Suhakam has expressed hope that children will no longer be placed in immigration detention centres.
This comes after Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s announcement that children in immigration depots will soon be put under the care of NGOs specialising in child welfare.
“The decision is in line with Suhakam’s recommendation to the government to implement alternatives to detention (ATD) for children in immigration depots.
“Suhakam hopes that with the positive announcement, the enforcement authorities will ensure that children will never be placed in the immigration depots anymore,” said Suhakam chairperson Rahmat Mohamad in a statement today.
The children must also not be subjected to further trauma or harm during the transfer process from the detention centres to the NGOs, he added.
As a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, he said Malaysia has an obligation to ensure that it is a last resort to detain a child, particularly when they were detained with their parents or guardians due to immigration offences.
Suhakam has consistently raised the detention of children in immigration depots as it calls for authorities to ensure the welfare of children.
“Suhakam will continue to monitor the implementation of ATD and advocate for the rights and well-being of all children in Malaysia and hopes the government is consistent in upholding children’s well-being regardless of their immigration status,” Rahmat said.
‘Not related to raid’
On Feb 15, Saifuddin announced that his ministry will shift children detained at immigration depots to the care of NGOs.
The minister denied that the decision was related to a migrant settlement raid in Negeri Sembilan on Feb 1, as he had been in talks with NGOs earlier.
“The incident in (Negeri Sembilan) happened only a few days ago. My engagement with the agencies under my ministry and NGOs began as soon as I took office,” he said.
The raid resulted in 67 undocumented migrants being detained, including children as young as two months old, and other school-aged children who were being prepared for integration with the Indonesian national school system once they returned home permanently.
Indonesia’s National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) condemned the raid and recommended the Malaysian government intervene as soon as possible. - Mkini
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