The Detention of Immigrant Children

Such a controversial topic as that of the detention of immigrant children is becoming more and more noticeable on a public level1. Seek asylum is not an illegal act, but asylum seekers and refugees are being detained and interned more frequently worldwide, suffering not only the deprivation of freedom, but also other human rights abuses. The new guidelines about UNHCR Detention challenged governments to rethink their policies on detention and to consider alternatives to detention in all cases1. Those who suffer most from this are those child’s vulnerable refugee, they are being deprived of their liberty having to spend all day locked in rooms with people who are not their relatives2, with no education, with physical and mental problems3, and even children who are suffering some type of abuse4. Be enclosed in a detention center has negative consequences both physically and psychologically, cases of depression and anxiety are increasing day by day. Depriving these children of the lack of freedom, who are fleeing of wars or poverty and submit to them to the isolation of the community, it is punishing them for life, and since they will be damaged somehow throughout the psychologist damage they are suffering. The UN Secretary General confirmed in 2013, "The detention of immigrant children is a violation of children's rights."5

From the point of view of human rights, Australia is one of many countries in the world that encloses irregular immigrants and refugees in detention centers outside its borders. The director of the Refugee Council of Australia, Paul Power says "It is a brutal, illegal and unsustainable system in accordance with international law”6.The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, he declared in December 2014 that closing borders is not a solution: "Those who believe that the easiest solution is to close the doors should forget about it. When the door is closed, people will open a window. If the window is closed, people dig a tunnel. If there is the need to survive, the need for protection, people will move. No matter what obstacles there are in between. These barriers can only make their journey more dramatic"7. According to the Department of Immigration8, between 2013 and 2014, 6,500 refugees arrived in Australia. About 90% did so by plane, and only a minority attempted the risky journey of 500 kilometers from Indonesia to Christmas Island. The total number of refugees represents a 3.1% of the 203,768 people who came to Australia this year through various migration programs. At the beginning of 2015 there were 3,084 people in detention centers in Australia and 2,151 in the Pacific islands, including 983 minors. The Human Rights Commission interviewed 1,129 detainees, for their report on juveniles in detention and concluded that "The prolonged detention of children it is a clear violation of international humanitarian law"9. The document of more than three hundred pages