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The screening of torture claims has resumed following an agreement reached between the Government and the Duty Lawyer Service last week on the administrative arrangements of a pilot scheme of publicly-funded legal assistance to torture claimants.
ˇ§As at December 24, there were about 6,350 claims made under the Convention against Torture pending screening. The Government endeavours to ensure a fair and effective mechanism for screening torture claims. The new screening mechanism entails a number of enhancement measures, including the provision of publicly-funded legal assistance to claimants and the appointment of adjudicators with a legal professional background to handle appeals,ˇ¨ a Government spokesman said today (December 29).
The spokesman said, ˇ§Over 220 legal professionals have been recognised by the Duty Lawyer Service as qualified to join the pilot scheme after having received relevant training in mid-December. We believe the number of duty lawyers is sufficient for providing legal assistance to claimants at this stage.ˇ¨
After the Immigration (Amendment) Ordinance 2009 came into effect on November 14, law enforcement agencies have conducted a large number of operations against illegal employment. Under the new legislation, persons taking up illegal employment as well as their employers are liable to prosecution and criminal sanction. The Government will continue to publicise the new legislation through various channels.
Within one month of the commencement of the legislation, about 270 torture claimants have withdrawn their claims.
Ends/Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Issued at HKT 21:10
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