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I don’t get any money. The house costs 600,000 rupiah [roughly US$61], for a bedroom with four people, one small room ... I don’t have a job. The house my family sold [in Afghanistan, to finance his trip], the money from that will last for one more month. After that, I’m not sure what I’ll do. 50 Some boys, vulnerable without assistance, fear arrest or re-arrest. Azim M., an unaccompanied migrant boy from Afghanistan who had arrived in Indonesia two months before his interview with Human Rights Watch, was effectively confined to a small house in an area outside Jakarta that is popular with migrants. “I stay inside the house all day,” he said. “I’m afraid [immigration officials] will find me. I do nothing all day—sit inside all day.” Azim had received a token from UNHCR—a piece of paper the size of a business card indicating a date several months ahead for him to register as an asylum seeker. He said he had no other assistance from them and said he had not communicated with them since. 51 There is a nascent understanding within the region that unaccompanied children need more care. UNHCR, in collaboration with The Bali Process, a regional intergovernmental body on people smuggling and trafficking that Indonesia and Australia co-chair, initiated a mapping project in September 2012 to understand issues faced by unaccompanied and separated children in Southeast Asia. 52 No Legal Assistance Unaccompanied migrant children in Indonesia receive no legal representation, either in requesting asylum or in challenging detention. 53 Article 37(d) of the CRC mandates that children deprived of their liberty should have prompt access to legal assistance, and the Committee on the Rights of the Child has emphasized that this specifically applies to unaccompanied migrant children in migration detention. None of the unaccompanied migrant children we interviewed said they had legal assistance. Sayed M., a 16-year-old unaccompanied Afghan boy detained at an IDC with 50 Human Rights Watch interview with Ali H., Cisarua, September 9, 2012. 51 Human Rights Watch interview with Azim M., Cisarua, September 9, 2012. 52 Regional Support Office to The Bali Process, “Information Sheet: Mapping and Analyzing the Protection Situation of Unaccompanied and Separated Children in South East Asia,” 2012, on file with Human Rights Watch. 53 Febionesta, “Indonesian Law and Refugee Protection,” presented at ASEAN Civil Society Conference in Jakarta on 3-5 May 2011, on file with Human Rights Watch (no migrants, whether children or not, are granted the right to access to legal counsel). 23 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | JUNE 2013
unrelated adults told us, “I’ve never seen a lawyer.” 54 Ahmad Z. was 17 years old when he was detained at Pekanbaru IDC. He said that “some people were released by an Indonesian lawyer, but I didn’t have a lawyer.” He remained in detention for almost eight months before UNHCR helped secure his release. 55 The Committee on the Rights of the Child emphasizes that in cases where unaccompanied children are subject to administrative proceedings, including immigration or asylum proceedings, they should be provided with a legal representative (in addition to the guardianship functions described above). 56 Yet unaccompanied migrant children in Indonesia receive no such assistance at any stage in the process of applying for refugee status. 54 Human Rights Watch group interview with Sayed M., [location withheld], September 4, 2012. 55 Human Rights Watch interview with Ahmad Z., Yogyakarta, September 18, 2012. 56 General Comment No. 6, para. 21. BARELY SURVIVING 24
Page 1 and 2: H U M A N R I G H T S W A T C H BAR
Page 3 and 4: Copyright © 2013 Human Rights Watc
Page 5 and 6: Lack of Recreation ................
Page 7 and 8: We spent eight hours on the boat be
Page 9 and 10: There were 20 or 30 unaccompanied m
Page 11 and 12: journeys. One Afghan father explain
Page 13 and 14: Methodology Human Rights Watch carr
Page 15 and 16: Terminology This report focuses on
Page 17 and 18: I. Seeking Refuge: Journeys to Indo
Page 19 and 20: Sample migration routes based on Hu
Page 21 and 22: Once in Indonesia, many migrants an
Page 23 and 24: toward assisting refugees, for inst
Page 25 and 26: II. Lack of Protection for Unaccomp
Page 27: As far as Human Rights Watch is awa
Page 31 and 32: number of or biographical details f
Page 33 and 34: Young children are detained with on
Page 35 and 36: approximately 14 months. Labaan A.,
Page 38 and 39: Unaccompanied migrant children were
Page 40 and 41: At the time of our investigation, s
Page 42 and 43: could hear him crying … he was be
Page 44 and 45: Abuse is not limited to IDCs: Migra
Page 46 and 47: police room. The police were very b
Page 48 and 49: A staff member of an NGO who spoke
Page 50 and 51: I told the police I was 17 years ol
Page 52 and 53: from 2010 to 2011 in Tanjung Pinang
Page 54 and 55: Lack of Sufficient Medical Care and
Page 56 and 57: One asylum seeker detained at Ponti
Page 58 and 59: Madudeva N. said he was 17 years ol
Page 60 and 61: Overcrowding results in packed room
Page 62 and 63: Mustafa A., from Afghanistan, was d
Page 64 and 65: “The children sometimes vomit aft
Page 66 and 67: International standards mandate tha
Page 68 and 69: Delays in Getting Review and Status
Page 70 and 71: It’s been eight months without an
Page 72 and 73: V. Restricted Living Conditions out
Page 74 and 75: and now lives in Medan: “Of the p
Page 76 and 77: Children reported that they had lim
Page 78 and 79:
VI. Few Options for the Future I am
Page 80 and 81:
Compelled to Risk Boat Journeys to
Page 82 and 83:
VII. Conclusion and Recommendations
Page 84 and 85:
• Enable the National Commission
Page 86 and 87:
Regarding Conditions of Confinement
Page 88 and 89:
• In regional intergovernmental d
Page 90 and 91:
• Monitor conditions of confineme
Page 92:
BARELY SURVIVING Detention, Abuse,
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