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ALETA MILLER

It has long been Hong Kong's shame that it is one of the only wealthy, developed jurisdictions in the world that does not offer long-term protection to people fleeing from human rights abuses.

Asylum is a human right. This is one of the fundamental messages at the heart of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly 65 years ago today.

With the announcement of a unified screening mechanism to process protection claims, the UN refugee agency's office in Hong Kong is preparing to hand over the determination of refugee status to the government. In this transition, the UNHCR has an obligation to be accountable to asylum seekers who have already undergone interviews and are awaiting a decision on their claim.

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