National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention

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Submission to the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention from

United Nations Youth Association of Australia

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• Preamble
• UNYA Submission on Education
• Conclusion and Recommendations
• References
• Individual Statements
• Appendix 1 - Guide for Young People

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Preamble

The United Nations Youth Association of Australia welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention. The issue of immigration detention for children has been coming under increased scrutiny in the past eight months. As far as it affects our international standing, the standards by which we treat children and our policies regarding refugees, it is a matter of great importance, which must be rigorously discussed in the public arena. UNYA welcomes the initiative of HREOC to investigate and facilitate this discussion through the inquiry.

UNYA is a non-governmental organisation with a national membership of over 1000 young people under 25 years of age. UNYA is dedicated to providing a voice for youth, particularly on global issues, and has been actively educating young people about the UN and international issues within Australia for over 40 years. Thus, we are ideally placed to provide a youth perspective on children in immigration detention. Our expertise in this area comes not only from our interest in and knowledge of policy and international affairs but also our engagement, as young people, with the broader questions of community education and children's rights.

UNYA's submission has two parts. In one we address section 3 of the terms of reference in relation to the adequate provision of education in immigration detention. The second part of our submission is made up of statements from young people in Australia. When the inquiry was announced UNYA decided to encourage young people to take part in this process. We felt that it was important that an inquiry on how we treat children within our borders included youth voices on this issue. The statements included below are responses to a guide for young people to make submissions, which UNYA distributed through various youth networks at the beginning of 2002 (attached in appendix 1). The young people who have participated vary widely in age but their feelings about this issue are broadly similar. The main attitudes reflected in our collection of youth submissions are concern, shame and condemnation of our policy of immigration detention for child asylum seekers.

UNYA'S SUBMISSION ON EDUCATION AND IMMIGRATION DETENTION

Australia's International Obligations

Australia's obligations to refugee children derive from two main sources - the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 (hereafter 'the Convention) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (hereafter CROC). The United Nations High Commission on Refugees' (UNHCR) in its Guidelines on Refugee Children 1994, recognises that CROC must be the foundation of UNHCR's protection and assistance activities for children and adolescents. [1] This matrix of rights for refugee children means that they have the full rights of children and of refugees. In many cases, as pointed out by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, their rights as children will supersede their rights as asylum seekers as they will have the same rights to education and care as all children despite their displacement. [2]

The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees

Australia ratified the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees [1951] in 1954 and has also ratified the Optional Protocol. The Convention contains some core obligations and then a guide to the rights of refugees under the jurisdiction of state parties. The core provisions of the Convention are non-refoulement [Article 33] and the obligation to process unauthorised arrivals. This obligation is framed as a prohibition on the punishment of unauthorised arrivals so long as they came directly from a country where their life or freedom was threatened and presented themselves immediately to authorities, showing good cause for their entry [Article 31]. UNYA would contend that the arbitrary and prolonged detention of child asylum seekers who have fulfilled these criteria breach the Convention.

Beyond these articles come those that read like a human rights treaty and provide the rights based framework for refugees. One of the strongest provisions of this part of the treaty relates to the right to education. The particular significance of the right to primary education under the Refugee Convention is that the standard is that of a national of the relevant state. Most of the provisions of the Convention allow asylum seekers to be treated in the same way as other non-nationals in Australia but on the issue of education asylum seekers have to have the same access to primary education as citizens [Article 22].

The Convention on the Rights of the Child

The Convention on the Rights of the Child [1989] sets out the rights of children as they relate to both protection and participation. The central criterion of CROC is that decisions be taken in the "best interests of the child". Article 2 provides that all rights shall be upheld for all children within a state party's jurisdiction without discrimination and Article 22 specifies that refugee children must receive all the rights within the Convention. Articles 28 and 29 set out the right to education. When read in conjunction with the rest of the treaty we see that these rights must be accorded equally to refugees without discrimination by the state party within whose borders they are.

Education

The primacy of the right to education, as evidenced in its place within the Convention and CROC, is indicative of its developmental weight and importance. The capacity to access education and information is central to a child's ability to develop as an individual. In the case of refugee children, whose lives have been disrupted already, this is especially true. UNHCR's Global Report 1999 stated

Access to education is a fundamental human right of all refugee children. Support for refugee education is a vital way to rehabilitate children and young people traumatised by war . [3]

In a general sense schooling carries with it certain opportunities and advantages. It creates access to culture, provides skills necessary for engagement with the labour market and facilitates the acquisition of other forms of 'cultural and social capital'. [4] A lack of schooling directly contributes to and creates forms of disadvantage and social stratification. [5]

Legally and morally an asylum seeker child has the same rights to education as children of the same age in the country where they seek asylum. As far as UNYA is concerned, education for asylum seeker children should meet the following seven criteria:

1. Education during the period of claim assessment

UNYA believes that education is a primary right of children and should not be disrupted any further by a need to assess claims. The continuance of education can minimise the disruption and trauma caused by displacement and by the need to assess the claims of asylum seeker children. In assessment systems, which include detention as a central feature, continuing education is particularly important.

2. Education within the Australian schools system, in local schools where possible

UNYA considers that in many cases, although repatriation is desirable, it remains impossible. For children it is imperative that receiving countries provide some stability to lay the basis for settlement. As their lives have been significantly disrupted at an early age, the importance of providing stability and certainly is paramount. Schooling and education is significant as a stabiliser for children who have experienced trauma and violence, indeed it has been said that 'the absence of schooling intensifies the impacts of a crisis and denies children one of their primary social environments'. [6] Asylum seeker attendance at local schools [7] is important for stability and the standard of education as well as providing a basis for long term resettlement. If this cannot be done on a permanent basis, inclusion of asylum seekers for parts of the curriculum or extra-curricular activities such as drama or sport would have beneficial affects for the asylum seekers education and development, as well as giving them an important psychological release from incarceration.

3. Education that provides English as a Second Language (ESL) education as well as the possibility for additional education in his/her mother tongue in order to preserve cultural identity

Education for young asylum seekers must strike a delicate balance between the preservation of their original language and culture and their education in the language and culture of their receiving country to lay the foundations for protection or settlement. These two processes must be included for education to be adequate.

Within detention the families and communities must be engaged in a process of education, which instructs in the children's mother tongues and education about their history and culture. On the other side teachers, who have the same expertise as those working in state educational systems and who are also trained in English as a Second Language instruction must be employed to teach a flexible program that ensures literacy and numeracy and tries to facilitate personal development for the diverse group of children within detention.

4. Education that is relevant in being sensitive to the special needs of traumatised students

Refugee children are often suffering from depression and other resultant mental illnesses from their experiences of trauma. The long-term effects of trauma can be significant in restricting development of children and leading to 'anxiety, depression, problems with anger management, impulsive sexuality, self-harming and excessive risk taking later in life'. [8] Environments or activities that can increase resilience against such adverse affects include development of insight into distress and life skills, being exposed to positive role models, feeling linked into a community and having opportunities to experience success and to develop optimism about the future. [9] Education or schooling is able to provide some of this resilience - by providing education in their mother tongue and about their culture, by providing opportunity for success through education and by enforcing optimism about the future and the many possibilities that education can open up to them.

In order to do this education must include sensitive approaches to issues of trauma and conflict, as well as the capacity to respond to children's trauma in a culturally sensitive way (perhaps through consultation with their family or community within the detention centre).

More than anything the schooling needs to be permanent, consistent and ongoing. A consistent education is imperative for providing some stability for children who are displaced or incarcerated.

5. Education that includes activities to aid in the learning process, such as art, drama and sport

Outside the classroom learning has been shown to be very effective and is able to provide a release of energy and depression. Furthermore schooling and these activities provide a major basis for the socialisation of children. Through such activities children learn how to interact and appropriate ways of communicating and acting. A great benefit of these activities is that they build confidence and in this way can provide hope for the future.

6. Education that accords with the principles underlying education in Australia

The national council of all Government Ministers of Education drew up a list of the common national goals for education called the Hobart Declaration on Schooling in Australia in 1989. These were broad ranging principles and were also geared to reinforce some of the principles from CROC. The principles outlined included:

"* To provide an excellent education for all young people, being one which develops their talents and capacities to full potential, and is relevant to the social, cultural and economic needs of the nation.

* To enable all students to achieve high standards of learning and to develop self-confidence, optimism, high self-esteem, respect for others, and achievement of personal excellence.

* To promote equality of educational opportunities, and to provide for groups with special learning requirements." [10]

It is against these principles that the education of asylum seekers must also conform and be assessed.

Under these principles not only should asylum seeker children receive the same standard of education as other young people within Australia but they should also be provided with the special educational needs that are outlined above, under the principle of providing for groups with special learning requirements.

7. Education in which parents are encouraged to participate

It is important both for parents and children that the process of education is a family and community one. For parents and children who are displaced, this is particularly important in providing a sense of stability and hope for the future. It allows parents to play a positive role in their children's lives despite their displacement and trauma and provides a positive role model for the children.

For this to be implemented UNYA considers it best that families be placed within the community. [11] Within community release, families are able to provide some stability to their children and engage in an educational process without the distracting and detrimental effects of incarceration on the capacity of children to learn and engage with educational material.

Education under the current system of detention

There are significant differences between this conception of education and that currently being instituted in detention. These include:

• Evidence from teachers (such as seen on ABC's Foreign Correspondent) that there is a lack of syllabus, accountability, resources and replacement of teachers. [12]
• HREOC's 1998 Report Those who've come across the seas showed an institutional and policy failure to provide adequate education and in many instances to not provide any educational facilities. Those that were provided did not provide adequate first language education, ESL, access to local schools or education at a minimum Australian standard. [13]
• Evidence in the Joint Standing Committee on Migration report Not the Hilton - Immigration Detention Centres: Inspection Report, September 2000, which demonstrates that not all centres have education for all children on a Monday-Friday basis, that education was not comprehensive (most of the classes referred to in the report were English classes for adults and there was not much detail in terms of education for children that addressed their educational needs). [14]

Barriers to adequate education in detention

There are significant barriers to these educational ideals being instituted in a situation of immigration detention. The psychological effect of incarceration on children, who have already experienced trauma, leads to self-harm, depression and an inability to engage in the learning process. The actual fact of incarceration makes adequate education virtually impossible. This is why UNYA must conclude that the education facilities of immigration detention in Australia are inadequate to fulfill not only international but domestic standards, but also that immigration detention for children is itself inadequate; because it is unable to facilitate an environment in which children can develop.

We have tried to discuss our conceptions of what education for asylum seeker children should include within the context of general principles and the specific contexts of detention or community release. Although UNYA believes that educational aims and individual development can best be achieved through community release, and indeed that detention hampers both these projects, we have also tried to include recommendations for best practice for education in detention.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Some broad conclusions must be drawn from the discussion above. Firstly, education is an inviolable right of children and is central to their individual development. Education must further meet certain standards, set both at an international and a domestic level. Education is a right that is acknowledged to be universal. As it provides essential cultural, social and vocational knowledge, the denial of education leads to disadvantage and injustice. The vulnerability of children makes it particularly important that they not be discriminated against in the provision of education, as this will have significant effects on their current wellbeing and their future prospects.

Secondly, there are specific educational needs of children who have been traumatised and displaced that need to be addressed. Their education must put them in good stead to be able to participate in two different societies and cultures. Furthermore their education must counter the damaging affects of displacement, trauma and harm. Thus it must be culturally sensitive and open, focused on building up resilience and broad in providing skills for participation and communication.

Thirdly, incarceration has damaging affects on children and is an environment in which it is very difficult for educational rights to be fulfilled and the particular challenges of education for displaced children to be met.

This leads UNYA to two recommendations.

1. Immigration detention must be a last option for children and must not be arbitrary or long-term. It is imperative that children are not left in limbo, which prevents them pursuing their education or development. Such a practice is dangerous; potentially leading to greater harm and trauma. UNYA supports a shift in policy towards family community release after preliminary background checks whilst claims are being assessed. This both recognises the importance of the family and also the benefits of community release for advancing the education and development of children. We consider this to be the best way of upholding children's' human rights and acting in line with Australia's educational principles and international commitments.

2. If children are to be kept in Immigration Detention, there must be a seachange in the ideology and implementation of education at IDCs. Educational facilities must be ongoing, provide Monday-Friday schooling for children, cater for the educational needs of all children under 18, have a curriculum that is tailored to the needs of a diverse and traumatised community of young people, facilitate parental and community involvement in education in their mother tongues and relating to their own cultures, establish standards of English literacy and numeracy and organise activities to develop the social skills and confidence of young asylum seekers. Where possible and with parental permission UNYA supports the inclusion of asylum seekers into local schools, if not for the whole week, then for certain classes and portions of the curriculum, or for activities such as drama or sport.

We believe that asylum seekers in Immigration Detention Centres in Australia are being denied the education they have a right to. More fundamentally we believe that the process of incarceration though immigration detention is damaging to these children and precludes the possibility of adequate and positive education aiding them to develop as individuals.

References

Attorney General's Department, Australia's First Report under Article 44 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, December 1995, accessed at www.law.gov.au/publication/CROCReports/welcome.htm .

Anita Chauvin, 'The Impact of Trauma on the Developing Brains of Young People; the Risk and Protective Facts which Lessen of Increase Resilience; and the Implicatios of Placing Asylum Seekers in Detention Centres: Creating Pain', in The Refugee Convention: "Where to from here" International Conference Programme, 6-9 December 2001.

Pam Christie and Ravinder Sidhu, 'Responding to Globalisation: Refugees and the challenges facing Australian schools' in The Refugee Convention: "Where to from here" International Conference Programme, 6-9 December 2001.

European Council on Refugees and Exiles, Position on Refugee Children, November 1996.

Foreign Correspondent Report on Immigration Detention, ABC, Sydney, 10 April 2001.

Joint Standing Committee on Migration, Not the Hilton - Immigration Detention Centres: Inspection Report, September 2000.

HREOC, Those who've come across the seas, May 1998.

Save the Children UK, Education in Emergencies - Save the Children Policy Paper, October 2001.

UNHCR, 'Refugee Children and Adolescents' in UNHCR Global Report, 1999.

UN Documents:

Convention on the Status of Refugees 1951

Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989

DIMIA Documents:

Women and Children in Immigration Detention, accessed at www.immi.gov.au/detention/women.htm, 26 April 2002

Unauthorised Arrivals and Detention - Information Paper, accessed www.immi.gov.au/illegals/uad/05.htm 26 April 2002

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INDIVIDUAL STATEMENTS OF YOUNG PEOPLE

Preface

After the announcement, in November 2001, of the HREOC National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention, Susan Harris of the Australian Council for Overseas Aid produced a kit to help teachers discuss the issue with their classes. UNYA decided, in consultation with Susan Harris, that it would be a good idea to use the kit as the basis for a guide to making submissions for young people. Due to the subject matter and HREOC's own statement that it particularly welcomed submissions from young people, UNYA's belief was that it was important to try and facilitate the submission of views from young people.

Below is the fruits of that work. The individual statements of some young people who wanted to express their views to the Commission on the issue of children in immigration detention. Others were not willing or able to put theirs down on paper but we received great feedback from parents, teachers and young people about the benefit of having a structure and some guidance on how to discuss these important but sensitive issues. The individuals who have sent some thoughts vary widely in age - from primary school to university students.

UNYA was greatly helped in this endeavour by Barbara Ashby of Amnesty International In Queensland who embraced the material and the idea and distributed it far and wide with fantastic results. Great thanks also go to Susan Harris for the original idea and Tori Milner, National Vice-President of UNYA for her work in the submission process.

A copy of the guide is attached in Appendix 1.

Instead of trying to synthesis the thoughts or ideas expressed in the individual ideas we wanted to let them speak for themselves. Here they are:

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Lisa Denney - UNYA Qld

As a member of the United Nations Youth Association, and more generally as a young person in Australian society, I am deeply concerned and disappointed at the detention of children and youths seeking asylum in Australia. In broader terms, we are the only developed country that detains asylum seekers when they arrive on our shores from various developing countries. The fact that we are so ready to do this to children is astonishing given our apparent concern for children in our own community (as seen with various sexual assault claims within the Church). By detaining children we are subjecting them to live in conditions that we would consider appalling for our own children. They are coming from homes where they have witnessed war, famine and suffered under brutal political regimes but instead of offering sanctuary we are confining them to a mere prison.

Inside it, they are exposed to a psychology that most adults in Australia do not have to witness. They see grow ups attempting to harm themselves, rioting and suffering mental breakdowns. Surely we concede that this has some detrimental impact on the children who observe this?

If we are to enforce mandatory detention for children seeking asylum, at the very least it should be in a protected environment where they are able to continue (or for some, begin) their education. There should be adequate health services and counseling - adequate, that is, to Australian standards. There should most definitely be interaction with the local Australian community. What better way to promote tolerance in our own community than by meeting people who's lives have been so less fortunate than our own? Youth groups and organisations, churches and schools would be more than willing to host activities where children in detention can enjoy the interaction with other children and feel that perhaps, they are accepted and that they are have not done anything wrong.

Quite simply, we should live up to the human rights record that we like to believe we have, but in reality, don't. I am hopeful that this inquiry will result in changes to the current system so that children who are seeking asylum in Australia may do so in the comfort of a system that upholds morals and basic child and human rights. They very fact that our current system scares them should be indication enough that we are not on the right track.

Chris Rawlins, UNYA NSW Vice-President

I have some friends that have committed misdemeanours as juveniles and have had to confront the justice system as a result. It is my experience that invariably, there is an intrinsic degree of leniency and tolerance of young offenders in the hope that offences will not be repeated. Many people in our community shy away from punitive measures against minors as a disciplinary tool - evidenced by the nature of our juvenile justice system and such trivial examples as the move away from corporal punishment in schools. This seems to me to be the correct approach. Why then do we see young children in detention in refugee camps? Young children that are escaping persecution are only doing so following their parents. Children are treated differently not only within our domestic system of law but also within the international community. The detention of asylum seekers in Australia should follow the same pattern. There is an entirely separate debate about whether asylum seekers should be placed in detention; surely the intolerable nature of children in detention is a fait accompli.

Alyson Kelly, UNYA Victoria Education President

Children in detention fundamentally contravenes the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ignoring the psychological damage that incarceration can cause the absence of basic education acts as an enormous impediment to the future development of these children upon resettlement/integration. In no other country of the world are children incarcerated for the periods of time that occurs in Australia especially with the absence of an appropriate or adequate infrastructure.

Auskar Surbakti, 18, First year university

If the Government claims that we (Australia) actually NEEDS establishments such as detention centres for the 'efficient' process of refugee applications, then the least that can be provided is specialised care and attention for children among these asylum-seekers. Children especially are vulnerable and susceptible to the horrid conditions of these centres, which will undoubtedly have a damning impact on them in the future. Ideally we need children to be housed out of these centres, but in the meantime, we must improve the existing conditions, for both all, especially children.

James Woods, President UNYA Victoria

The detention of children is undeniably one of the most inhumane approaches to the management of displaced persons. Incarceration of minors is already acknowledged by Australian society and law as morally reprehensible and the practice of incarceration without a criminal act having take place, no set period of incarceration being established and no legal safeguards for these children, many of which are unaccompanied, being in place - there is no excuse.

Kate Longhurst, National Peace and Disarmament Policy Co-ordinator (UNYA)

The HREOC should be commended for its inquiry into children in detention, as it is one of the most pressing issues facing Australia and Australians today. The practice of mandatorily detaining children who are seeking refugee status legitimately (whether with family members or without) is reprehensible. In a legalistic sense, in committing such children to detention, Australia is contravening its international obligations. In an ethical sense, such incarceration should be viewed as inhumane and alternatives shoudl be sought as soon as possible. The current practice reflects negatively on Australia's international reputation as well as psychologically (and perhaps physically) harming children for life.

Ellie Pietsch, 3rd Year Commerce/Arts Monash University

I vehemently disagree with the Australian Governments mandatory detention of displaced peoples within Australia. The injustice of this is highlighted through the plight of children incarcerated in these centers, marginalised and psychologically and physically hampered from developing naturally. The morally reprehensible actions of detaining children in situations where they receive little or no assistance after the atrocities which they have survived must be stopped.

Varun Ghosh, UNYA WA

"Detention centres, even at the best of times and conditions are inappropriate for housing children. The confinement of young people has extremely negative effects on their physical and mental health no matter how good conditions are. That said the conditions in Australian Detention Centres are worse than poor and therefore even more harmful for children. The placement of detention centres, the abuse from guards (both verbal and physical), the absence of proper schooling, the presence of malnutrition, and the campaign against these people by the government of Australia all has a dehumanising effect on children at a stage when they are most vulnerable and their confinement in detention centres seriously jeopardises their long term future."-

Peter Ward, UNYA National Treasurer

Detention centres are anything but suitable for children and families.

Children who have gone through traumatic events in their own countries and now being forced to put up with traumatic events in this country. These children need our compassion and our help - we are only further endangering their psychological and physical conditions by locking them up, even though they haven't committed a crime, in atrocious conditions.

Asylum seekers, particularly children, should be looked after in the community. They should be given security. They should be provided with care, education, and - where required - counseling. No child is 'more equal' than any other - we have to treat these children in the same way we would treat our own.

The government, both sides of politics, need to take a compassionate stand. They need to recognise that the human rights of these defenceless people - adults and children - are being routinely violated. The government must take a lead on the issue, must work towards a humanitarian solution, rather than indulge in populist self-serving policies aimed at securing re-election.

Anna Byrne, UNYA QLD

I wanted to write and offer what support I can in condemning the Government for its refusal to recognise the innate cruelty in mandatory detention of both children and their families. Although my knowledge of paediatric psychology is limited, it is my understanding that the preservation of a child's mental health and psychological well-being requires two things: lots of love and as much protection from trauma and harm as is possible. As is evidenced by cases of domestic violence and abuse, the latter is not always possible in today's society. However, there are many recorded cases of children suffering far less harm than they would otherwise be caused in such circumstances as a result of a constant supply of love, perhaps from an abused but protective mother, and the provision of a safe, comforting and secure environment in which to recover.

It horrifies me to think that the Government is, in fact, denying these children both of these vital necessities for childhood development. This is evident not only in the mere fact that they are detaining young children in an institutional environment that it totally incongruous with normal and healthy childhood development (even orphanages in Australia aren't that bad anymore) and not providing them with sufficient education, but also in their response to the issue of child mental health when it DOES arise. I think the best illustration of this is found in the story of a young boy found in Peter Mares' book, 'Borderline' who was suffering extreme shock from both residence in the centre and having witnessed other adult inmates maim themselves in protest at the conditions. The Government's proposed solution was to farm him out to the community, on his own, and remove him from his family, the last strand of stability left in the boy's life. Of course, there was a huge media stink about it, whereupon the Government manipulated the situation by revealing huge numbers of private details about the family in order to prejudice public opinion. Several months later, when the furore had died down, the child was actually moved into the community with his siblings and mother, but the father, to whom the child was devoted, was kept in custody.

I'm distressed that the Howard-Ruddock cohort is eager to disregard the volatile nature of children's psychological health and needs, simply because it accords with their hard-line refugee policy. For a nation that prides itself on a tradition of mateship and protection of others, we should be ashamed that our Government is engaging in a policy that, in the long term, is certain to cause possibly irreparable emotional and psychological damage and scarring to young children who have already experienced far too much pain and anguish.

Tori Milner, UNYA National Vice-President

One of the most privileged things about being a young person in an age of technological advancement, in a climate of 'globalization' is an enhanced sense of 'community'. Arising from increased communication and interaction are feelings of connection across borders, access to a pastiche of cultures that enriches our lives and a sense of solidarity in shared goals. All of these are the privileges of an increasingly smaller world. Coming with these privileges are the responsibilities.

Responsibilities as a young person to recognise the plight of our peers overseas. Obligations to recognise the hypocrisy of a cultural ethos touting a fair go, a compassionate nature, and suggesting that we should 'rejoice for we are young and free' but then locking up young people in pain who arrive on our shores.

For young people a sense of community is essential in socialisation and development. One wonders what sort of community can be engendered when there is a desperate lack of access to technology. Lack of access to education. Lack of access to one' peers, and in its place only a desperate view through the desert to a society devoid of compassion. The answer can only be a further dissolution of individual identity.

These appear to be the only conclusions when viewing Australia's position of asylum seekers arriving at our shores. It results in young people, like myself being proud to be part of a global community, but ashamed to call Australia my home.

Urashni Gunaratnam, Somerville House School, Brisbane

I think that even the idea of children in detention centres is alarming, let alone the fact that it is actually happening, which makes it so much more disturbing.

Childhood is the all-important stage of life, where ones' character is shaped. If children and teens are forced to live like this, what sort of impact will it have on their adult lives?

Living in Detention and being isolated from the rest of the world and society can have devastating effects on a person's life. It makes people unaware of anything else except the brutality and isolation that they are experiencing. They will never get to experience all of the things that children are meant to. They may never get to interact with people their own age, never get to have fun and play games.

These poor children have done nothing wrong, and they are being punished.

I cannot believe that this is happening! It is very scary to know that these children are not being educated and to find out about the kind of treatment they are receiving.

If these children are not allowed into society and are not given the opportunity to socialise with other people and children, it will have a detrimental effect on their whole lives. Where is the logic, or more importantly, the humanity, in allowing these innocent children to be locked up like this. They should be released, and be shown a new way of life, something that everyone deserves, and not be shut away and be living such a cloistered life.

Please consider this.

Emily Kiff, Somerville House School, Brisbane

I am really disturbed and alarmed that young children are kept, against their will, in detention centres. They haven't done anything wrong, The only thing that they have done is want to live in a peaceful and safe country of Australia. Away from their war torn country where they don't know if they will wake up the next day. For many of them they have lost their parents and any family they might have. They have come to our country, without a family. Looking for a family and warmth that Australia holds. All they want is a good life that Australia offers.

Jenny Huang, Somerville House, Brisbane

'I am getting sick of the holidays, there's nothing to do.' How often do we hear that statement being muttered by teenagers like us. A poor comparison to the teenagers being held at the detention centres in Australia, but demonstrates the same point. These youngsters are barred in to a confined space, plagued by the idleness that exist in the bleak detention centres. No education, no entertainment, nothing to do - no hope. Young minds are active, eager to learn, eager to belong. Months wasted in detention centres, which in many aspects are more like prisons, alienates the child and they often feel unloved and abandoned in a strange country. The long-term effect is that they will eventually lose their self-esteem and any willingness to learn and fit into a society as they are too afraid to interact with people, being alienated for so long. We are wasting a precious resource in this country. The youngs hold the keys to the future of this world. Australia needs to broaden its perspectives to a world scale and help our the children in the detention centres.

Annabel Leahy, Somerville School Brisbane

I think that the psychological suffering and prolonged isolation in detention centres has a devastating effect not only on adults but also a further, magnified effect on children, especially adolescents.

As adolescents mature they are heavily influenced as to how they should act once they become adults . If they are shown how adults have been acting over this situation they begin to follow suit and copy others examples.

If they are exposed to people who are trying to take their own lives to prove a point, how do they know what is right or wrong? They can't differentiate between the two options, considering the people they love are trying to take their own lives, but foreign people such as detention workers are, at the same time, convincing them to stop "playing up".

Not only is this environment a very depressing one, but also a very unhealthy one. Everyone needs love, encouragement and warmth, but without those essentials, people become frustrated, anxious and desperate to get out of the situation. It is because of these extremes that people are willing to sacrifice themselves to prove a point.

If Australia is unwilling to accept these refugees, we should be ashamed to call ourselves Aussies. People associate Australia with Multiculturalism and a laid back nature. If we do not possess these qualities how can we (without guilt) call ourselves 'accepting Australians'.

Beatrice Smith, Somerville House

I feel that the situation of children being held in detention centres across Australia is an issue that needs urgent attention.

In Australia, both the state and federal governments pay particular attention to the education and well being of children and young adults, however this concern is not given towards the 1103 (2001 figure) children who are currently held in confinement in centres around Australia. Many of these have fled their home countries as a last resort to escape the violence or danger that had threatened or destroyed their safety and in many cases their homes.

They have undertaken a long and treacherous journey often uncertain of their destination to finally reach Australia, which they may have thought would be a place where they may be able to start a new life in the security of an accepting society.

Many have discovered the hard way that this is far from the truth. Subject to violent horrors within the detention centres, this is not the environment that any child should be brought up in. It is the responsibility of the Australian government to provide these children and their families with the opportunity to try to make a new start in Australia. The waiting list for a visa is not an acceptable excuse for the conditions that these children are being submitted to. It is also the responsibility of the Australian public to continue to oppose the treatment of these children and not to let this matter go unnoticed.

Victoria Macdonell, Somerville House

Suffer the children: A 15 year old perspective on Detention Centres in Australia.

How can I presume to know how the children living and growing up in the Detention Centres feel? In my rich and privileged life, I have known almost nothing of pain, loneliness or suffering, yet these children have to feel it, be part of it every single day of their lives. What do I know? What do any of us know?

What I "do" know is that this is a travesty and injustice. That's what everyone else says, my limited scope of imagination can't even begin to conceive just how terrible it would be as a young adult, to grow up behind closed walls, to play in my pathetic barbed wire playground and watch the diseases of the body and mind flourish before my very eyes. I can't imagine, because I don't want to imagine it. I don't want to use my imagination to conjure up something so horrible and disgusting. I guess I am like many Australians.

The saddest thing for me is, that these children will never have the perspective on this that I do. They will grow up in a country that they think has abandoned them, a country that they think has left them to rot, and cares nothing about them. In all truth, maybe we don't care. Because if we did, this wouldn't have begun in the first place.

They don't deserve this. Not even the most decrepit of criminals deserves the conditions some of these children have to go through. They are children. So am I. What separates us - the place our blood comes from? We have the ultimate will to live. The walls separate us. Flimsy legislation on crumpled pieces of paper separate us. We are no different. Then why are we treated so differently?

Rory Killen, Marist College Ashgrove, Amnesty International Student Team

I'm a seventeen year old boy who attends school almost every day of the week at a grade 12 level, I look forward to my future with optimism and certainty, and I enjoy the full freedoms that a modern democratic country gives to a person under eighteen. I have many close friends whom I have known since I was young. I have a large and supportive family. My life is comfortable and unmarked by any tragedy.

I know of a boy from Afghanistan. He, like me, is seventeen. Unlike me, however, he is forced to learn at a third grade standard because he cannot speak English at any fluency above this level.

He is the only member of his family in Australia, the rest are facing famine and poverty in Afghanistan. His freedoms are limited. Due to the language barrier, he finds it quite difficult to find friends outside of his ethnic group. In three years, when his temporary protection visa expires, his future is uncertain.

He has no one to turn to and no future to look forward to.

Will he be sent home to face poverty and the end of any adequate education? Will he be allowed to remain? Will the government refuse to acknowledge his tragic life as having refugee status and pretend his home is a safe place to live?

I cannot imagine his life. I have never been away from home for more than a few weeks at a time and even then I was always just a telephone call away.

What are my thoughts about children, like this boy, who are kept in the detention centres?

I think of myself in that situation. I think of how my parents would react to it. These "illegals" are people with faces, families and histories just like mine.

How would I react if I or my loved ones were in the same desperate situation?

Matthew Clifford, Marist College Ashgrove, Amnesty International Student Group

I attend a school with great community pride and spirit. My school endeavors to encourage the students to new heights. In any academic or physical arena the staff are overly supportive and helpful in creating, strengthening and enhancing our knowledge base and abilities in a wide range of ideas. The goal of our school, as in all schools, is to give the students a great start in their life. In Australian society our life is our career. Our future is a job. A job gives us financial security and a firm standing on where our lives should lead. The education of youth is imperative in today's society as it forms our life, our future. The children in Detention Centres around Australia are severely disadvantaged. They do not receive adequate schooling. Their lives, the future of these children are already unknown. They have no knowledge of where they will end up. When they do get out of the Detention Centres, wherever they go, they will be behind the eight ball and not have a chance. The education of youth in Detention Centres is imperative.

Surely there is a lack of sense and care for the lives of the children being held in the Detention Centres? They are already at a loss for direction. Their lives are uncertain. In today's society they are being withheld from the necessities that shall take them through this life. This injustice should be put to an end.

Becky Ashby, Brisbane Girls Grammar School, Amnesty International Student Team

I am a 14 yr old Brisbane school student and here is my submission about my opinions on the detaining of children in Australia.

'I was sleeping quietly with my two children. Around 2 am seven men broke the door down and my husband woke me up. I was so terrified . I can never forget what I felt at that moment. We were taken somewhere, leaving my little children alone. The last time I saw my husband was the night we were arrested together. We were put in the same prison but I was not allowed to see him. Two months later I heard from a friend of his that he had been killed in prison. I was treated very badly in prison. I couldn't eat or drink and I was beaten every day. The guards forced me to dance and sing for them……someone helped me to escape. ( A young Zairian woman explains how she was unjustly imprisoned.)

When large groups of people have been forced to abandon their homes, it is easy to forget that each one is unique .Each individual has childhood memories, family and friends, a life story with its share of joys and pain. Each still nurtures hopes and dreams.

All too often, they are treated not as human beings with individual rights, but as an irritating fragment of a troublesome mass. Immigration officials treat them as criminals not victims, and politicians scapegoat them to divert attention from their own failures.

With domestic violence, the perpetrator maintains control by blaming the victim, and we seem to apply the same logic to our treatment of asylum seekers.

Many problems are caused by the government imposing a prison-like regime on people who are, for the most part, victims of extremely traumatic experiences in their homelands and often on their way here.

Children and young people who become refugees are especially vulnerable. Small children frequently do not understand why their parents have made them leave home. Some have witnessed horrific events and can be very scared and emotionally scarred. They may have lost not only their homes, but also their relatives, friends, toys, school - in fact everything that is precious to them. Young people are often separated from their friends and family at a very important stage in their development.

These children should not be detained. We are only imprisoning people who have escaped political imprisonment, tormenting people who have fled torture, and punishing people who have already been cruelly punished.

There have been many cases of young asylum seekers suffering severe mental stress from being locked up. For example a six year old Iranian boy was diagnosed with acute post-traumatic stress disorder after spending 17 months inside Villawood Detention Centre. He does not speak and refuses to eat or drink since seeing a detainee attempt to kill himself by slashing his wrists several months ago.

At another camp, in Woomera, another child witnessed people setting fire to themselves and camp guards using batons to stop a riot. He was described to have been 'dying of grief' and psychologist Zachary Steel reported that 'Almost everybody within the detention environment is resenting symptoms of clinical depression……repetitive behaviour, things you see in people who have been profoundly institutionalised".

I also know teenagers, here in Brisbane, (both older and younger) who have been detained for a year or longer, and all of them have been negatively affected by it.

One 16 year old Afghani boy I met still carries a pack of cards around with him everywhere, rearing to let them go, after he was put into a room with 3 other boys and left there for many months with only the pack of cards.

There have been many reported cases of both verbal and mental abuse by guards in the centres. Young impressionable minds are told repeatedly that "No-one in Australia wants them" and "everybody hates them" Children have also been isolated and separated from their families. This has been associated with feelings of insecurity, fatigue, depression fear and anxiety, and also with sleep and eating disorders. Many young people have also reported a complete lack of will to survive.

Our Government tries to justify detention by saying the applicant arrived without proper papers . But most refugees can only escape their countries by travelling without documents or with false papers. The UN Refugee Convention states that refugees escaping danger should not be penalized for entering a country illegally.

Refugees are NOT criminals! They should not be locked up (especially the children)

And if it is, as some may say, that the real issue is Australia's reputation. Then surely if we treat people who seek refuge with respect, that reputation will take care of itself!

Andrea McLeod, Mt St Michael's College, Amnesty International Student Team

The detention of asylum-seeking. Children for simply wanting to live free and safe is one of the most morally disgusting practices that has happened in Australia in years.

As Australia is a signatory nation to the Rights of the Child, it can be expected that Australia would comply with these Rights. However, since 'sending a message to people smugglers and illegal immigrants' is often quoted as one of the reasons for harsh detention laws, it can hardly be said that the best interests of the detained children are being honoured.

Over the last year or so, I have met quite a few boys and girls, both my age and younger, who were held as asylum seekers in detention centres - some for over a year. Every single one of them has been affected in some way, it still hurts them emotionally to remember or talk about their experiences inside the detention centres. I have been told by some of my friends who have been released from detention centres that guards said to them," Nobody wants you here, if you're given asylum, then everyone will hate you and want to kill you".

Such statements should NEVER be said to children or to adults, but especially not to children. Such behaviour on the part of the guards is vicious, uncompassionate and unethical.

When did Australia lose its compassion and attitude of "fair go"? Why does the Australian Government show such an uncaring attitude about detained child asylum seekers who experience trauma and stress and think of killing themselves. The fact is that children are locked up in hellholes in the middle of nowhere without access to proper education or proper medical treatment, and in a place where they may witness beatings by guards and suicides of adult detainees. That this could be tolerated, much less endorsed, by the Australian Government and other Australian citizens, disgusts me.

For children to grow up in the harsh, unforgiving environment of detention centres is not healthy, particularly when so many people who are released from the detention centres say conditions there are worse than prison. As a teenager, I am sure that if I faced such conditions, I would be depressed, confused, even suicidal. I am speaking from my own perspective as someone who ahs not experienced torture or trauma or the death of loved ones, so how would teenagers or children who have experienced those things feel?

There is no justification for children being in detention centres which are demoralising and destructive to esteem, hope and development. I do not believe that children should be separated from their parents. Asylum seeking children should be released into Australian society with at least their primary carer, lest the children experience anxiety at separation and suffer further emotional damage.

Therefore it is not a question of 'if' children should be released from detention, but a question of 'how soon', before more damage is done to children who have fled to Australia in the hope of a better life promising individual human rights and freedom.

Liz Mills, Mt ST Michaels College, Amnesty International Student Team

Refugees by definition are people who flee human rights violations - if there were no human rights violations there would be no refugees. These people deserve our compassion.

The young people currently detained in Australian Detention Centres do not deserve a life of suffering. As students we lead free, happy lives and we have the ability and opportunity that education has given us. Young refugees do not have proper education, health services and the right to freedom, which we take for granted when we are so fortunate to go to the movies or to have coffee with a friend.

Yet so many of us are oblivious to what it would be like for young people our own age in distressing conditions, such as a Detention Centre. This is because it is so far from our own reality, and we don't even realise it is happening here, in our own country. As young people we feel accountable and guilty for the young people, so similar to ourselves Why should we be the lucky ones born outside the fence?

The government lies and people listen. The media portrays a negative viewpoint, and people listen. We are here campaigning for the freedom of refugees and sometimes it feels like no-one is listening.

Granted there are many people today willing to help, who comprehend the situation, but unless we unite together, we are only a small group trying to make a difference.

As young people with a full understanding of the situation, we are the future - for tomorrow. We will be the ones who have to live with the current government's actions.

After some time, young refugees may be released from the detention centres, and unfortunately, it does not end there for them. The ongoing effects of experiencing such trauma at a young age often results in refugees having mental health issues later in life.

 

Jasmine McCormack, Brisbane State High School, Amnesty Student Team

I am a 16 year old school student. I study, I work and I go out with my friends. Every second I do these things I take them for granted. As I complain about going to school in the mornings, about studying in the afternoons, I am able to completely forget that there are children my own age and much younger that would give anything to put themselves in my position. They would give anything to have an education, a part-time job. They would give anything to walk outside the jagged, sharp barbed wire fence that we as Australians find necessary to keep them behind. But what they do and what they say isn't enough. As they plead for our humanitarian aid we walk past without flinching. Why? Are we afraid of these helpless children who we keep locked away, deprived of their fundamental rights, or do we simply not care?

Despite my unrecognised status as a student and my overlooked age, I am aware that there are sever problems that need addressing. Out government policies are discriminatory and racist towards children fleeing persecution. We selfishly think only about what effects Australian society will suffer through the immigration of these refugees and our solution is to imprison them. I feel anger towards the government who enforces this cruelty and also the majority of the population who support it. I am well aware of the problems in our country, and as a student who no longer takes her life for granted and wants to assist in helping these people, maybe I am more aware than the adults and the so called role models of this society. Australia is a country that can be proud of many things, but detaining innocent children isn't one of them.

BARBED WIRE

by Cara-Ann Simpson

When she looked through the

barbed wire she saw nothing to

give her the comfort that a home

brought to my childhood.

And though she could talk

with beautiful sweet music

no-one knew her language,

no-one knew her sorrow.

When I looked around at

my comforts I see her

small sweet face playing

on my cushioned mind.

But when I walk about

my educated field of freedom

I wonder if perhaps she has

the luxury of wisdom.

So the little girl sought

another in her desperation,

and together they silenced

themselves through the only

literal terms they knew.

And while the public blamed

some ill-fitting desperate I

heard some whispers in my fight

for truth and I knew.

And my sweet cherubic girl

will carry her scars long

and she will remember

but may her spirit grow strong,

for she is just like you, or me.

The Dove Of Hope

by Becky Ashby

The dove of hope flies on and on.

Over vast oceans and deserts of sand,

Tired and weary; she searches; "Perhaps

Tomorrow they'll let me land".

When masterminds lead the nations

Endless, pointless wars are fought,

While innocent people's lives are wasted

Shysters waste "precious' time in court.

Bodies battered with brutal force

Interrogation leaves spirits bruised,

Guns are not the only weapons

When men and women are abused.

The dove, exhausted, circles lower

More and more slowly she flaps her wings,

"Is there anywhere she can land

To hopefully end sad happenings".

In Port Hedland Detention Centre

A child's face alights with a smile,

This little bird brings a message of hope

To make her wait worthwhile

When they are released from detention these children are still affected. I have heard the despair in TPV teenagers voices when they have lost years of education, are now working very hard in high school and are told to their faces that they are not entitled to go to university and so can forget about being doctors etc. (in this case it was his fathers' profession)

Another child I know, in Primary school here, recently asked her parents to send her body back to Iraq when she died!

For the rest of the students this treatment has created a possibility of the divisibility of human rights!

The social justice and ethical implications of children being detained arbitrarily, and then not to be given the same human rights as the rest of the student population needs addressing urgently.

Wendy Gore, St Ursula's College, Toowoomba Amnesty member

No child should be forbidden the right to have a happy childhood. I am moved when I hear that childen are not allowed to have a happy and safe place to enjoy their youth.

"Youth are our future"

Chrissy Luxton

No-one has the right to take childhood away from a child. To laugh often and much is part of what being a child is. How can they experience this if they are denied the opportunity to be themselves.

Geoff Parkes, Belmore, NSW

My name is Geoff Parkes, I am an author and a reviewer for both Australian and international websites, as well as the author of a monthly column on life in Australia for an American based online magazine.

I wish to urge the Commissioner to recognize that young people in detention centres should be released into the community immediately. They have done nothing wrong, nor have they been convicted of a crime, and as such their continuing detention breaches Australia's obligations under the United Nations treaties to which we are obliged, by law, to follow.

It is a gross blemish on Australia's human rights record to continue to imprison these children in substandard detention centres where they are exposed to occurrences that no child in a democratic country should ever have to see. Our national anthem says We have boundless plains to share.

Our laws state that we are obliged to assist these children. It is time we did so.

---

The following are signed petitions and letters from School Groups. They are typed below with the names and ages provided where available.

 

St Ursula's

Dear Sir/Madam

Our Pastoral Care Group has discussed the issue of immigrant children in detention centres. We believe these children should not be kept in detention centres. They have done no wrong and are innocent victims of a world situation that should be rectified. We believe these children suffer from incarceration in detention centres and some experience ongoing trauma and personality changes even after release. We add our voices to all those who agree that the issue of children in detention should be resolved with compassion and justice.

Yours faithfully

11 signatures from St Ursula's (actual signatures - hard copy is available upon request)

 

St Ursula's

We, the undersigned, have discussed this issue in our Pastoral Care Group and wish to make the following comments.

We believe all children have the right to grow up free from suffering and should have access to the same opportunities for development eg. sport, education, health, social interaction.

We believe it is wrong for children to be treated as criminals and put behind bars, when they are not responsible for their situation. They have done no wrong but they are being caged like animals in a zoo. How can they be happy being closed off and far from their natural environment?

Has Australia wound the clock back to convict days when people were sentenced to years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread to survive? All these people are doing is trying to survive.

The current treatment of these children will leave them scarred for life with the memory of a childhood spent behind bars. Handing out dollars and sending them home to a country in ruins will not repair the psychological damage done by years in detention.

We call on the government to find a more humane response to refugees and their children.

Mary Langler - teacher and five 16 year olds ( Marsha Jimwereiu, Kate Vallely and Natarsha Smerdon), two 15 year olds (Kathryn Huey and Taleya Robinson), two 14 year olds (Kristy Dobson and Emma Jackson), three 13 year olds (Ellen Graham, Felicity Miller and Ashleig Polzim) and one 12 year old (Karina McCullough).

 

We are students in Mrs Sullivan and Mrs Butterworth's Pastoral Care Group at St Ursula's College Toowoomba.

We do not agree with the inhumane living conditions that the children held in detention centres, such as Woomera, are faced with.

The fact that these children can be separated from their families, exposed to hatred and are having the right to a normal childhood taken away from them is appalling.

It is conditions such as these that have already and will continue to emotionally damage these children for life.

13 signatures - Emily Purse, Claire Ivey, Helena Poran, Amanda Steger, Kate Murphy, Nicola Smith, Holly Haigh, Courtney Wilde, Cara Fox, Emma Kuhn and C. Huban with Teachers R. Sullivan and J. M. Butterworth.

 

St Ursula's College Toowoomba

We, the undersigned would like to express a concern at the detention of children asylum seekers in Australia. We believe that it should not come to the drastic actions such as protest and the sewing of lips in order for their condition to be considered.

Other countries around the world are placed in a similar situation to Australia, often faced with processing numerous more people than our government, yet these countries have found humane ways of dealing with the situations. We are concerned that the Australian Government insists on holding these asylum seekers in detention for so long when other countries have shown the benefits of allowing these people to live within communities until their requests are processed. This would no doubt, reduce the large financial burden that detention centres place on the Australian population, but more importantly, allow these people to maintain their dignity.

One concern many people have is about a greater intake of immigrants to this country being a burden on the economy, including an increase in unemployment. If we are correct, we believe the opposite to be true. Australia can support an increase in population and only thrive, as many more jobs will be created.

Finally, we are concerned about the separation of children from their parents and other family members. A family environment provides care and love which, we believe, would be more important to these children being faced with living in detention.

16 Signatures: - Siobhan McCarthy, Rebecca Casey, Emma Nicoll, Brenda Harth, Alison Gillmore, Cassie Gill, Jordyn Wilson, Kate Howard, Jacinta Keen, Sam Callagran, Beau Mionett, Erin Petzler, Alice Hill, Kate Clark, Lex Dawson and Teacher.

 

Marist College Ashgrove - Amnesty International Group Submission

The asylum seekers being withheld in detention centres are being denied many human rights standards. This situation that has arrived has been treated poorly and there are many issues that need to be dealt with immediately.

It was felt that many submissions being handed in may focus on the ills and inhumane treatment and living situations of the detainees. In that light this group submission is to collative ideas and beliefs that the detainees should be taken through with the first couple of weeks in this country.

We see that, the asylum seekers entering this country, whether obtaining citizenship or not, should know how the country works and what Australia is all aobut.

An introduction into Australian society:

This will not only help the people obtaining citizenship but help improve the light in which some detainees view Australia.

Whilst detainees are from countries all over the world, culturally wise our country is very different. A main focus will be to introduce our society and our similarities and differences from their society. This can be done by:

1) A visual presentation

This shall include:

The geographical nature of the country

A broad overlook of the people in Australia

The different cultures in society

Special sites and insight into people

2) In a lighthearted nature some 'Aussie Sayings'

Promoting traditional Australian greetings to be used

This shall aid the people to feel more welcome and accepting of Australian society

3) Interviews with Australians that are from the same country that the asylum seekers identify with

This shall help a bond grow and acceptance of Australia

It shall give them insight as to what Australia is like and to what they can expect

4) A 'field trip into a town or city

Once again as we feel it is important so they accept us and feel welcomed to this country

Basics like currency and language can be picked upped by the asylum seekers

 

We feel that showing the asylum seekers that we do care for their well being and letting them know that if they gain citizenship then for them to realise that they are welcomed into society.

Matthew Clifford, Rory Kjillen, Ashley Cooper, Liam Carden, Thomas Kenny, Timothy Lawson, Matthew Thompson, James Loakes, Mark Jones, Benjamin Mulcahy, Joshua Jensen, Gregory Cocks.

---

APPENDIX 1 - UNYA's Guide to Submissions for Young People

I am writing to you from the United Nations Youth Association (UNYA), a national youth organisation with over 1000 members across Australia, to bring your attention to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC)'s National Inquiry into children in immigration detention.

Last year there were 1103 children held in Australian immigration detention centres, out of a total of 8401 people overall.

The National Inquiry is open to submissions from any organisation or individual. Furthermore HREOC has stated that they particularly encourage submissions from young people.

If you have any views on this issue the National Inquiry is an excellent way to have them heard!

Attached to this page is a copy of the National Inquiry guidelines also found at (http://www.hreoc.gov.au/human_rights/children_detention/index.html), including the terms of reference. I encourage you to read them and respond. Your response doesn't have to contain facts or figures or be legalistic but can be based on looking at some of the areas covered in the terms of reference (eg education, health) and responding based on your own attitudes towards what these services mean to young people and how these services can best be provided to young people who arrive as asylum seekers or refugees or to those in immigration detention. If you would prefer to express yourself creatively you can do your submission as a drawing, poem or story.

If you do not wish to make an individual submission UNYA would love to include some short statements from young people in our submission. Additionally we want to collect statements from young people on how they feel and what they think about children in detention (as well as the broader issues relating to refugees) in order to provide a youth perspective in community discussions on this issue. If, at any point, we wished to use your statement we would seek permission.

As young people, we are well placed to empathise with the needs and wishes of children and other young people, even in situations vastly different to our own. Furthermore it is our right to contribute to a debate concerning their welfare and treatment in Australia.

Below are some questions and answers relating to the Inquiry (adapted from some written by Susan Harris, Australian Council for Overseas Aid) and the terms of reference themselves. The deadline for submissions to HREOC is 3 May. If you want to send it through UNYA email or fax it to me by April 26.

If you have any questions or would like to forward a statement to UNYA please email me at humanrights@unya.asn.au, fax me at 02 9954 0671 or call me on 0414 820 662.

I look forward to hearing from you!

May Miller-Dawkins

Human Rights Coordinator

UNITED NATIONS YOUTH ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA

www.unya.asn.au

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the aim of the National Inquiry into Children in immigration detention?

The inquiry will investigate the "adequacy and appropriateness of Australia_ s treatment of child asylum seekers and other children who are, or have been held in detention."

Why is the National Inquiry into children in immigration detention important to Australian young people such as myself?

The inquiry is relevant to Australian young people for three main reasons.

Firstly, it is an issue that relates specifically to children and young people but more broadly is relevant to all Australians.

Secondly, the process of making a submission to the inquiry allows young people to voice their opinions on the issue of children in immigration detention and participate in the democratic process.

Thirdly, Australian young people may empathise with the children in immigration detention who are less fortunate than themselves. Australian students are the same or near to the same age as the children in detention and may be able to compare their situation with those of the children in detention.

How might I start making a submission into the National Inquiry?

Obviously this is not the only way to make a submission but if you don't know where to start it might help!

1. Firstly it may be useful to spend some time identifying who children in immigration detention are, why they are there and why it is important to contribute to the inquiry. To do so you can have a look at these websites to start off:

• www.humanrights.gov.au - the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission, which is the body responsible for ensuring that human rights are upheld in Australia.
• www.unhcr.ch - the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees - the UN agency which is responsible for the protection of refugees internationally
• www.dima.gov.au - the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs which is the Australian Government Department responsible for refugees.

2. Secondly, refer to the terms of reference of the inquiry (see attached sheet). (http://www.hreoc.gov.au/human_rights/children_detention/index.html) The terms of reference are provided by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) as a framework to address the issue of the adequacy and appropriateness of Australia_ treatment of asylum seekers. Although the terms of reference are divided into specific areas, they can be understood from a student_ s perspective.

3. Look at some of the extra resources, do your own research or just write down what you think!

EXTRA RESOURCES

Some case studies and background information can be found in a feature article from the Sydney Morning Herald (December 15 2001 _ http://www.smh.com.au/news/0112/15/review/review2.html).

ChilOut _ Children Out of Detention is a parents group opposed to the mandatory detention of children in Australian detention centres (www.chilout.org).

Amnesty International Australia -- Defending Childrens Human Rights -- Facts on Children in Detention (www.amnesty.org.au/whatshappening/hrd4-5.html).

UNICEF - Questions Parents Ask about the Convention on the Rights of the Child (www.unicef.org/crc/parentsfaq.htm).

UNHCR _ Refugee Children: Their World at a Glance (www.unhcr.ch/children/index.html).

Refugee Council of Australia (www.refugeecouncil.org.au).

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ENQUIRY TERMS OF REFERENCE

The Human Rights Commissioner, Dr Sev Ozdowski, will conduct an Inquiry into children in immigration detention on behalf of the Commission. He will be assisted by an inquiry team that will be announced at a later date.

The Commissioner will inquire into the adequacy and appropriateness of Australia's treatment of child asylum seekers and other children who are, or have been, held in immigration detention, including:

1. The provisions made by Australia to implement its international human rights obligations regarding child asylum seekers, including unaccompanied minors.

2. The mandatory detention of child asylum seekers and other children arriving in Australia without visas, and alternatives to their detention.

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;
• culture;
• 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 protect the human rights and best interests of all detained children.

6. The additional measures and safeguards which may be required to protect the human rights and best interests of child asylum seekers and refugees residing in the community after a period of detention.

"Child" includes any person under the age of 18.

Reasons for the Inquiry

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission is responsible for protecting and promoting human rights, including:

• promoting an understanding and acceptance of human rights in Australia;
• undertaking research to promote human rights;
• examining laws relating to human rights; and
• advising the federal Attorney-General on laws and actions that are required to comply with our international human rights obligations.

The Commission also inquires into complaints of breaches of human rights under the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Act 1986 (Cth). In the past reporting year, the Commission has received an increase in the number of complaints about human rights breaches involving children in immigration detention.

One area of Commission responsibility is the rights of children under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Australia agreed to be bound by the Convention in December 1990. The Australian government has also included the Convention in the human rights responsibilities of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

Key principles of the Convention are:

" The right to survival and development.

" The best interests of the child as a primary consideration in all actions concerning children.

" The right of all children to express their views freely on all matters affecting them.

" Respect for the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents and families to provide direction to a child in the exercise of their rights.

" The right of all children to enjoy all the rights of the Convention without discrimination of any kind.

The Convention applies to every child in Australia regardless of nationality or immigration status and regardless of how the child arrived in Australia.

Under the Convention, children in detention have the right to:

" family life, and to be with their parents unless separation is in their best interests.

" the highest attainable standard of health.

" protection from all forms of physical or mental violence, sexual abuse and exploitation. They also have the right to recover and be rehabilitated from neglect, exploitation, abuse, torture or ill-treatment, or armed conflicts.

" to practise their culture, language and religion.

" to rest and play.

" to primary education, and different forms of secondary education should be available and accessible to every child.

" appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance as an asylum seeker or refugee.

" not be deprived of their liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily, with detention only in conformity with the law, as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.

" be treated with humanity and respect for their inherent dignity and in a manner which takes into account their age.

" access to legal assistance and the right to challenge their detention.

" not be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

" privacy.

" a standard of living adequate for physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.

The Convention is available at http://www.unicef.org/crc/fulltext.htm. The Commission will consider human rights instruments other than the Convention as they are relevant.

Making a submission

Individuals, community groups and government bodies are invited to make submissions on one or more of the terms of reference. Submissions from children and young people are particularly welcome. The Commission requests that submissions be based on the experience or expertise of individuals and organisations.

While submissions do not have to be in any particular format, they must fit within the terms of reference. The Guide to Making a Submission to the Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention suggests a structure for submissions to follow.

Electronic submission by email is encouraged. Submissions may be published on the Commission web site. If submissions are marked confidential (in whole or in part) the confidential material will not be included on the web site.

The closing date for submissions is 3 May 2002.

Inquiry

The Commission will conduct its inquiry through research, submissions, public hearings and consultation. Further details of public hearing dates will be announced in 2002.

Written submissions should be sent to one of the following addresses:

• By mail:
  
  National Inquiry into children in immigration detention
  
  Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
  
  GPO Box 5218, Sydney, NSW 1042
  
   
• By email:
  
  childrendetention@humanrights.gov.au
  
   
• By fax:
  
  02 9284 9849

Closing date for submissions is 3 May 2002.

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1. UNHCR, 'Refugee Children and Adolescents' in UNHCR Global Report, 1999, p. 390

2. European Council on Refugees and Exiles, Position on Refugee Children, November 1996, p. 1.

3. UNHCR, op cit, 1999, p. 390

4. Pam Christie and Ravinder Sidhu, 'Responding to Globalisation: Refugees and the challenges facing Australian schools' in The Refugee Convention: "Where to from here" International Conference Programme, 6-9 December 2001, p. 74

5. Christie and Sidhu, op cit, 2001, p. 74.

6. Save the Children UK, Education in Emergencies - Save the Children Policy Paper, October 2001, p. 4

7. Save the Children UK, op cit, p. 8

8. Anita Chauvin, 'The Impact of Trauma on the Developing Brains of Young People; the Risk and Protective Facts which Lessen or Increase Resilience; and the Implications of Placing Asylum Seekers in Detention Centres: Creating Pain', in The Refugee Convention: "Where to from here" International Conference Programme, 6-9 December 2001, p.85

9. Chauvin, op cit, 2001, p. 86

10. Attorney General's Department, Australia's First Report under Article 44 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, December 1995, accessed at www.law.gov.au/publication/CROCReports/welcome.htm

11. For instance as under the Alternative Detention Model in HREOC's 1998 report Those who've come across the seas.

12.Foreign Correspondent Report on Immigration Detention, ABC, Sydney, 10 April 2001.

13. HREOC, Those who've come across the seas, May 1998.

14. Joint Standing Committee on Migration report Not the Hilton - Immigration Detention Centres: Inspection Report, September 2000

Last Updated 9 January 2003.