The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government today (June 26) announced that it has officially joined the South East Asia Justice Network (SEAJust) recently and become one of its members. SEAJust was established in 2020 with the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. It is an informal platform to facilitate co-operation in criminal matters among member jurisdictions with the target to promote international co-operation and intelligence sharing in the combat against all forms of serious and organised crime.
"The HKSAR Government is committed to playing a full and proactive role in international law enforcement co-operation. We have an ongoing initiative to establish and expand legal co-operation with other jurisdictions. As a premier international financial centre, Hong Kong shares close trade and economic ties with other places across the globe, including various members of SEAJust. The Department of Justice and the Hong Kong Police Force have been sparing no effort in participating in international co-operation and have also been a responsible member of the community in the combat of cross-border crimes," a spokesman for the Government said.
"We resonate strongly with SEAJust's aim, and also believe that the SEAJust network will be able to complement conventional ways of contact among jurisdictions, thereby increasing the efficiency and reducing the time taken for international co-operation," the spokesman added.
In addition to the HKSAR, Mainland China and the Macao Special Administrative Region have also joined SEAJust. "We are very excited to join SEAJust with the motherland and the Macao Special Administrative Region, and we look forward to contributing to the joint efforts of the three places in combating cross-border crimes," the spokesman said.
SEAJust currently has 21 members. In addition to China; Hong Kong, China; and Macao, China which are new members, it also includes Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, France, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Romania, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Timor-Leste, the United States and Vietnam. The website of SEAJust is: www.unodc.org/roseap/en/SEAJust/index.html
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