Amid a resurgence in the number of Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong, on 19 August a 37-year old Thai man detained at Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre (CIC) was reported to have tested positive for Covid-19. The Centre for Health Protection subsequently announced that it would test approximately 200 Immigration Department staff and 400 detainees. […]
Hong Kong (China): Covid-19 and Detention
Human rights lawyers and lawmakers have raised concerns about conditions in the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Detention Centre, saying they are worried about the risk of Covid-19 spreading among detainees. The Immigration Department nonetheless stated that the health and safety of staff and detainees is a prime concern and that appropriate measures have been put […]
Hong Kong (China): Covid-19 and Detention
Hong Kong (officially the Hong Kong Special Adminsitrative Region) began taking measures to contain and combat the COVID-19 pandemic in early February after thousands of medical workers undertook a week-long strike to demand the government close the border with China and provide workers with personal protective equipment, among others measures. From 25 March 2020, the […]
Last updated: March 2024
DETENTION STATISTICS
DETAINEE DATA
DETENTION CAPACITY
ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA
PRISON DATA
POPULATION DATA
SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS
LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
Detention-Related Legislation
Do Migration Detainees Have Constitutional Guarantees?
Yes/No
Constitution and articles
Adopted in
Last amendend
Yes
Cap. 383 Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance
Article 1: Entitlement to rights without distinction
Article 2: Right to life
Article 3: No torture or inhuman treatment and no experimentation without consent
Article 5: Liberty and security of person
Article 6: Rights of persons deprived of their liberty
1991
2017
Regulations, Standards, Guidelines
Name
Year Published
GROUNDS FOR DETENTION
Immigration-Status-Related Grounds
Non-Immigration-Status-Related Grounds in Immigration Legislation
Criminal Penalties for Immigration-Related Violations
Grounds for Criminal Immigration-Related Incarceration / Maximum Length of Incarceration
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COVID-19 DATA
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1997
1997
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Ratio: 9/19
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Committee against Torture
(c) Establish confidential complaints mechanisms in all places of detention to facilitate the submission of complaints by victims of torture and ill-treatment to the investigating body, including for obtaining medical evidence in support of their allegations, and to ensure in practice that complainants are protected against any reprisals as a consequence of their complaint or any evidence given
2016
2016
2016
Committee on the Rights of the Child
"82. The Committee notes as positive the decision of Hong Kong, China to grant asylum-seeking and refugee children access to the national public school system. However, it is concerned about the lack of special care and protection for asylum-seeking children upon their arrival and the administrative practice of detaining such children, as well as unaccompanied children arriving in Hong Kong, China by air and children who are refused entry, in juvenile detention facilities.[...] 84. The Committee recommends that Hong Kong, China: (a) Cease the administrative practice of detaining asylum-seeking and refugee children;"
2013
2013
2013
> UN Special Procedures
> UN Universal Periodic Review
Relevant Recommendations or Observations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
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Yes
“28.14 Consider ratifying the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and establishing a national human rights institution in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles) (Niger); Consider becoming a party to the International Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (Philippines); Encourage China to consider ratifying the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, including for the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions (Indonesia);”
2021
3rd
2018
> Global Compact for Migration (GCM)
> Global Compact on Refugees (GCR)
REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
HEALTH CARE PROVISION
HEALTH IMPACTS
COVID-19
Country Updates
Amid a resurgence in the number of Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong, on 19 August a 37-year old Thai man detained at Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre (CIC) was reported to have tested positive for Covid-19. The Centre for Health Protection subsequently announced that it would test approximately 200 Immigration Department staff and 400 detainees.
On 20 June, more than 20 detainees from India, Pakistan, and various African countries launched a hunger strike in protest over their indefinite detention at the facility. As of 25 August, some detainees remained on strike, after 58 days. At its peak, there were 28 participants in the hunger strike: four detainees have been released and two hospitalised. Upon release from hospital, one person reported being physically abused by detention centre staff. Of those participating in the action, some had been detained for nearly two years, and six had been detained for more than one year. The Immigration Department claimed that the hunger strikers were consuming other food despite their refusal to collect meals from the facility, and that it had been providing counselling for the detainees to discuss their situation. It also said that most of the hunger strikers had criminal records involving serious or violent crimes and were awaiting deportation. The Castle Peak Bay “Concern Group” reported that the hunger strikers had been placed in separate rooms for observation, but that they had not been provided with any medical assistance—in spite of some detainees’ pre-existing conditions. For example, one striker who has a tumor in his left arm has not been given access to the necessary drugs to improve his condition. More than 2,000 people have signed a petition organised by the CIC Concern Group to support the strikers’ action.
In addition to the indefinite detention detainees face at the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre, concerns have been raised regarding the deleterious hygiene and medical conditions in the facility. First raised by lawmakers and activists in May (see 12 May update on this platform), the inadequate conditions were again flagged in mid-August when the findings from a survey of 100 detainees, former detainees, and family members were published by the Concern Group. The survey found that 48.72 percent of interviewees thought that they did not have enough access to medical assistance, while 46.15 percent thought that CIC’s facilities were inadequate. Many raised issues such as insufficient dental hygiene products including toothpaste, a lack of hot water in the winter, and a lack of space to hang their laundry.
Responding to concerns regarding detention conditions during the pandemic, the government has detailed the measures that it has taken to prevent and control the virus inside the facility: “All detainees on admission to CIC are required to undergo a medical examination conducted by a duty medical officer to ensure that their health condition is normal and to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases to other detainees. For detainees arriving in Hong Kong from the Mainland or overseas countries within 14 days before admission to CIC, they will be subject to a 14-day quarantine and medical surveillance at a designated area of CIC, during which they will not have any contact with other detainees. In addition, all detainees newly admitted to CIC are required to undergo the COVID-19 viral test. Each detainee will be provided with a surgical mask and have body temperature taken every day.”
Human rights lawyers and lawmakers have raised concerns about conditions in the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Detention Centre, saying they are worried about the risk of Covid-19 spreading among detainees. The Immigration Department nonetheless stated that the health and safety of staff and detainees is a prime concern and that appropriate measures have been put in place to avoid contamination. In addition, a spokesman for the Department of Health said that if detainees “show any symptoms of Covid-19, they will be sent to public hospitals.” Opened in 2005, the Castle Peak Bay (CPB) facility has a total capacity of around 400 places, although it is not known how many people are currently detained there. Most detainees are from Vietnam, Central America, South America, India, and Pakistan. Men and women are held on different floors in the facility.
Concerns were voiced following reports of “rats in the premises, malfunctioning toilets, a lack of bleach for disinfection, no access or insufficient access to soap and hand sanitisers.” Karen McClellan, a lawyer at Daly & Associates, said that they were very concerned about Covid-19 spreading in immigration detention centres: “This is an area that we’re very concerned is falling through the cracks, putting an already vulnerable group even more at risk.”
Dr. Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, a Hong Kong politician, also raised concerns about hygiene after visiting the centre on 12 March. He was shocked to see detainees in a day room using ladles to scoop water from a plastic bucket to drink. He also observed that detainees spent most of their time in day rooms the size of a regular classroom, with around 40 to 60 people in each room.
The Immigration Department stated that cleaning and disinfection had been stepped up at the centre since the outbreak of the disease. New arrivals with recent travel history outside Hong Kong have reportedly been segregated and observed and the centre has been collecting saliva samples for Covid-19 tests, but the Department did not mention when this began or how many detainees have been tested for now."
In the past, many NGOs have criticised conditions at Hong Kong's two detention facilities, including abuses by security guards and lack of food and unsanitary conditions. Multiple incidents of mistreatment have previously been reported at CPB. In 2019, Yuli Riswati, an Indonesian migrant domestic worker and journalist, was deported from Hong Kong to Indonesia after reporting on the 2019 anti-extradition law protests. Before she was deported, Yuli was detained for 28 days. While in detention, Yuli was subject to a strip-search by male doctors (despite being Muslim) and was declined adequate medical treatment despite suffering from vomiting and flu. This resulted in her physical deterioration and psychological depression.
Hong Kong (officially the Hong Kong Special Adminsitrative Region) began taking measures to contain and combat the COVID-19 pandemic in early February after thousands of medical workers undertook a week-long strike to demand the government close the border with China and provide workers with personal protective equipment, among others measures. From 25 March 2020, the government began to deny entry to all non-Hong Kong residents coming from overseas countries and regions by plane. Any non-Hong Kong residents coming from China, Macao and/or Taiwan (Province of China) also began to be denied entry to Hong Kong if they had been to any overseas countries and regions in the last 14 days. The government began to deny entry to all visitors from Hubei province, and any non-Hong Kong residents who have visited Hubei province in the last 14 days, to Hong Kong, from 27 January 2020 onwards.
There do not appear to have been changes in immigration detention policies in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Adella Namagembe, the chairperson of Refugee Union (the city’s first union run by and for refugees and migrants), told the Global Detention Project (GDP) that asylum seekers continue to be detained in immigration detention centres. Detainees are being tested for COVID-19 and are given surgical masks, hand sanitizer, handwashing soap, and toilet cleaning products.
The Hong Kong government has issued a Red Outbound Travel Alert (OTA) on all overseas countries/territories based on public health considerations in view of the health risks arising from the persistent and rapid increase in the number of COVID-19 cases globally. Namagembe told the GDP that deportations do not appear to be taking place.
Refugees, who are officially referred to as “non-refoulement claimants” due to the lack of a refugee policy, are given food vouchers worth HKD40 (approximately 5.15USD) and a housing allowance of HK1500 (approximately 190USD)––levels of assistance which have not been adjusted with inflation since 2014. On 26 February 2020, the Refugee Union issued a letter to the Social Welfare Department, requesting increases in housing, utilities, transport allowance, allowances and providing a clothing allowance. It also asked for the allocation of a food allowance in cash rather than through vouchers (which are only valid for one chain of supermarket in Hong Kong and which are often disregarded by supermarket staff) and for the government to lift its restrictions on what items can be purchased. Namagembe said: “Generally, we need more financial support due to the fact that we are not allowed to work, everything currently is expensive due to the COVID-19 breakout. The consumption is high because kids are at home all the time. Even adults needs to maintain their health by having a balanced diet.”
On 19 March, the Social Welfare Department replied that it had shared notices and guidelines about the health advice and preventive measures of COVID-19 issued by the Centre for Health Protection to ISS-HK, including some that had been translated into ethnic minority languages. It stated: “Upon receipt of donation of face masks and sanitising items from individuals or private organizations, if any, SWD/ISS-HK will assist to distribute these items to the needy bodies including NRCs according to the wishes of donors.” It also stated: “the Government has to emphasize that the provision of humanitarian assistance aims to ensure that claimants will not become destitute during their presence in Hong Kong, and thus the level of assistance is to meet their basic needs so as to avoid any magnet effect which may have serious implications on the long-term sustainability of such assistance and the immigration of Hong Kong.” Refugees have continued to lodge personal complaint letters, indicating the urgent need for government support to meet their basic needs, but to date have not received positive responses.
Asylum seekers are asked to report to the Immigration Department regularly. Namagembe said that the Immigration Department had lengthened the period between reporting obligations as a result of the outbreak: “Currently, all of them [asylum seekers] report to immigration on the same date every 6 weeks.” She said that the Immigration Department is checking the temperature of asylum seekers when they report.
Migrant domestic workers have been excluded from many of the government’s virus containment policies. In Hong Kong, there is a mandatory live-in requirement for migrant domestic workers. In January, the Labour Department (LD) came under fire after it issued a public notice encouraging domestic workers “to stay home on their rest day in order to safeguard their personal health and to reduce the risk of the spread of the novel coronavirus in the community.” The organization Mission for Migrant Workers (MFMW) stated that workers had subsequently been forced to stay at home on their rest days by their employers, and even asked to resign if they did not do so.
According to a recent study by MFMW and Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, 40 percent of 1,127 migrant domestic workers surveyed in March 2020 said that their labour rights had been curtailed during the outbreak. This included not being given masks or sanitizer or being forced to work excessive hours. Some workers have noted that, as a result of the government’s quarantine policies, they are also being deprived of the ability to take their annual leave (7 to 14 days), given that the compulsory quarantine period imposed by the government is 14 days. In addition, migrant workers have raised concerned about employers who return home from overseas who are subsequently required to undergo a 14-day quarantine period. The Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions has criticised the government for its lack of clear quarantine guidelines for workers and employers, including its lack of guidance on what to do if workers encounter inadequate accommodation or unlawful dismissal in relation to quarantine policies.
The Immigration Department has announced a “flexibility arrangement” for migrant domestic workers. The Commissioner for Labour has given in-principle consent for all migrant domestic worker contracts that will expire on or before 31 March 2020, to be extended up till 31 May 2020, provided that such variation is mutually agreed by both the employer and the worker and approved by the Director of Immigration. They have also given further in-principle consent for all migrant domestic worker contracts that will expire on or before 30 June 2020, to extend the period of employment up to July 31, 2020, on the same terms.
Government Agencies
Correctional Services Department, http://www.csd.gov.hk/english/home/home.html
Department of Justice, http://www.doj.gov.hk/eng/laws/
Immigration Department, http://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/index.html
Security Bureau, http://www.sb.gov.hk/eng/about/welcome.htm
International Organisations
International Labour Organization: Office for China and Mongolia, https://www.ilo.org/
UNHCR Hong Kong Office, http://www.unhcr.org.hk
IOM - https://www.iom.int/
NGO & Research Institutions
CARITAS-Hong Kong (Social Work Services Division), www.caritas.org.hk/swsd
Community Legal Information Centre (CLIC), http://www.hkclic.org/en
Hong Kong Legal Information Institute, http://www.hklii.org/
Society for Community Organization, https://soco.org.hk/en/
