AUG 30 — Child Rights Coalition Malaysia (CRCM) is concerned about the reported crackdown on illegal immigrants being led by the Immigration Department starting on Sunday. The approach of expediency through deportation simplifies complex situations being lived by migrant workers, including children. The Immigration Act 1959/1963 does not differentiate between asylum-seekers, refugees, stateless persons, irregular migrants and undocumented/stateless persons, deeming these groups to be “illegal immigrants’ and thus, vulnerable to arrest for immigration offences.

Identification of children in the scenario is problematic. CRCM hopes the authorities involved have the understanding and the training to be able to tell whether an individual is a 17-year-old child or an adult. (A 17-year-old boy may well appear older and might be classified as an adult.) Child victims of trafficking may be wrongly assessed as adults based on forged documents (incorrect birth date) which were used to bring them into the country. Will the authorities involved take the steps to identify whether affected children are victims of trafficking and therefore entitled to protection and support? What about children who might be separated from their parents or even left behind as parents are deported? There are also no assurances that cases of refugee and asylum-seeking children will be acknowledged and respected.

Malaysia is a signatory to the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which stipulates that detention of children should only be used as a “last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time”. However, the immigration detention of migrant, refugee, asylum-seeking and stateless children continues in Malaysia, and detention periods can often be lengthy. Children are also detained in conditions that can result in serious harm to their physical, emotional and psychological well-being. Official data on the number of children in immigration detention is not publicly available. That said, CRCM is of the belief that one child in immigration detention is one child too many.

Regarding alternatives to immigration detention of children, there are already international models of community assessment and placements that Malaysia can look towards as a starting point. We recognise that putting into place any alternative system would not happen overnight. It would require dialogue with multiple stakeholders and well-co-ordinated planning and implementation. Malaysia is not a poor, developing country — with the political will much can be accomplished.

CRCM would welcome a platform to be able to engage with Immigration and other relevant government agencies. Monitoring of cases of children in immigration detention could be a start towards an alternative solution.

While CRCM appreciates the government has to deal with this complex issue, the rights and best interests of the child should be paramount. Repatriation of children back into the environment from which they were trafficked or persecuted means children could be put at risk. Whether the planned operations will take the provisions of care and protection of children into consideration is unclear, especially given that authorities for children are not among the participating agencies. We remind the authorities of Malaysia's international obligations, having acceded to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and call on them to respect the dignity and rights of children regardless of nationality or status.

* Child Rights Coalition Malaysia does not have access to the actual details of the planned operations. Our views are based on news reports, known legislations and the international commitments of Malaysia.

Child Rights Coalition Malaysia core members are Childline Malaysia, Malaysian Child Resource Institute (MCRI), National Early Childhood Intervention Council (NECIC), Malaysian Care, Protect and Save the Children (PS the Children), Voice of the Children (VoC), Yayasan Chow Kit (YCK); Networking Partner — Women’s Centre for Change, Penang.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.