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Sri Lankans at the top of the asylum queue in Hong Kong
Sri Lanka has earned the dubious distinction of topping the tally for the biggest number of asylum claimants in Hong Kong last year.
Latest data from the Immigration Department show there were 14 Sri Lankan claimants among a total of 42 last year.
And claims of 303 Sri Lankans are outstanding as of end 2015.
A spokesperson from the department said on Friday, the 14 Sri Lankans were those whose claims have been accepted, following screening.
These 14 Sri Lankans whose claims had been substantiated, were however, among 7,920 people from many countries who filed for protection against deportation, or torture or both.
Unlike in Australia, claimants are not detained in Hong Kong.
They also receive food and lodging assistance from the Social Welfare Department through an NGO of HK$3,200 per month (Rs 59,121) per person. In 2014-2015, help given to 7,357 applicants cost the Hong Kong Government HK$246 million (Rs 4.54 billion).
Asylum applicants are people seeking international non-refoulement protection but whose claims for refugee status are not yet determined.
At the end of December last year, there were 10,922 outstanding non-refoulement claims, immigration data show. Of this total, 7,911 were men, mostly young.
The biggest number of outstanding claims, or 2,324, were from Vietnamese, and Indians at 2,093. Pakistanis ranked third at 1,934, while 1,345 Bangladeshis are also in the queue.
Hong Kong, for long has been a magnet for male and female Sri Lankans of various backgrounds and ethnicities, including fugitives fleeing justice.
There have also been dubious claimants who land on Hong Kong’s shores, seek asylum and when that fails, seek to prolong their stay by filing for protection under the UN Convention Against Torture.
Some overstay their visas and when arrested for the offense use the ploy of seeking asylum to remain in Hong Kong.
The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment applies to Hong Kong.
Article 3 stipulates that “no State Party shall expel, return (‘refouler’) or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.”
Asylum and other cases including fraudulent passports have diluted the respect for the Sri Lankan passport in Hong Kong in particular.
Visas are a must to land in Hong Kong even for transit passengers. But 15-20 years ago, Sri Lankan passport holders were granted 90-days visa on arrival.
Genuine visitors are now viewed with suspicion, questioned by immigration officers for hours, and recorded on video as they disembark from planes on to the arrival hall.
Just a year ago when an employee of Sri Lankan Airlines arrived to assume duties, he was pulled aside and questioned before being allowed to set foot in the city.
Anyone refused entry can be removed under the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115).
According to the latest data on asylum applicants, the second highest number of accepted claimants was from Jordan (8), while Africans from Congo, Cameroon, and Rwanda ranked third with 4 each.
There were 2 each from Pakistan and Egypt.
There were also 2 Sudanese, 1 Guinean, and 1 Somali. They all add up to 42 accepted claimants, who have sought protection.
Hong Kong is not a signatory of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
As a result, illegal immigrants seeking non-refoulement in Hong Kong are not treated as “asylum seekers” or “refugees”. There is a policy of not granting asylum.
Any illegal immigrant who claims to face risks of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment or persecution in the country of origin is vetted under a screening process launched in March 2014.
Screening, including interviews could take six months or more. Hong Kong Government data show that the average duration of stay of non-refoulement claimants in Hong Kong was 2.7 years, from the time a claim is filed and until a decision is made by the Immigration Department.
For each claimant, the government estimates it spends HK$30,000 (Rs 554,270) per claim on legal assistance of an average of 57 hours.
A benchmark ruling on claims for non-refoulement in Hong Kong involved Sri Lankan Tamil, Sakthevel Prabakar, in June 2004.
In that ruling the Court of Final Appeal made clear that, to a potential deportee who has filed a torture claim, his life and limb are in jeopardy and his fundamental human right not to be subjected to torture is involved.
Accordingly, the Government must determine his claim independently and properly in a way that meets the high standards of fairness.