New Alliance Commits to Immediate Release of all Children in Immigration Detention

MEDIA RELEASE

Organisations representing millions of compassionate Australians have come together for the first time, to coordinate their expertise, experience and efforts to address the harmful impacts of immigration detention on children and their families.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014. Leading children's, international development, human rights and refugee organisations from Australia, across the Asia-Pacific and internationally are calling on Australia's leadership to release all children and their families from immigration detention.

Read More .... New Alliance Commits to Immediate Release of all Children in Immigration Detention

Treaties (Message from very many Aboriginal Peoples to the Australian Government)

The message from very many Aboriginal Peoples in Australia to the Australian Government is that the time is long overdue for genuine negotiation on treaties.

Published on Aug 18, 2014

You can also see this video clip on Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU_H0oIQy60

Who is minding the children?

Wednesday 18th June 12.30PM-1.30PM
Refugee week
Ella Latham Auditorium, Royal Children's Hospital

Refugee Week is Australia's peak annual activity to raise awareness about the issues affecting refugees and celebrate the positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society. Refugee Week is held from Sunday to Saturday of the week that includes 20 June (World Refugee Day).

Read more: Who is minding the children?

Palm Sunday March for Refugees

On Palm Sunday (April 13th 2014), CRI joined approximately 10,000 other people at the March for Refugees in Melbourne. Board Members Chas Alexander, Frank Meredith and Garry Warne were joined by a number of CRI members. As powerfully articulated by key speakers, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young of the Australian Greens and the Reverend Alistair McRae of the Uniting Church, the policy that CRI strongly supports is that all Australian refugee detention camps should be closed immediately and the detainees released, with support, into the Australian community while their applications for asylum are being processed.

Read more: Palm Sunday March for Refugees

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

Read more: Out of Sight, Out of Mind? : The Plight of Detained Children Under Australia's Offshore Mandatory...