LETTER | Madani govt still detaining children

LETTER | Once again Malaysia has violated the Child Rights Convention by detaining children during an immigration raid in Cheras on Friday night.

According to news reports, children as young as eight years old were among the 425 migrant nationals held.

We were also informed of another raid on July 31 at the Life Assembly Church in Seremban, where at least 26 Chin refugees were arrested and are currently held at the Lenggeng immigration detention centre.

Firstly, children cannot be held in detention simply because of their parents’ “irregular” immigration status.

This is also an infringement of the Asean Declaration on the Rights of the Child in the context of migration as it violates their civil liberties and takes a whack at their mental well-being.

And we are worse off than our neighbours, Thailand and Indonesia, who have been releasing children into community care and alternatives to detention (ATD).

Malaysia has also failed to uphold its pledge to implement policies and legislation to protect the rights of the most vulnerable communities when applying for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council as this includes refugees, migrant workers, and children.

We wish to remind the government that on Feb 16, 2023, our home minister pledged to move the children detained at the immigration detention depot soon and place them under the care of NGOs that specialise in the welfare of children.

Not only have no children been moved out of detention centres, yet, we are now putting more children in.

The lack of documents and work visas are administrative offences, which are also due to unscrupulous labour agents and employers.

Notwithstanding that the lack of documents and work visas are offences, the government should also look into arresting unscrupulous labour agents and employers.

Instead of providing solutions, the Malaysian government re-victimises migrant workers through detention and deportation.

This further impacts their livelihood as they won’t be able to recover pending wages or honour the huge loans back home.

Just like crossing borders for gainful employment isn’t a crime, so is seeking asylum.

We are unable to determine if the refugees detained have their UNHCR cards. As such, the UN body must be allowed access to the detainees so that political asylum seekers can be identified and registered with UNHCR Malaysia.

Raids on housing areas should not happen, especially in the middle of the night as these raids continue to traumatise innocent people. This action should be condemned and put to end immediately as this is a clear violation of human rights.

We also call for the release of all children immediately, especially since the government has made many empty promises to do so and a moratorium on immigration raids under proper mechanisms can be put in place to stop the labour recruitment process, which renders migrants undocumented.

And we ask that all detainees are allowed access to legal representation.

List of endorsements:

1. Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor

2. Beyond Borders Malaysia

3. North South Initiative

4. Tenaganita

5. Refugee Emergency Fund (REF)

6. ALTSEAN-Burma, Bangkok

7. Pergerakan Tenaga Akademik Malaysia (Gerak)

8. Aliran

9. Asia Justice and Rights (Ajar), Jakarta

10. Myanmar Ethnic Organisation

11. Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ)

12. Pertubuhan Pembangunan Kebajikan dan Persekitaran Positif Malaysia (Seed)

13. Monsters Among Us (MAU)

14. Parastoo Theatre

15. Instant Cafe Theatre

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.