香港法院拒绝给予难民工作权

Hong Kong's top court on Tuesday denied the city's refugees--some of who live in slum-like conditions--the right to work, disappointing activists who say the decision is likely to force more refugees into deeper poverty.

香港最高法院周二拒绝给予香港难民工作权。这一决定令活动人士感到失望，他们表示，此决定可能导致更多难民变得更加贫困；香港的一些难民生活在类似贫民窟的环境中。

The financial capital's treatment of refugees has come under fierce criticism in recent years. Until a court ruling last year, Hong Kong refused to handle many asylum requests, effectively outsourcing them to the local office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, which helped refugees find homes elsewhere. The city doesn't allow recognized refugees to permanently settle inside its borders, instead requiring them to seek homes overseas.

近年来，香港对待难民的方式受到猛烈抨击。在去年法院作出相关判决之前，香港一直拒绝受理许多避难申请，实际上相当于把这些申请推给了驻香港的联合国难民事务高级专员办事处(U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees)。该办事处帮助难民在其他地方寻找避难地。香港不允许被确定身份的难民在其境内永久定居，而是要求他们到境外寻找避难地。

That process of resettlement can take a decade or more, and in the meantime, many refugees and asylum-seekers live in squalid shacks dotting the city's periphery. Hong Kong technically allows refugees to work, but they must first seek approval from the immigration department, which rarely grants it, lawyers say. If they work without permission, they risk jail time.

这一重新安置过程可能耗时10年或更长时间。与此同时，许多难民和寻求避难的人都住在分散于香港周边的简陋棚屋中。律师说，从技术上讲，香港允许难民工作，但他们必须首先获得入境事务处的批准，但后者准许难民工作的情况十分罕见。如果难民在没有获准的情况下工作，他们可能被监禁。

On Tuesday, Cosmo Beatson of refugee-advocacy group Vision First lambasted the court's decision, calling it 'massively disappointing.' Other developed nations, he notes, such as the U.S., grant refugees the right to work.

周二，难民权益维护组织Vision First的Cosmo Beatson严厉批评了法院的决定，称该决定非常令人失望。他说，美国等其他发达国家都给予难民工作权。

'The right to work is a fundamental right,' he said. 'The fact that we've had refugees who've been recognized 10 years ago and still can't work is absolutely outrageous.'

他说，工作权是基本的权利。香港有10年前就被确认身份的难民，但仍无法工作。这样的情况让人震惊。

Advocates say allowing refugees to work would have a limited impact on society, given that there are currently only around 100 recognized claimants in the city.

维权人士说，鉴于目前香港只有大约100名被确认身份的难民提出工作申请，允许难民工作对社会的影响有限。

In its ruling, Hong Kong's court unanimously dismissed the appeal of four applicants identified in the judgment by their initials. The applicants hail from Burundi, Sri Lanka and Pakistan and all resided in Hong Kong for around a decade without the ability to work.

香港法院一致裁定驳回四名申请人的上诉。这四人的名字在判决中以首字母的方式出现。这些申请人来自布隆迪、斯里兰卡和巴基斯坦，且都是在没有工作权的情况下在香港居住了大约10年。

According to Daly & Associates, the law firm representing them, three of the four applicants are suffering from major depression or schizophrenia because of both the terrors they have suffered in the past and as a consequence of their uncertain status in Hong Kong.

代表这些申请人的律师事务所Daly & Associates说，四名申请人中有三人都出现严重的抑郁和精神分裂，诱因包括他们过去受到的恐吓以及他们在香港不确定的地位。

'This is not a case about 'immigrants' taking 'our jobs,'' said the firm's Mark Daly. 'It is a case about basic human dignity.'

该律所的戴利(Mark Daly)说：这无关于移民抢走我们工作机会的问题，这是关于人的基本尊严的问题。

Though three of the applicants can now work, Mr. Daly notes, they were given temporary permission, which expires this year, only after filing their latest appeal with the court.

戴利指出，虽然四名申请人中有三人目前可以工作，但他们只是在提出最新上诉后才获得了临时许可，而临时许可将在今年到期。

A spokesman for city's security bureau, meanwhile, said that it welcomed the court's judgment, adding that the government had 'been acting and will continue to act in accordance with the law in a fair and reasonable manner.'

与此同时，香港保安局发言人说，对法院判决表示欢迎，并补充说，政府一直在行动，并将继续根据法律采取公平合理的行动。