No end in sight yet for children at Baitul Mahabbah

A coalition of 21 human rights organisations and activists – collectively known as the End Child Detention Network (EDN) – raises concern that children at the Baitul Mahabbah immigration detention centre are still being detained a year after its launch, and urges that they are released to community-based alternatives.

They say that what was intended as a “transitional centre for displaced children before repatriation” seems to have become a permanent fixture with no end to detention in sight.

“Sept 4 marks a year since Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution launched the Baitul Mahabbah initiative, signaling his commitment to ‘remove children from immigration depots so that they can receive more humane care in a more conducive environment’,” EDN said in its statement.

“Despite some measures to improve conditions, these centres continue to deprive children of their liberty, are governed by strict immigration laws and procedures, and thus constitute another form of detention. Some of the children in Baitul Mahabbah have been held in detention for nearly a year, without accounting for the time they spent in detention before being relocated to Baitul Mahabbah,” it said.

The coalition, whose aim is to ensure that no person is detained in Malaysia due to their immigration status, said children who have asylum claims are left in the dark as UNHCR Malaysia has no access to any detention centres – including Baitul Mahabbah centres – to verify their claims, and the immigration department does not have any screening mechanisms in place.

“Additionally, as Baitul Mahabbah is currently only for children 10 and below, other children between 11 and 17 continue to remain in immigration detention centres with other adult detainees with no indication that they will be included in any future plans,” it added.

As at July 2024, Bernama reported that there are 170 children in Baitul Mahabbah centres nationwide.

EDN highlighted that there are no alternatives for the children in Baitul Mahabbah aside from repatriation.

“There has also been no evaluation to determine whether these centres are actually beneficial to children’s well-being, and if they are an efficient use of resources, but, in August 2024, the Home Minister stated his intention to have six more Baitul Mahabbah centres by December 2024, and to establish at least six more centres in 2025,” it said.

According to EDN, detention of any form is never in a child’s best interest and is a violation of their human rights. In addition to that, detaining children in immigration depots or any other detention facilities – even with their parents or other family members – is never acceptable.

According to EDN, detention of any form is never in a child’s best interest and is a violation of their human rights. Photo: Pixabay

“There is no such thing as ‘child-friendly detention’. Children deserve their liberty and any form of detention is a violation of child rights and human rights,” it said.

EDN said that children shouldn’t be in detention centres, especially as they are in their formative years.

“They are meant to grow, develop, learn and thrive as all children should, as they interact in society, not spend their early years or youth in detention.

“Furthermore, they should be in school, learning about the world around them, so that they can become useful citizens of the world. As such, plans need to be place to repatriate them, and steps need to be taken to assimilate them to community-based alternatives to detention where they can grow and thrive as children should.”

EDN added that “immigration detention and deprivation of liberty harms children mentally and physically”.

Clinical studies show the serious impact even short periods of immigration detention can have on a child’s well-being, growth and development and that these impacts can be lifelong, it said.

Some of the children in Baitul Mahabbah have been held in detention for nearly a year said the EDN. Photo: PixabayThe coalition is urging the Home Ministry to release the children from Baitul Mahabbah and other immigration detention centres, into community-based alternatives to detention.

“This can be done by working with child protection organisations which are able to provide case management support and linkage to the refugee communities,” the coalition said.

EDN also urges the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry to work in partnership with the Home Ministry to protect the rights of children, regardless of their background or immigration status, according to their constitutional duty outlined in the Child Act 2001 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

Globally, many countries have taken the necessary steps and moved away from thinking around ‘child-friendly’ or ‘family-friendly’ detention facilities and towards ‘ending child immigration detention altogether’.

This is the standard Malaysia must emulate to keep up with its regional and global peers, it said.

EDN urges the Malaysian Government to step up in its commitment to uphold the best interests of the children, release them into community-based alternatives to detention, and stop their detention for immigration purposes.

The Malaysian Government has been collaborating with civil society organisations for over a decade to develop and implement community-based alternatives to detention for children who are currently in immigration detention centres. And this effort should continue, said the coalition.

It also urges the Government to establish a working group with key civil society members to develop and implement a pilot release of children from Baitul Mahabbah into the community setting and conduct an independent evaluation of Baitul Mahabbah to ensure it is in line with the best interests of the child.