CH A PT E R 2 While noting that the conferment of citizenship is the prerogative of the government in accordance with existing provisions of the Federal Constitution, SUHAKAM is disheartened that there seems to be a lack of empathy and sympathy towards children who have been put in such a situation through no fault of their own. As a country with leaders who are vocal on the state of human rights in other countries and is a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the government should always consider the best interests of the child as paramount and refrain from taking actions that would lead to further violations of his or her human rights and discrimination against the child. (Please refer Complaints and Monitoring Chapter and Chapter 2 on stateless, page 112 for details). 2. Detention of foreign undocumented children Foreign children continue to be detained under Malaysian immigration law, both accompanied and unaccompanied minors. During a visit by SUHAKAM to the Pekan Nenas Immigration Depot, there were pregnant women and children who were detained for overstaying in the country and attempting to flee the country without permission. They were among 131 Sri Lankan individuals who were arrested by Immigration in Johor waters while on their way to either Canada or New Zealand. During another visit to the same depot, some detainees alleged that they were not given proper medical attention. They included women and children. In response to SUHAKAM’s verbal and written advice, the detention centre wrote back detailing the medical services provided to the detainees. (Please refer Complaints and Monitoring Chapter, page 67 for details). SUHAKAM began working on alternatives to detaining children and removing those already in detention under immigration law in 2013. This year, SUHAKAM continued this effort by partnering with the UNHCR, the Malaysian Representative to AICHR, and the International Detention Coalition (IDC) to jointly organise a closed-door civil society consultation on 5 February 2018. The consultation aimed at identifying the benefits of alternatives to detention (ATDs) for, among others, children, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers who are affected by forced displacement in Malaysia. The consultation also looked at the benefits of regular independent monitoring of detentions. Arising from the consultation, the following steps will be undertaken by the partners: i. Develop and pilot a vulnerability screening and assessment tool and referral mechanism to enable the detection of persons with vulnerabilities, such as children, pregnant women, and disabled persons at the earliest stage possible and for these vulnerable groups to be given proper care in accordance with their needs. ii. Propose amendments to the current detention standard operating procedures (SOP), and to engage with government agencies involved with immigration detention on specific issues such as ATD. SUHAKAM ANNUAL REPORT 2018 101