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Submission to the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention from
the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office
Children in Immigration Detention
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
GPO Box 5218
Sydney NSW 1042
15 May 2002
Dear Commissioner
This submission is made on behalf of the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO). It addresses some of the terms of reference of the Inquiry.
ACMRO has consistently urged the government to address the issue of children in detention and advocated for their release into the community once security, health and other checks have been completed.
I recently spent a few days at Woomera, Port Hedland and Perth Airport Detention Centres. At Woomera, I met children and witnessed their conditions and how they are living their day-to-day lives. This first hand knowledge of the situation in detention centres has enabled me to substantiate the claim that detention for children is in contradiction with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989).
To further support this submission I am aware of anecdotal evidence provided by Catholic Pastoral Workers who regularly visit detainees at Villawood, Maribyrnong, Woomera, Port Hedland and Perth Centres.
The observations and comments made in this submission are based on information and data gathered from experienced Catholic pastoral workers who have been visiting detention centres since they began operation. The Catholic Pastoral workers have a significant level of information and knowledge vital to the inquiry. They substantiate the theme of this submission that detention of children is fundamentally wrong.
Terms of Reference:
1. The provisions made by Australia to implement its international human rights obligations regarding child asylum seekers, including unaccompanied minors.
Australia continues to detain children despite of the UNCHR's Guideline on standards relating to the detention of Asylum Seekers Guideline 2 on Refugee Children [1], stating persons under the age of 18 years who are asylum-seekers should not be detained.
Many inquiries since the 1994 [2] have clearly identified children asylum seekers rights and recommended their exclusion from mandatory detention. The notion that "detention is undesirable for vulnerable people such as women, children, unaccompanied minors" [3] was a recommendation of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission inquiry into the detention of unauthorised arrivals in Australia.
The situation for children and unaccompanied minors continues to be an acute concern for NGOs, organizations and agencies involved in providing assistance to children and their families in detention. The negative situation of detention is compounded for children who may understand less their situation and why they are in detention, but nonetheless suffer in a similar way to adults in detention. The unknown factor of the unsureness of the length of detention is the major catalyst for the manifestation of feelings of loneliness and isolation accumulating in a very negative detention experience.
Such a problem is exacerbated for children who are less equipped to deal with feelings of depression, mental distress, boredom, sleeplessness, psychotic episodes, self harm and suicide attempts [4] and the negative psychological and emotional effect for children who are exposed to the actions of other detainees such as self-mutilation and attempted suicide. The prison-like environment of detention and living in a confined and controlled atmosphere is not an ideal situation for the development of the child. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child noted that detention "condemned children to live in unsuitable conditions and damage their emotional health" [5] . The Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference statement on Asylum Seekers and Refugees [6] notes an insidious situation in detention centres which could only have a detrimental effect for daily living and the long-term development of children by stating:
"We also draw attention to another oppressive feature of life in detention centres. Where human rights are so substantially restricted, a climate of bullying is enabled to flourish. Harassment, by one group of residents against other, more vulnerable groups, makes a miserable situation truly desperate. Having escaped from situations of persecution in their own countries, members of ethnic and religious minorities find themselves subjected, in the centres, to similar persecution, but with little opportunity for redress. If our country is determined to continue with mandatory detention, then the rights of the residents to safety and freedom from harassment within the centres must be guaranteed".
Catholic Pastoral workers who regularly visit children and families in detention centres observe that the fundamental principle of the dignity of the individual is a major failure of detention. The concept of detaining children contrasts and contravenes with The Principle of Human Dignity as defined by Catholic Social Teaching where "Every human being is created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ, and therefore is invaluable and worthy of respect as a member of the human family" [7]. By detaining children asylum seekers such dignity is not guaranteed or nurtured.
Every person - regardless of race, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, employment or economic status, health, intelligence, achievement or any other differentiating characteristic is worthy of respect. It is not what you do or what you have that gives you a claim on respect; it is simply being human that establishes your dignity. Given that dignity, the human person is, in the Catholic view, never a means, but always an end. [8]
The dignity of children must be cherished and nurtured as observed in the body of Catholic social teaching which highlights that individuals have dignity and it is the principle of human dignity which gives the human person a claim on membership in a community - the human family.
2. The mandatory detention of child asylum seekers and other children arriving in Australia without visas, and alternatives to their detention.
ACMRO has long supported and advocated for alternatives to detention as developed and advocated initially by the Refugee Council of Australia [9] and more recently by other NGOs, agencies and concerned groups.
Catholic Pastoral workers who visit children and their families in detention at Woomera support a radical extension of the housing trial project to include children and their mothers from all categories of immigration detention, not just those in the first stage of assessment, and to eventually include fathers. They also support expansion of the housing project both in Woomera, and in other detention centres towns and cities in Australia. We believe that it is destructive of young people's emotional, spiritual and psychological health to incarcerate them in the centres.
The Australian Catholic Bishops in their statement on Asylum seekers and Refugees [10] clearly object to detention of children and advocate the benefits of the Woomera housing trial project:
"The isolation of detention centres, the difficulty of access to them, uncertainty and ignorance about the assessment process on the part of the people detained cause wide-spread and significant psychological damage. Staff are similarly affected by the stressful environment of these centres.
In stark contrast stand the achievements of the Housing Trial Project currently underway in Woomera for women and children. Residents enjoy a much healthier and less stressful lifestyle as they await the outcome of their applications for visas. Violence and psychological harm is virtually non-existent in this normal community setting. After initial misgivings, the local Woomera community now accepts the presence of the Housing Trial. We propose the extension of this trial: the inclusion of fathers of families so that the family unit is complete, and the widening of the experiment to communities beyond Woomera".
3. The adequacy and effectiveness of the policies, agreements, laws, rules and practices governing children in immigration detention or child asylum seekers and refugees residing in the community after a period of detention, with particular reference to:
- the conditions under which children are detained, health, including mental health, development and disability;
- education - Refer also to the submission made by the National Commission for Catholic Education.
- culture - reference the International Convent on Economic Social and Cultural Rights.
- guardianship issues; and
- security practices in detention
4. The impact of detention on the well-being and healthy development of children, including their long-term development.
5. The additional measures and safeguards which may be required in detention facilities to protection the human rights and best interests of all detained children.
6. The additional measures and safeguards which may be required to protect human rights and best interests of child asylum seekers and refugees residing in the community after a period of detention.
ACMRO endorsed the submission made by the Kids in Detention (KIDS) working group and reference it to address the terms of reference from 3 to 6 as detailed above. The submission comprehensively addresses international law, domestic law and comparative practice among the States of Australia
In particular, we note the significance of the KIDS submission in addressing Australia's international legal obligations in accordance with international conventions and the necessity to address and adhere to these laws domestically. We note the relevant international conventions including the: Rights of the Child; Civil and Political Rights and Economic and Cultural Rights and the Refugee Convention and Protocol are addressed extensively.
In conclusion, we support the submission made by KIDS and those from Catholic agencies and organizations, in particular the submission of the National Catholic Education Commission which addresses education issues. Of note we are concerned with the ongoing detention of children asylum seekers and their families and believe that detention of children is reprehensible and challenges our notions of dignity, protection and adherence to the rights of the child. This notion is well acknowledged by Most Reverend Francis Carroll, President of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference, in a Statement (29 January 2002) which observed that mandatory detention had deteriorated and that, at the very least, children should not be held in detention centres.
For your consideration.
Rev. John Murphy
Director
1. UNHCR's
Guidelines on applicable Criteria and Standards relating to the Detention
of Asylum Seekers. Web page http://10.9.36.50/support/policy/iomfom/iom2299a.htm,
date accessed 20 March 2000.
2. Joint Standing Committee on Migration: Asylum, Border
Control and Detention, AGPS 1994.
3. Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, "Those
who've come across the seas: Detention of unauthorised arrivals",
pg. ix, 1998.
4. Ibid, pg 229.
5. Overington, Caroline, "Australia attacked for
'harming' child asylum seeker" , page 9, The Age, 2 May 2002.
6. A Statement from the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference:
Refugees and Asylum Seekers, 26 March 2002.
7. Ten Building Blocks Of Catholic Social Teaching, William
J. Byron Issue: page 1, 31 October 1998.
8. Ibid.
9. Alternative to Detention, Refugee Council of Australia,
web page www.refugeecouncil.org.au, date accessed 14 May 2002.
10. A Statement from the Australian Catholic Bishops'
Conference: Refugees and Asylum Seekers, 26 March 2002.
11. Australian Bishops call for Action on Asylum Seekers,
Media Release, 29 January 2002.
