RAR National
Urgent Action Bulletin! 13.5.04
The report of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) into the conditions of children in immigration detention has been tabled today in federal parliament. This damning report describes a history of systematic abuse of children within the Australian immigration detention system, and clearly lays both legal and moral responsibility for these violations at the door of the Australian government.
The report presents the Australian government with a stark and immediate choice: to continue with its present policy of detaining children, knowing that practice to be a flagrant violation of international law, or to change its policy.
The release of this crucial report immediately after the federal budget is no accident � it has clearly been timed to minimise its potential impact on public opinion. The government is trying to bury the report�s findings beneath a pile of �good news� items - to stifle principle with self-interest.
We must not allow this to happen!
RAR groups and supporters are asked to act now in support of an intensive nationwide campaign to publicise the findings of the report and lobby MPs for political change.
Read the HREOC Report:
http://www.humanrights.gov.au/human_rights/children_detention_report/index.htm
Read the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child:
http://www.unicef.org/crc/fulltext.htm
What you can do:
Please take action NOW to support this vital campaign.
RAR Media Release (for distribution to all media):
Government fails to act on systematic abuse of refugee children�s human rights
In its comprehensive and detailed report on children in immigration detention, tabled in Parliament today, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HEROC) details ten years of systematic human rights abuse of children held in Australian detention centres. Using the Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) and Australasian Correctional Management�s (ACM) own documentation, the report accuses the Australian government of widespread violations of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, the most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world. It details the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment that children in detention have had to endure.
The report, entitled �A last resort?�, provides witness statements and case studies which detail the impact on the physical, psychological and social health of children held under detention, either as unaccompanied minors or with their families. The report also presents vivid accounts of violent physical abuse of children, isolation in padded rooms, calling children by their detention number, the use of racist taunts and verbal abuse, holding children in areas with unknown adults, exposure to tear gas and water cannons; and the witnessing of adults, including parents, engaging in acts of self mutilation and attempted suicide. Details of repeated self-mutilation, suicide attempts and other acts of self-harm by children as young as nine also documented in the report.
According to Dr. Helen McCue, cofounder of the national Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR) network, the report is a shocking indictment of the government�s detention policies. "The accounts of physical and psychological abuse of refugee children under the federal government�s care contained in this report are sickening. The high incidence of depression and post-traumatic stress among refugee children caused by these actions makes me feel angry, disgusted, ashamed and deeply saddened that Australia is condoning such shocking practices. RAR calls on the government to protect these vulnerable children by ending its mandatory detention policy.
"The report confirms that the majority of children in detention have escaped from conditions of war and brutality in Iraq and Afghanistan. The fact that more than ninety-five percent of the children processed so far have been granted refugee status highlights the senselessness of government detention policies," Dr. McCue said.
"RAR supports the HEROC recommendations to the government to remove all children from detention, and to immediately review legislation related to the detention of children. We will use our extensive rural network to continue lobbying the government to immediately address these abhorrent violations against children, and to bring an end to the mandatory detention of all asylum seekers, both in Australia and in the offshore centres of Nauru and Papua New Guinea."
For more information contact Helen McCue on (02) 4962 2325 or Rob Simpson on (02) 6655 5502.
Date: 13.5.04
How to Contact the media:
A list of local, regional and national newspaper addresses is available on the RAR website at http://www.ruralaustraliansforrefugees.org/template.php3?area=contacts&content=natmedia.
Writing to politicians and the media:
The sample letter provided below can be used as the basis of a letter to politicians.
Standard practice in writing to politicians is to put �MP� at the end of the member�s name in the address, and to add �The Honourable� in front of the name if the member is a Minister. It�s also customary with Ministers to put their portfolio (eg, Minister for Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs) in the line beneath their name. As far as the salutation goes, it�s best to use names with �ordinary� MPs, and the greeting �Dear Minister� for Ministers. When writing to Philip Ruddock (who as Attorney-General is responsible for ensuring that complies with the treaties it has signed), the salutation is usually �Dear Attorney�. Of course, it�s entirely up to each writer to decide whether they wish to observe these protocols.
A written letter (rather than e-mail) is best if you expect a reply � and don�t forget to keep a copy in case there�s a need to follow up. You may also choose to �cc� copies to other interested or possibly influential parties.]
Lists of politicians� addresses are available at:
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/index.htm (House of Representatives)
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/senators/index.htm#contact (Senate)
The sample letter provided can be easily adapted for use as a �Letter to the Editor�. The only necessary amendment would be the omission or redirection of the questions asked at the end of the letter, possibly by challenging any prospective candidates for the upcoming federal election to respond.
A list of local, regional and national newspaper addresses is available on the RAR website at http://www.ruralaustraliansforrefugees.org/template.php3?area=contacts&content=natmedia.
The letter below may help in framing a response to the HREOC report. It�s recommended that writers vary the text if possible, as �individualised� letters are likely to have a greater impact than � form� letters. If time is a problem in this regard, please feel free to use the text as is � enough such letters will still have the desired effect. (Details in red to be completed by the letter writer)
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[Top of page]
[Sender�s postal address]
[Date]
[Politician�s address]
Dear [Name/title of politician or candidate]
The release of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission�s report into Children in Detention, clearly confirms what refugee advocates have been claiming: that current immigration detention arrangements have fostered the �cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment� of children, and that legal and moral responsibility for this abuse lies with the Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs. The report is unequivocal in its findings, and sufficiently well documented to leave the Minister or the government she represents no room for denial, nor any further opportunity to abdicate their duty of care.
That duty, as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (against which the enquiry assesses government performance) is also unequivocal. However the government may seek to interpret this obligation, including its provisions for �protection�, the kinds of abuses detailed in the report can never be portrayed as anything but a gross violation of human rights. Nor can the government continue to deny its primary obligation under the Convention to remove children from such situations of danger.
This issue goes right to the heart of our identity as an enlightened, progressive nation, and to our basic human attributes of decency and compassion. There is no excuse, by any civilised standard, for subjecting children to the risk of such abuse, or to any of the other incidents of violence and trauma detailed in the report. That such abuses against children should occur anywhere is abhorrent enough; but to think that they have occurred within facilities and arrangements controlled by a government supposedly representing my interests totally appals me.
The government�s claim that it has no viable option in this regard does not bear examination. There are a number of alternative policy and processing models, including those adopted in other countries or proposed by domestic advocacy groups such as Justice for Asylum Seekers and the Jesuit Refugee Service, that could provide a basis for a more humane and compassionate approach should Australian government wish to explore them. The HREOC report makes it clear that this is no longer a matter of choice: to do otherwise would be to align ourselves with the very regimes that the current government so self-righteously accuses of flagrant human rights abuses.
This letter is not merely a criticism of what has occurred � it is a commitment confirming my determination to end such abuses, and to actively oppose any interest or entity that condones them. It also signals my firm intention to put self-interest aside at the upcoming federal election and to use my vote to ensure that my protest is registered on this matter of fundamental principle. I shall urge others of my acquaintance to do the same.
With these considerations in mind, I would be grateful if you could advise of your position, as a [current/prospective] representative of the Australian people, with regard to the following:
I look forward to your response.
Yours faithfully
[Signature]
[Writer�s name]
Reminder:
�Australian Story� � Profile on Ian Skiller and rural TPV holders (Repeat screening)
This profile of refugee advocate Ian Skiller and his inspirational commitment to the cause of rural-based TPV holders, first aired on the ABC last week, is an exceptional piece of television journalism that has been highly effective in drawing attention to the plight of asylum seekers and emphasising the positive aspects of the RAR movement. Already we�ve had numerous requests from people wishing to join a RAR group and receive our information, as well as some pretty impressive offers of financial aid and legal assistance for TPV holders.
For those who missed it, the program is to be repeated on ABC television at 12.30 pm (EST) on Saturday 15 May.
Rob Simpson
RAR Admin
Phone: (02) 6655 5502
E-mail:
Website: www.ruralaustraliansforrefugees.org