Research

We produce high quality research to delve into the root causes of inequalities and provide an evidence base for both us and others to act on.
› learn more

Policy & Advocacy

We aim to provide realistic and effective recommendations for Hong Kong SAR based on relevant evidence, to create a fairer society.
› learn more

Access to Justice

We provide direct assistance to support vulnerable individuals and families seeking protection in Hong Kong.
› learn more

Rehab & Support

Our social welfare and psychological programs support those who need help overcoming past trauma and accessing basic services for their families.
› learn more

Corporate Programme

We partner with law firms and corporates to work to bring positive change for the communities we work with.
› learn more

Educational Programs

We invest in future generations of human rights advocates and lawyers, helping to instil the skills and ethos to bring change to the communities we serve.
› learn more

Why it matters

We work with community members, advocates, lawyers, and allies of justice across Hong Kong to ensure that the most marginalised members of Hong Kong society have access to a fairer justice system.

We believe this work is both vital and invaluable to the continued health of Hong Kong society. But don’t take our word for it; hear from some of those we’ve worked with:

"Justice Centre is an important presence in the field of Human Rights, especially their research on Human Trafficking and on the rights of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in the local, as well as Global context. I have had the pleasure to work with Justice Centre Hong Kong, on both the advocacy and research fronts, and it has been proven to be a strategic and critical partnership for my research and human rights work."
Dr Isabella NgAssociate Head HKU
“Working in Justice Centre was a unique and invaluable experience. I was given genuine responsibilities in conducting country of origin research and drafting legal documents, and was made to feel a valued member of the team. I especially valued every opportunity to listen to Justice Centre’s clients. Hearing of their experiences both before and after their arrivals in Hong Kong gave me an enormous appreciation of the importance of the work that the Justice Centre does in protecting the most vulnerable in society.”
Georgina PressdeeUniversity of Cambridge
“We have a passion for pro bono. Our relationship with Justice Centre Hong Kong has enabled us to identify and aid individuals that we can help with free legal services. The knowledge and expertise of the team at Justice Centre, particularly in refugee claims, has been instrumental in ensuring our help gets to those who most need it”
Mary TongAssociate, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
“The Justice Centre is truly a fantastic organisation. It has been a pleasure to work with such switched on and energetic staff, on projects that make a difference to people’s lives. It is a real asset to Hong Kong!”
Evan ManoliosLawyer at KWM
“Justice Centre is a strong pro bono organization with a professional and amazing team to guide and execute the clear and innovative goals it strives to achieve. Their work is truly remarkable - from providing legal and emotional assistance, to developing policy for asylum seekers and torture victims. We have worked on many projects with them of varying duration and size and each project we have taken on has been impactful, rewarding and challenging. I highly encourage those who haven’t had the chance to work with them to do so; you won’t regret it!”
Cheryl LeungAssociate at KWM
“I have been working with JC on a very difficult case ( as all of theirs probably are ! ). Their font of knowledge, instant reaction and quality of responses are superb. The foreign language interpreter they provided for my private interviews with the initially nervous asylum seeker was world class.”
Paul StarrPartner at KWM
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Publications

We publish many publications over on our research page. They cover various topics with in-depth analysis and case study discussions.

see all Publications

Not Stopping Here

2019/01/23
This report explores how and why Hong Kong may be a transit site for human trafficking. It is the first one on the subject that has been carried out.
view pdf
› read more
Picture of person cleaning window with Hong Kong Skyline in background

Coming Clean Report

2016/02/26
This study presents the findings of a year-long research project to estimate the scale of forced labour and human trafficking for the purpose of forced labour amongst migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong.
view pdf
› read more

How Many More Years A Slave? Trafficking for Forced Labour in Hong Kong

2014/03/26
In March 2014 Justice Centre Hong Kong launched its report "How Many More Years A Slave? Trafficking for Forced Labour in Hong Kong", a joint publication with Liberty Asia. The report is the first comprehensive analysis of human trafficking for forced labour in the HKSAR territory.
view pdf
› read more

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theDesk, 511 Queens Road West,
Sai Wan. Hong Kong.
MTR: HKU Station, Exit C2.
Tel: +852 3109 7359
Fax: +852 3422 3019
[email protected]

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What is the Unified Screening Mechanism (USM)?
Who is a Protection Claimant?
How do we provide Individual Assistance?
What is the Unified Screening Mechanism (USM)?

The USM is the new government system for processing protection claims in Hong Kong, implemented in March 2014.

The USM brings refugee claims (referred to by the government as ‘persecution’ claims) together with torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (CIDTP) claims under one process.

These are now collectively known as ‘non-refoulement’ claims. The government did not choose to implement this new system – they were forced to do so by a ruling of the Court of Final Appeal in March 2013.

In the USM, protection claimants appear before the Immigration Department. UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) no longer assesses refugee claims in Hong Kong.

Who is a Protection Claimant?

A protection claimant is anyone going through the USM, including refugees and other people seeking protection from torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (CIDTP), or persecution.

Protection claimants can be survivors of some of the most deplorable forms of human rights abuses, such as war, rape and various forms of persecution. This population faces particular vulnerabilities in Hong Kong. As they don’t receive levels of assistance suitable to support an adequate standard of living, they are forced into poverty, deprivation and social exclusion. These pressing concerns led Justice Centre to build on its services and to intensify advocacy efforts for the rights of protection claimants.

How do we provide Individual Assistance?

To address the gaps in the Unified Screening Mechanism, we provide individualised support and assistance to the most vulnerable people in need of protection to ensure their needs are met. To identify claimants in need of individualised assistance, we aim to assess every claimant who comes to our centre.

We seek to work with the Duty Lawyer Service, and duty lawyers themselves, to use our expertise to support these vulnerable claimants. Working with our in-house team and pro-bono legal partners, we assist claimants to tell their stories, a process that can take time for people who are traumatised; research country of origin information; and help arrange medical, psychological and/or other expert reports to support their claims and to ensure they have the best chance of a fair process.

Presently non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Hong Kong cannot provide direct legal representation to individual clients in Hong Kong law. As Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre, we represented clients before UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in the area of international law. However, we are presently unable to provide direct legal representation in the USM. All claimants in the USM will be assigned a duty lawyer, who will be paid by the Hong Kong Government to represent claimants in the USM.

In addition to providing legal information and support, we also campaign for fairer legislation and policies, produce reports and policy papers, conduct research and work with schools, universities and the media to fight root causes and change systems and minds. Visit our Policy and Advocacy page to learn about this work.

Since the introduction of the Unified Screening Mechanism (USM) at the beginning of March 2014 – the new government system for processing protection claims in Hong Kong – the pool of people we can potentially help has expanded to over 9,000, as we extend our services to ALL people seeking protection in Hong Kong.