Children whose parents sheltered Edward Snowden ‘singled out’, claims lawyer, after Hong Kong Immigration Department rejects asylum claim
Canadian barrister argues most provisions of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child exist in other forms in local legislation
Three children whose parents sheltered American whistle-blower Edward Snowden in 2013 were denied asylum claims by the Immigration Department, a lawyer revealed on Monday – despite the city’s efforts to honour an international convention to protect children.
The new claims, raised under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, were filed between the end of July and early August.
In late September, “we received notices from the department saying these children had no rights under the UN convention, citing [an earlier] court case. The Immigration Department refused to screen these cases, saying that Hong Kong does not have to follow the convention,” lawyer Robert Tibbo said.
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The three children were born in Hong Kong and are stateless.
Tibbo said he pointed out to the director of immigration that the city had signed the convention.
“But the director of immigration takes the view that because Hong Kong has not incorporated the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into the domestic law they don’t have to follow it,” he said.
The Canadian barrister argued that most provisions of the convention already exist in other forms in local legislation and that it should apply to Hong Kong.
A spokesman for the Immigration Department said the department had already screened the children.
“They are found not to have a real and personal risk of being subjected to torture ... or persecution if removed,” he said.
He also noted that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child “has not been domesticated into local law in Hong Kong.”
The group that sheltered Snowden, the former US National Security Agency and CIA contractor, in Hong Kong after he fled the US and leaked confidential documents, included: Ajith Pushpakumara, a former soldier from Sri Lanka; Supun Thilina Kellapatha, his wife Nadeeka Dilrukshi Nonis – both from Sri Lanka – and their two children; and Vanessa Mae Rodel from the Philippines, who has a five-year-old daughter, Keana.
Hong Kong does not grant asylum, because it is not a signatory to the UN refugee convention. But the government is obliged to screen torture and persecution claims.
He said that from August until last week 22 other asylum cases he was working on, which had been in limbo for years, were reactivated, with the Immigration Department requesting screening interviews and additional documents.
But the department’s spokesman rejected the claim of a singling-out.
He said: “Mr Tibbo’s accusation is entirely false. As a matter of fact, screening of many of the cases assigned to him has commenced since 2012, and remains pending due to his unavailability – many times for his personal reasons, such as overseas travel.”
