PETALING JAYA: A group representing lawyers has asked the government to honour an international convention by admitting stateless children in government schools.
The lawyers said it was inhumane to deprive these innocent children of a decent education.
Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) said Malaysia, having ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), should recognise the right of children to give equal access to education despite their status.
It said insisting that these children produce passports before enrolling looked absurd as their classification as stateless was caused by circumstances beyond their control.
“We attribute this to the lack of a clear policy by the federal government, resulting in state authorities imposing additional requirements for enrolment.
“As stateless persons are unable to acquire valid identification documents, this will effectively deprive these children of access to education,” LFL coordinator Zaid Malek said in a statement.
He reminded the government to bear in mind at all times its obligation under Article 3 of the CRC that states that the best interests of the child, including those who are stateless, must be the primary consideration.
“The importance of education is undeniable, and any consideration of their best interests would of course include the opportunity to receive the necessary education.”
Zaid said depriving any child of this right is inhumane, adding that this was especially so for stateless children as they would be further disenfranchised and unable to acquire any semblance of a secure future.
“We thus urge the government to honour its obligations under the CRC by immediately streamlining and clarifying its policy in order to accord equal access to education to stateless children and ensure its compliance in all states.
“We must give stateless children a fighting chance to survive or even thrive and not cause them any further undue hardship,” he said. - FMT
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