WATCH | Children belong in classrooms, not detention

All children deserve protection. We are a nation that prides itself on cherishing families, especially children. We step in when children are suffering because we feel that all children should be able to play, smile, learn, and enjoy life to the full! We protect children not only because they are our future, but because they present is so important to them. 

So why is that when we visit immigration detention centres, we often meet children? Why has Malta decided that it is fine to deny some children smiles and replace them with fear, anxiety, and uncertainty?

Contrary to what is publicly stated, Malta detains children. This has been repeatedly confirmed by Malta’s own Government entities and by Europe’s highest human rights bodies in Europe. Just last week, Europe’s top detention experts noted that the children they had met in Malta’s detention centres were only allowed into an exercise yard for around one or two hours a day. They stressed that the detention centres “are not designed to care for children, and not only are they inadequate in terms of material conditions, they also completely lack an adequate regime and any specific are provision to cater to the best interests of the child.”  

In a successful case we brought before the European Court of Human Rights, Malta had locked up five boys for over 180 days. Malta detained then in awful centres: some bathrooms had no doors, blocked drains often flooded, no use of a yard or open space and no activities whatsoever. When Government experts assessed them, they noted “significantly elevated” or “extremely high” levels of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acute stress, and three also had suicidal thoughts. They had also been harassed, threatened and tricked by the same people responsible for their care. 

Not surprisingly, the Court confirmed that Malta had violated the boys’ human rights. Their detention was illegal and they were made to live in inhuman and degrading conditions. It also underlined that States may only detain children as a means of last resort when no alternative available. What Malta did to these boys and to so many other children, is simply unforgivable.

As with all children, protection should be our top-most priority. Children who reach Malta alone are especially in need of protection. They should be accommodated in specialised places that cater for their needs: education, leisure, psycho-social support. 

“Malta already has such places and systems in place, so the alternatives are real. What is lacking is the commitment to continue saying: all children deserve protection,” Dr. Neil Falzon, aditus Director.

aditus foundation is a non-governmental organisation established to monitor, report and act on access to fundamental human rights for all persons in Malta. We advocate for stronger legal and administrative frameworks for human rights protection. We also offer free legal services. 

Our lawyers visit Malta’s detention centres on a regular basis. We provide information and support, intervene when our clients are being illegally detained. We believe that no child should be ever detained, and will continue to fight against Malta’s detention of children.

This video and our detention work is supported by PRO ASYL. You can also support our efforts to end child detention by donating here.