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KUALA LUMPUR – The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) called on the government to improve their treatment towards ethnic Rohingya refugees, especially children, after the death of two youngsters who were among those escaping from the Sg Bakap temporary detention depot in Penang.
Suhakam commissioner for children Datuk Noor Aziah Mohd Awal urged for Rohingya children to be placed in a separate detention programme only involving minors, citing the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that compels a state to ensure children have appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance.
“These children need to be given the opportunity to live in a more secure and conducive environment.
“In addition, children seeking asylum or who have been granted refugee status are entitled to the full enjoyment of their rights under the four basic principles of the CRC, which states that children should not be discriminated against, should be treated with humanity and respect, have their voices heard, and have their best interests prioritised,” wrote Noor Aziah in a statement today.
While lamenting the recent deaths of the two children in a road accident while on the North-South Expressway, Noor Aziah called for the establishment of an independent body consisting of representatives other than the Home Ministry to investigate the breakout.
She also called for leniency and civic-mindedness from authorities, urging them not to reprimand those eventually re-arrested and to curb fear or hatred being instilled among the locals in Relau nearby the depot centre towards detainees still at large.
Noor Aziah noted that based on observations done in the past, detention centres like the one in Sg Bakap, namely those in Langkawi and Belantik in Kedah, and Lenggeng in Negri Sembilan are usually overcrowded.
She said the government should also look to beef up its manpower as many of these detention centres are running understaffed.
Noor Aziah explained that despite most immigrant detainees being deported back home, Rohingya refugees are within a grey area and subject to principles of non-refoulement which ensures that no one should be deported back home if they could be subject to persecution.
Noor Aziah then urged the government to consider allowing the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to issue their UNHCR cards to these refugees, more importantly to also avoid persecution in their home state of Myanmar.
This comes after more than 400 Rohingya detainees escaped from the detention centre in an incident last Thursday, with most recaptured and around 80 individuals still at large.
Following the incident, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin had called for investigations to get underway, adding that the government is reviewing its position on the issuance of UNHCR cards to these refugees. – The Vibes, April 25, 2022