Out of Sight, Out of Mind? : The Plight of Detained Children Under Australia's Offshore Mandatory Detention Policy
In his welcome to readers of CRI's website its Chairman, Alastair Nicholson, acknowledged the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as being the most widely ratified treaty in human history, while also noting that the basic rights of children and youth are still not universally recognised and that they suffer violence, abuse, exploitation and discrimination in increasing numbers every day.
As CRI's mission is to promote, protect and advance the human rights of children, primarily in developing countries, and to promote understanding of, adherence to and effective implementation of the CRC it is important that the organization takes a stand on the increasing evidence showing Australia's failure to protect the rights, physical and mental welfare and safety of young asylum seekers, particularly those who have been transferred to offshore detention centres.
Unfortunately, despite Australia being one of the earliest countries to ratify the CRC, its treatment of children and young people has too often failed to comply with the Convention's principles and requirements. Most recently this has been highlighted by the manner in which young asylum seekers, (whether accompanied by family members or unaccompanied), are treated, both in Australia and in the offshore detention centres to which such children have been sent.
See:
Presentation - Professor Louise Newman AM, Monash University, Centre for Developmental Psychiatry and Psycology
Cambodia opens the door to juvenile justice reform
NGOs push to end the human-rights suffering of children caught in the country's judicial system
Carmela Ferraro Guardian Weekly, Tuesday 23 October 2012
Cambodia not suitable for any refugees, interview with Hon. Alastair Nicholson AO RFD QC (Lateline 18/08/2014)
Chairman of Children's Rights International and Former Chief Justice of the Family Court, Alastair Nicholson discusses the plan to send up to 1000 asylum seekers to Cambodia on the ABC program, Lateline 18/08/2014.
(Courtesy of ABC - Lateline 18/08/2014)
A copy of the interview can also be viewed on the ABC website (click here to view the interview of the ABC website)
CRI and the Lasallian Foundation
Children's Rights International (CRI) and the Lasallian Foundation share a common commitment to improving the rights of children throughout the world. CRI has supported the Foundation’s work in Tamil Nadu and in Papua New Guinea (PNG) by providing media assistance.
Recently the Lasallian Foundation provided CRI with the essential seed funding necessary to roll out the Child-Friendly Court Project in Cambodia. Legal Aid Cambodia, UNICEF and AusAID are partners in this development. This project has been 5 years in development.
The videotape attachment below is an example of the productive convergence of both organisations’ work. It was produced by CRI.
Lasallian Projects in PNG See http://youtu.be/Fay9JvC-QIU.
Projects in Tamil Nadu, India, supported by the Lasallian Foundation
Projects in Tamil Nadu, India, supported by the Lasallian Foundation
Children's Rights International’s Patron, The Hon. Alastair Nicholson AO RFD QC, and a volunteer film crew visited Tamil Nadu with Paul Smith, the Lasallian Foundation’s CEO, to produce a film to help the Foundation raise funds for its children’s programmes in India.
These programmes work to assist child labourers, street children, and rejected and orphaned children to help them live safe and full lives.
To contact the Lasallian Foundation:
Lasallian Foundation
PO Box 668, Malvern VIC 3144
AUSTRALIA
PH: + 61 (03) 9832 3100
FX: + 61 (03) 9822 4377 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web: http://www.lasallianfoundation.org.
Projects In Tamil Nadu, India supported by the Lasallian Foundation See http://youtu.be/X7L_IQFrcJ4.
Children’s Rights International Initiative: Child Protection and Child Justice in Vietnam
Children’s Rights International Initiative: Child Protection and Child Justice in Vietnam
In November 2009 the Chair of CRI, the Hon Alastair Nicholson, joined a group from the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne visiting Vietnam to examine the issue of child protection and child justice in that country. This involved a visit to the National Paediatric Hospital in Hanoi and attendance at a medical seminar there on the detection of child abuse conducted by Dr Anne Smith of the Royal Children’s Hospital and Professor David Wells of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine.
He also participated as a co-chair in the first Vietnamese national seminar to be held on the subject of child abuse and child protection.
This intensive seminar involved a number of senior Government officials from various Government Departments and representatives of various NGO’s. The proceedings were opened by Dr Nguyen Duy Khe, the Director of Maternal and Child Health at the Ministry of Health.
The primary presentations were made by Professor Michael Dunne of Queensland University of Technology (QUT) who discussed international and Vietnamese data on child abuse. His main thesis was that indicia of international child abuse are showing substantial falls in most countries. He was supported by Dr Nguyen Thanh Huong who described the limitations of current Vietnamese data, mainly in relation to adolescents. Dr Anne Smith and Professor David Wells discussed what programs had been found to be most effective in reducing child abuse.
Read more: Children’s Rights International Initiative: Child Protection and Child Justice in Vietnam