HumanTrafficking.org | Hong Kong SAR: Government Best Practices

A web resource for combating human trafficking

Hong Kong SAR

Hong Kong Best Practices

Prevention

Domestic

Governmental
Hong Kong maintains border and immigration control. There is inter-agency coordination among the police, immigration, customs, private industry, and the NGO community. The government distributes multi-lingual pamphlets in key public areas to inform foreign women of their worker rights. However, the government does not provide funding to foreign or domestic NGOs for services to victims of trafficking.¹

International

Governmental
Police from Australia, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom (and Canada) have worked together to uncover people smuggling rings.

Prosecution

Domestic

Governmental
Hong Kong has no specific anti-trafficking law, but related criminal ordinances are used to prosecute traffickers. From 2002-2003, there has been increased sharing of intelligence with friendly governments and more international cooperation on prosecutions. Although regularly published reports and general statistics are made available by law enforcement to keep the public informed, the government needs to take steps to keep better statistics on trafficking victims.²

Provisions in the Immigration Ordinance, the Crimes Ordinance, and other relevant laws enabled law enforcement authorities to take action against trafficking in persons. The courts can impose heavy fines and prison sentences for up to 14 years for such activities as arranging passage of unauthorized entrants into Hong Kong, assisting unauthorized entrants to remain, using or possessing a forged, false or unlawfully obtained travel document, and aiding and abetting any person to use such a document. The Security Bureau has policy responsibility for combating migrant trafficking and oversees the police, customs, and immigration departments, which are responsible for enforcing anti-trafficking laws. Law enforcement officials received specialized training on handling and protecting victims and vulnerable witnesses, including victims of trafficking.

Legal aid was available to those who chose to pursue legal proceedings against an employer, and immunity from prosecution was often made available to those who assisted in the investigation and prosecution of traffickers. An array of social services provided by the Social Welfare Department and local NGOs were available to victims of trafficking. The Government did not provide funding to foreign or domestic NGOs for services to victims. The Government's prevention efforts included providing pamphlets to workers about their rights; the pamphlets were widely distributed and were published in a wide range of languages.³

Protection

Domestic

Governmental
Trafficking victims have access to temporary lodging in women's refugee centers, basic necessities, medical services, and a victim support center. Women who provide testimony against their traffickers are granted immunity and allowed to return home without penalty. Foreign domestic helpers are given the same access to services as local workers in labor suits, such as free legal aid, against employers.⁴

International Conventions

Representatives from the Police, Immigration Department and Customs and Excise Department had participated in a number of overseas conferences and workshops, The following are examples:

The "Workshop on Operational Cooperation to Combat Irregular Migration, Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants" organized by the IOM and PRC Government
The "Regional Ministerial Conference on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime" co-hosted by the Government of Australia and Indonesia at Bali, Indonesia in February 2002
The "Expert Group on Law Enforcement, Policy and Legislation Planning Meeting" hosted by the Thai Government in Bangkok in June 2002
The "16th Seminar on Immigration Control" hosted by the Immigration Bureau, Ministry of Justice, Japan in November 2002
The "Law Enforcement & Travel Document Fraud Workshop" held at Shenzhen in November 2002.

Representatives from the Immigration Department attended the following conferences and workshops:

"Progress Review Meeting of the Ad-hoc Expert's Working Group II on Policy, Legislation and Law Enforcement of the Bali Ministerial Conference on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime" held in Tokyo, Japan in March 2003
The "9th Pacific Rim Immigration Intelligence Conference" hosted by the Government of Singapore
The "Introduction to the Basics of International Humanitarian Response" hosted by the United Nations at Nagoya, Japan
The "Open-Ended Working Group Meeting, Inter-governmental Asia-Pacific Consultations on Refugees, Displaced Persons and Migrants" hosted by the Australian Government in Brisbane, Australia in October 2003
The "Senior Criminal Justice Executive Program" organized by the US Department of Justice, US Department of Homeland Security and US Department of State at Bangkok, Thailand
The "Legislation workshop Ad Hoc Experts Group II-Bali Ministerial Conference on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime" hosted by the Government of Malaysia in Port Dickson, Malaysia in November 2003
The "17th Seminar on Immigration Control" hosted by the Ministry of Justice, Japan in Tokyo, Japan
The "8th Plenary Meeting, Inter-governmental Asia-Pacific Consultations on Refugees Displaced Persons and Migrants" hosted by the Australian Government in Sydney, Australia in December 2003.⁵