Detention of children 'too long'

While states have the right to manage the flow of migrants across their borders, they are not entitled to use detention as a deterrent especially when those detained are children at seriously increased risk of long-term trauma, the Jesuit Refugee...

While states have the right to manage the flow of migrants across their borders, they are not entitled to use detention as a deterrent especially when those detained are children at seriously increased risk of long-term trauma, the Jesuit Refugee Service said.

States have a specific duty to care for children within their jurisdiction and are obliged to seek alternatives to detention, such as child-friendly reception centres and foster families, before more young lives are harmed, JRS added.

In a message for World Children's Day which was commemorated on Monday, JRS said Malta has a policy of releasing children and unaccompanied minors from detention, housing them instead in professionally run care facilities. However, as current procedures for release are often lengthy and inefficient, children remain in detention for unnecessarily long periods.

There are currently over 15 children in detention centres in Malta, including newborn babies and unaccompanied minors.

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