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As far as Human Rights Watch is aware, no institution has a mandate to monitor treatment
of detainees by guards.
Failure to Provide for Children’s Rights
Conditions for children detained in Indonesian immigration detention facilities violate
multiple international standards, leaving children without adequate care. Unaccompanied
migrant children are detained with unrelated adults, and many have no contact with their
families. No child has meaningful access to education, and recreation and medical care are
limited. The prolonged, indefinite detention damages both adult and child mental health.
Detention of children—which should only occur in exceptional circumstances—must meet
standards in the UN Rules for the Protection of Children Deprived of their Liberty. 139 These
rules articulate standards for the provision of education, recreation, and medical care,
among others. According to our investigations, several detention facilities in Indonesia
failed to meet these standards.
Detention of Unaccompanied Migrant Children with Unrelated Adults
Unaccompanied migrant children were routinely detained in a number of immigration
facilities with unrelated adults, making them vulnerable to exploitation and neglecting
their need for specialized care. 140 During a visit to Pontianak IDC in September 2012,
Human Rights Watch observed a boy who said he was 16 held in the same area as adult
men. Many boys we interviewed reported they were detained with adults. For example, Arif
B. from Afghanistan, who was 15 when he was held at Balikpapan IDC, said, “There were
four people in each room. In that room, I was the only underage there. The other three were
adults.” 141 Faizullah A., also from Afghanistan, was detained at Pontianak IDC:
139 United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (Rules for the Protection of Juveniles),
adopted December 14, 1990, G.A. Res. 45/113, annex, 45 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 49A) at 205, U.N. Doc. A/45/49 (1990), art. 11.
140 United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Standard Minimum Rules), adopted by the First
United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held at Geneva in 1955, and approved
by the Economic and Social Council by its resolution 663C (XXIV) of July 31, 1957, and 2076 (LXII) of May 13, 1977, art. 8(d);
ICCPR art. 2(b).
141 Human Rights Watch interview with Arif B., Cisarua, August 30, 2012.
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