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Who We Are

Since 2007, Justice Centre has worked within the Hong Kong community for a more fair and just society – a society in which even the most marginalised can access justice.

We are innovators unafraid of change; we have a clear vision of what it takes to make our society more just, and we’re working daily with local partners to realise it.

Working for a fairer society

We envision Hong Kong as a fair and inclusive society where even the most marginalised enjoy fundamental rights and access to justice. We want a Hong Kong in which vulnerable communities are heard, regardless of whether they are women, children, refugees, asylum-seekers, members of the LGBTQI+ community, or racial and ethnic minorities. 

Everyone in Hong Kong should feel they are equal, and we’re partnering with community members across Hong Kong to provide direct assistance, use research and raise awareness to protect their rights.

Supporting the most marginalised

The communities we partner with and advocate on behalf of include those in Hong Kong who are too often overlooked, often facing disproportionate threats to their rights. Many of them are women, children, and/or racial and ethnic minorities.

  • Asylum seekers,
  • Refugees,
  • Victims of torture,
  • Victims of human trafficking,
  • Victims of forced labour.

Leadership

Portrait of Melanie McLaren

Melanie McLaren

Executive Director

Melanie has been at Justice Centre since 2015 and is responsible for Justice Centre’s fundraising strategy as well as running the Hong Kong Human Rights Arts Prize.
bio
Portrait of Melanie McLaren

Melanie McLaren

Executive Director

Life at JC

  • Overall responsibility for Justice Centre’s work to challenge inequality, and ensuring this work is sustainable, including through innovative platforms such as the Hong Kong Human Rights Arts Prize, which brings difficult conversations to a more accessible forum

Life Pre-JC

  • Over 10 years in management, finance and fundraising, including bringing a human rights focus by looking at sustainability of investments and sitting on the steering committee of a multi-year Asia-wide project to challenge modern slavery
  • Previous role before joining Justice Centre in 2015 was as COO of Asia-Pacific Fundraising for Macquarie Group’s investment funds.

Life Beyond JC

  • Studying for a Masters in International Development with SOAS, University of London. What little time is left is spent cooking (and eating!) and spending as much time outdoors and hiking as possible
[email protected]
See Full Bio
Portrait of Jessica Chan

Jessica Chan

Finance and Operations Manager

Jessica acquired her accountancy qualifications in Hong Kong and became a CPA in 2011. She has worked in different sizes enterprises, from SMEs to larger corporates such as BNP Paribas and Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
bio
Portrait of Jessica Chan

Jessica Chan

Finance and Operations Manager

Life at JC

  • Making sure the financial operation of JC runs smoothly and effectively by providing transparency. I also aim to be available and to provide any support I could in all forms of operations and I’m a proud working mom!

Life Pre-JC

  • Certified Public Accountant, worked at various corporates such as BNP Paribas and Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

Life Outside JC

  • Movie lover; Animal lover
[email protected]
See Full Bio
Portrait of Isaac Shaffer

Isaac Shaffer

Head of Legal Services

Isaac Shaffer is a UK qualified lawyer with over a decade’s experience of directly representing asylum seekers and refugees before Courts and Tribunals.
bio
Portrait of Isaac Shaffer

Isaac Shaffer

Head of Legal Services

Life at JC

  • Responsible for supervising and managing Justice Centre’s legal work, and particularly the organizations support of strategic litigation to help improve the rights and protections in HK.

Life Pre-JC

  • Over 10 years working as a lawyer on public interest and human rights litigation.

Life Outside JC

  • Reading as much as I can and listening to as much music as possible.  Walking and running. Learning about wildlife and plants.
[email protected]
See Full Bio
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Partnering with communities

We work in community across Hong Kong, challenging inequality with the ultimate aim of benefitting all Hong Kongers.

➀

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.

We work together with the communities we serve to ensure we are progressing towards securing what they need most.

➁

By providing direct assistance, we help the most vulnerable begin to heal by working towards ensuring fair laws and policies are in place to make sure those violations don’t happen again.

➂

When community members’ rights and personal wellbeing are under threat, we assist with asylum claims, raise awareness of unfair treatment and ensure that others don’t someday face the same mistreatment.

An Expanded vision

Justice Centre began its work back in 2007, when it was founded as the Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre. More than a decade later, we’ve helped thousands of our community members forge a new path, working to protect their rights and giving them a fresh start. 

As time went on, we realised we needed to expand our scope of work to address the vital need for research and awareness raising to enact long-term change, as well as broadening our target beneficiaries to include anti-forced labour and human trafficking work in Hong Kong. This led us to rename the organisation, labelling ourselves Justice Centre Hong Kong. Today, we help hundreds of people annually through our direct services. 

Our research and awareness raising work helps widen the support we can offer, moving beyond individual clients to providing suggestions and campaigns that strengthen the rule of law in Hong Kong and serve to protect many others.

You can help!

Justice Centre receives no Hong Kong government funding. That means that, in order to be able to push for a more just Hong Kong, we’re reliant upon the support of people like you.

We also utilise a pro-bono working model that brings international law firms and financial institutions in as partners to provide financial assistance and donate working hours that help with legal research and support. In addition to donations from those who’ve partnered with us to protect the most vulnerable, we also harness funding from a variety of trusts and foundations.

Learn more about how you can support our work to ensure that we continue to help thousands more moving forward.

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Staff

Find information about everyone part of Justice Centre Hong Kong and involved in making what we do possible every day.
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We seek out the best partners to guide our decisions. Discover our board members and partners.
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Annual Reports

Find all our reports online and different audited accounts available to the public.
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How to find us

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Office Location

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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