SDG16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Photo Credit: Project Ha Giang 2019
Research
Bring peace and reconciliation to Hong Kong by amnesty
Our Centre for Comparative and Public Law (CCPL) released a preliminary discussion paper in December 2019, suggesting amnesty could play a key role in resolving the civil conflicts occurring in Hong Kong since 2019, which deteriorated the relationship between the government, police, protestors, and the Hong Kong society. Using previous cases of amnesty in Hong Kong and drawing on experiences from other countries, the discussion paper discussed on the rationale of using amnesty and how it could be designed and implemented within Hong Kong’s legal framework, which serves as a basis for further discussions in Hong Kong.
Key Data
Click on the icons to see the full list of courses/research.
2019-20
67
Courses
3,530
ResearchPapers
46
Students
enrolled
Engagement and Outreach
World University Peace Assembly
World University Peace Assembly (WUPA) is an international youth-run, non-governmental, non-profit initiative founded by HKU and the University of Edinburgh in 2020. WUPA promotes world peace by fostering cross-cultural interactions and promoting effective altruism among university students. During the COVID-19 pandemic, WUPA launched the Lockdown Lounge International Buddy Programme that pairs up university students from all nationalities using video conferencing tools for cross-cultural interactions and effective altruism.
Teaching, Learning and Students Activities
Courses and programmes
HKU promotes peace and justice through our study programmes and courses. Our Master of Laws in Human Rights Programme focuses on global human rights concern while drawing on other disciplines such as history, politics, philosophy, and sociology to ensure the law is understood in context. The Major in Criminology studies crime and social deviance and the impact on different social groups and communities. The common core course War, Peace, and the Natural World evaluates the impact of war and human conflicts on conservation biology and ecology.
World University Service, HKUSU
World University Service, HKUSU is the Hong Kong branch of World University Service, an NGO recognized by the United Nations. The student-run organisation strives to expand students’ worldviews especially on topics such as human rights, equal opportunity, current affairs, and cultural exchange. By organising awareness-raising and cultural immerse activities, WUSHKUSU aims to promote inclusive societies over the world.
Operations
University policies
HKU promotes peaceful and inclusive campus environment using arrays of policies:
-
Our Academic Freedom Policy defines the policy framework and complaints handling mechanism to protect academic freedom
-
Our Civility on Campus Policy upholds the freedom of expression and values such as honesty, integrity, decency, dignity, tolerance, respect, civility, and trust by setting definitions to behaviours that transgresses basic notions of civility, such as hate speech.
-
Our “Whistle-blowing” Policy promotes good governance and accountability in HKU. The policy encourages HKU staff and students, and members of the public to report illegality, irregularity, malpractice, unethical acts or behaviours, and inappropriate conduct or actions to the staff member who oversees the relevant matter or under its various procedures.