How peer learning can help curb child immigration detention in the Asia Pacific

Peer learning brings people together to solve problems by sharing ideas, experiences, and practical solutions. It helps people learn from each other, making it especially powerful for tackling complex challenges like child immigration detention.
Every year, thousands of children in the Asia Pacific region are held in immigration detention, causing serious harm to their physical and mental wellbeing. Detention is unnecessary and harmful, especially for children, and proven alternatives exist. Community-based alternatives to detention (ATD) allow children and families to live safely in the community while resolving immigration issues, prioritising dignity, wellbeing and human rights.
The Regional Peer Learning Platform on Alternatives to the Detention of Children in the Asia Pacific was set up in 2019 to bring together governments, civil society, academics and international organisations to share knowledge and strategies for implementing these alternatives.
Co-convened by the International Detention Coalition (IDC) and the Asia Dialogue on Forced Migration (ADFM) Secretariat, the Platform provides a space for collaboration and innovation. It supports reform, builds leadership, strengthens partnerships and ensures efforts align with international goals like those in the Global Compact for Migration.
Since its launch, the Platform has brought together 157 people working on this issue from five countries — Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Thailand — to tackle this pressing issue. This summary reflects on five years of progress, challenges and lessons learned to guide future work in ending child immigration detention.

Key outcomes
Achieved national reform by uniting government departments, civil society, and other organisations to share ideas, build trust and help participants improve their national systems. For example, Thailand has made significant progress, introducing measures to protect migrant children and ending detention in many cases.
Developed policy champions by supporting mid-level officials and civil society leaders to become champions of reform and use new knowledge and connections in practice. For instance, in Malaysia, a government official used lessons from the Platform to push for a pilot program offering alternatives to detention for children.
Strengthened government-civil society collaboration by equipping governments and civil society to work together more effectively, with civil society now trusted as partners in shaping policies. This approach is designed to enable more inclusive decisions and co-created policies that work in practice.
Enhanced regional cooperation by enabling governments to learn from each other, making it easier to adopt successful practices from neighboring countries and align with broader frameworks like the ASEAN Declaration on the Rights of Children in the Context of Migration.
Key elements for success
Expert partnerships with co-organisers International Detention Coalition, which brings deep knowledge of alternatives to detention and expertise in bringing people together for policy discussions, and the Asia Dialogue on Forced Migration, which specialises in regional migration governance and convening high-level policy dialogues.
Choosing the right participants to ensure diverse and constructive perspectives, including mid-level government officials, civil society leaders, academics and international organisations.
Creating space for dialogue, with meetings held under the Chatham House Rule and supported by detailed briefings and live interpretation during sessions to ensure everyone can participate fully.
Incorporating site visits and lived experience, which allows those working on these issues to see how policies affect real people. Participants visit programs where alternatives to detention are already working and hear from people with direct experience of detention and alternatives to detention.
Thoughtful agendas combine presentations, group discussions and informal time to encourage creativity and collaboration. Flexibility ensures they address participants’ priorities and foster problem-solving.

Challenges
Balancing different needs of diverse national contexts and varying participant expertise levels remains a challenge.
Maintaining engagement between meetings is made more difficult by limited resources.
Resource constraints pose a risk to the Platform’s sustainability. Convening requires significant funding and organisational capacity.
Meaningful and safe participation of lived experience leaders continues to be an area for growth.