Given the situation, some serious questions arise as to the legal status of these young detainees.
Although an investigation into the legality of the detention centre at Feydhoo Finolhu is beyond the
cope of this study, it would be remiss of a study such as this— commissioned by the Human Rights
Commission—not to highlight the issue even if summarily.
Feydhoo Finolhu detention centre and international law
Article 37 of the UNCRC, particularly Article 37 which states:
States Parties shall ensure that:
(a) No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment
without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons
below eighteen years of age;
(b) No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The
arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law
and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate
period of time;
(c) Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for
the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into
account the needs of persons of his or her age. In particular, every child deprived
of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child's best
interest not to do so and shall have the right to maintain contact with his or her
family through correspondence and visits, save in exceptional circumstances;
(d) Every child deprived of his or her liberty shall have the right to prompt access
to legal and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right to challenge the
legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty before a court or other competent,
independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt decision on any such action.
Other UN instruments dealing with the deprivation of children’s liberty include: United
Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules,
1985); United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles deprived of their Liberty (The
Havana Rules, 1990); United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency
(The Riyadh Guidelines’, 1990); United Nations Guidelines on Justice in matters involving
Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime (ECOSOC Res 2005/20, 2005); Guidance Note of the
United Nations Secretary-General: United Nations Approach to Justice for Children (2008)
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