28 November 2001
National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
The Human Rights Commissioner, Dr Sev Ozdowski, today announced a major National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention.
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Inquiry will be conducted over 2002. The Inquiry will consider public submissions and visit major detention centres and facilities - including facilities on Cocos and Christmas Islands.
Public hearings will be conducted in States where there are detention centres. Experts with experience in dealing with children in detention will be encouraged to make submissions. Dr Ozdowski hopes to report on the Inquiry to Federal Parliament by the end of 2002.
"Australia has international obligations towards children under the Convention on the Rights of the Child," Dr Ozdowski said. "We are required to treat all children the same irrespective of how they come to Australia. Under Federal legislation and international obligations, the Commission has responsibility for monitoring Australia's compliance with the Convention."
Dr Ozdowski said that he has grown increasingly concerned about the treatment of children in detention centres. The Commission has received a number of complaints about the treatment of children and Dr Ozdowski has visited major detention centres over the past year.
"I have heard the individual stories and I believe that now is the time to examine the broader human rights issues that they raise," he said.
The Commissioner said he would examine possible breaches of the children's human rights and the long-term effects of their detention. "I am particularly concerned about the children who arrive in Australia without parents, often after a period of trauma, and who then face the prospect of being in a detention centre alone," he said.
At Friday 23 November, there were 582 children in immigration detention, 53 of them unaccompanied.
The Inquiry will cover the conditions under which children are detained, their health and education in detention and the impact of detention on their well-being.
"Pregnant women, babies, children and teenagers are all kept in immigration detention centres, sometimes for long periods. The question is - do they really need to be in detention and what are the alternatives?"
"Australia prides itself on being the nation of a fair go. Our international obligations to children demand a fair go for all children in Australia, irrespective of how they got here."
Media contact: Janine MacDonald (02) 9284 9880 or 0408 469 347
Last updated 2 December 2001.
