Tag: community

Call for Application: Pathways to Harm Reduction Drug Policy in Hong Kong and East & Southeast Asia: Principles, Process and Practices Annual Training 2023

Posted on by crimctr in Event promotion, New Events, Uncategorized, Updates
Pathways to Harm Reduction Drug Policy in Hong Kong and East & Southeast Asia: Principles, Process and Practices Annual Training 2023
  
The training will be held online via ZOOM from November 20-22, 2023. 
  
Apply by October 13, 2023 
  
The training will focus on the connections between harm reduction, public health, and drug policy as well as the gap between these principles and practice in the implementation of drug policies in Asia. The training will familiarize participants with the international drug control system, regional trends in drug markets (supply, transit and demand), and comparative case studies of alternative approaches to managing drug use in society as a health and social concern. The course will also look at priority areas and emerging challenges within the region, including death penalty and punitive sentencing policies, imprisonment of foreign nationals, women’s incarceration and impact of COVID-19. It is hoped that the training can provide insights on how participants may adopt measures to bring enforcement activities and domestic law in line with human rights obligations and explore pragmatic approaches that mitigate the adverse health and social consequences of both drug use and overly punitive drug policies.  
  
Course Content: 
  • Current Drug Trends, International Drug Control System & Impacts in Asia-Pacific 
  • Drug Policy and Health
  • Death Penalty and Drug Offenses 
  • The Economics of Drug Markets and Drug Policies 
  • Long Term Imprisonment of Foreign Nationals for Drug Trafficking 
  • Women’s Incarceration for Drug Related Offenses 
Who should apply? 
  • Government staff working on drug policy and health 
  • Individuals from civil society working in public health, human rights, development, journalism, law, public policy, etc. with an interest in drug policy 
  • Researchers and junior faculty 
While priority is given to those working on drug policy, no prior knowledge of human rights or drug policy is required to apply. 
 
Eligible Regions: 
Individuals from countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia are encouraged to apply.  
 
Application Guidelines: 
Complete the application form and send to Ms. Leona Li/Velda Chui at rifhrhub@hku.hk along with a curriculum vitae. On the last page of the application, you should provide a personal statement that answers why the training is relevant to your current activities and what you expect to get out of the training. The program representative will provide confirmation of receiving your application within 3 working days and application results approximately within a month by email. 

Call for Application: Pathways to Harm Reduction Drug Policy in Hong Kong and East & Southeast Asia: Principles, Process and Practices Annual Training 2022

Posted on by crimctr in Event promotion, New Events, Uncategorized, Updates
Pathways to Harm Reduction Drug Policy in Hong Kong and East & Southeast Asia: Principles, Process and Practices Annual Training 2022 
  
The training will be held online via ZOOM from November 7-9, 2022. 
  
Apply by September 15, 2022 
  
The training will focus on the connections between harm reduction, public health, and drug policy as well as the gap between these principles and practice in the implementation of drug policies in Asia. The training will familiarize participants with the international drug control system, regional trends in drug markets (supply, transit and demand), and comparative case studies of alternative approaches to managing drug use in society as a health and social concern. The course will also look at priority areas and emerging challenges within the region, including death penalty and punitive sentencing policies, imprisonment of foreign nationals, women’s incarceration and impact of COVID-19. It is hoped that the training can provide insights on how participants may adopt measures to bring enforcement activities and domestic law in line with human rights obligations and explore pragmatic approaches that mitigate the adverse health and social consequences of both drug use and overly punitive drug policies.  
  
Course Content: 
  • Current Drug Trends, International Drug Control System & Impacts in Asia-Pacific 
  • Public Health and Drug Policy 
  • Death Penalty and Drug Offenses 
  • The Economics of Drug Markets and Drug Policies 
  • Long Term Imprisonment of Foreign Nationals for Drug Trafficking 
  • Women’s Incarceration for Drug Related Offenses 
Who should apply? 
  • Government staff working on drug policy and health 
  • Individuals from civil society working in public health, human rights, development, journalism, law, public policy, etc. with an interest in drug policy 
  • Researchers and junior faculty 
While priority is given to those working on drug policy, no prior knowledge of human rights or drug policy is required to apply. 
 
Eligible Regions: 
Individuals from countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia are encouraged to apply.  
 
Application Guidelines: 
Complete the application form and send to Ms. Leona Li/Velda Chui at rifhrhub@hku.hk along with a curriculum vitae. On the last page of the application, you should provide a personal statement that answers why the training is relevant to your current activities and what you expect to get out of the training. The program representative will provide confirmation of receiving your application within 3 working days and application results approximately within a month by email. 

Research Project Introduction: Immigration Detention in Hong Kong

Posted on by crimctr in Research, Uncategorized, Updates

The project began in July 2020 and will run through June 2023. This will be the first detailed study of immigration detention in Hong Kong, and will add significantly to comparative analysis of immigration detention in East Asia.

The team, Prof. Surabhi Chopra, Raquel Amador and Chloe Fung from the Faculty of Law, Chinese University of Hong Kong, examines the functioning and effects of immigration detention law, policy and practice, with a focus on survivors of torture, victims of human trafficking, and low-income migrant workers.

Based upon their findings, they develop actionable, evidence-based guidelines for improving the system.

This project is funded by the Research Impact Fund of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council, which operates under the University Grants Committee (UGC).

For more information, see Immigration Detention in Hong Kong.

Appointment of New Associate Director

Posted on by crimctr in Fellow's Update, Updates

The Centre for Criminology (the “Centre”) is pleased to announce that Dr. Julie Ham (“Dr. Ham”) has been appointed as an Associate Director of the Centre with effect from 1st September 2021.

Dr. Ham’s research is grounded in ongoing engagement with community-based organizations and international networks working for migrant rights, sex worker rights and social change. She has published on domestic work, sex work, anti-trafficking, gender and migration, feminist participatory action research, and activist efforts by trafficking survivors, sex workers and domestic workers. Prior to joining the Department of Sociology, Julie worked with the Border Crossing Observatory (Monash University), the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW) and with community-based research projects and organizations in Canada, working with sex workers, immigrant and refugee communities, women substance users, low-income urban communities, and anti-violence organisations.

Her recent research explores knowledge production and cultural production by migrants in Hong Kong through participatory and visual methodologies. For more information, see Mobile Methodologies and Migrant Knowledges.

Event promotion: Refugee Protection in Hong Kong Today Online Talk

Posted on by crimctr in Event promotion, New Events

Online Talk: Refugee Protection in Hong Kong Today 

Speaker: Surabhi Chopra
Raquel Amadopr
Chloe Fung
Date: 2021.03.31 (Wed)
Time: 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Venue: Online (zoom session details will be given after registration).
Language: English

Abstract:
This talk will focus on people seeking asylum / refugees in present-day Hong Kong. We will discuss the forces that drive people to seek asylum in Hong Kong and the circumstances in which they live here.

China has not extended the 1951 Refugee Convention to Hong Kong, which means that the government is not bound by this international treaty to recognize and protect the rights of refugees. However, Hong Kong is a party to the United Nations Convention against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Thus, the Hong Kong government is obligated under these treaties to protect people in Hong Kong – regardless of their formal residence status – from torture, refoulement, persecution, ill-treatment or arbitrary deprivation of life. These obligations have prompted the establishment of an official system to evaluate whether individuals would face these risks if returned to their countries of origin.

If someone’s claim for protection from forcible return to their country is found to be valid, and they are recognised as a refugee (who the government labels as a ‘substantiated non-refoulement claimant’), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees works to re-settle them in a third country. This process can take many years. In the meantime, families seeking asylum navigate many challenges accessing education, employment, availing social services, and making ends meet financially in Hong Kong.

In our talk, we will examine the governmental and United Nations mechanisms in relation to refugees in Hong Kong. We will also discuss the socio-economic realities of being an asylum applicant in Hong Kong. We will highlight civil society advocacy in Hong Kong, including advocacy by refugees themselves, to recognise and respect the rights of refugees. Finally, we will outline areas for future reform.

Speakers:
The talk will be held by the research team of the project Immigration Detention and Vulnerable Migrants in Hong Kong: Evaluating the System, Facilitating Reform (funded by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council). Surabhi Chopra is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, CUHK specialising in human rights. Raquel Amador is a researcher, lawyer and civil society advocate specialising in migrants’ rights. Chloe Fung is a researcher with a particular interest in data analysis and visualisation to advance rights protection and transparency.

Registration: https://www.lib.cuhk.edu.hk/en/node/2517