Unicef to work with new govt on child marriage and detention

KUALA LUMPUR: The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) Malaysia will continue to work with the new government, particularly on issues related to child marriage and the detention of unaccompanied and separated children at immigration detention centres.

Its chief of child protection Saskia Blume said child marriage was one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that affects many countries, but pointed out that the rate involving such incidents was reported to be on the decline.

“This proves there is a global understanding and momentum to end child marriage. Malaysia also recognises this in terms of having a national strategic plan.

“But looking at the timeline towards reaching the SDGs, I think it is high time for the country to accelerate those plans,” she told Bernama when met at the launching ceremony of “Towards Ending Child Marriage in Malaysia” – Advocacy Brief in Bahasa Malaysia” at the Human Rights Day Forum 2022 yesterday.

She said Malaysia should also move forward in implementing the Alternative to Detention (ATD) pilot project aimed at releasing unaccompanied and separated children in immigration detention centres.

It was imperative to implement the commitment that Malaysia made as its pledge when it became a member of the Human Rights Council for the 2022 to 2024 term, she added.“The pilot project started in February this year but its progress has stalled. With the one-year timeline of the pilot coming to an end, it is hoped that the new government will implement the ATD programme as a matter of priority,” she said.

As of July, there are 1,764 children out of 17,703 detainees in immigration detention centres nationwide.

Previous official data from the Home Ministry indicated that in October 2020, there were 405 children without guardians detained in immigration detention centres.

The ATD programme, jointly led by the Women, Family and Community Development and Home ministries was first announced in 2019 and approved by Cabinet in 2021.