The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The Refugee Convention and the Convention on the Rights of the Child have all been created to protect the rights and freedoms of every single human being equally.
This disussion acknowledges that there a broad range of issues within our community that cannot be compromised or ignored. However the rights of asylum seekers and refugees cannot be held in competition with these other important issues. As Australians we have an obligation to participate and influence the decisions of our leaders, but perhaps more importantly we have an even higher obligation as human beings to one another.
1 - It is NOT illegal to seek asylum. Under Article 14 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights everyone has the right to seek asylum.
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml
2 - The 1951 Refugee Convention in which Australia is a party to prohibits states from imposing penalties on those entering ‘illegally’ when they come directly from a territory where their life or freedom is threatened.
http://www.unhcr.org/3b66c2aa10.html
3 - Australia is the only Refugee Convention signatory nation to have a policy of indefinite detention for asylum seekers, no matter what their age.
4 - Convention on the Rights of the Child- Article 3
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm
In all actions concerning children...the best interest of the child shall be as primary consideration
4.1 - Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 22
...a child who is seeking refugee status...whether unaccompanied or accompanied... shall receive appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance...
4.2 - Convention on the Rights of the Child – Article 39
"Children subjected to abuse, torture or armed conflicts should recover in an environment which fosters the health, self-respect and dignity of the child".
Many children in detention have fled active war zones, and depriving them of liberty does not promote their recovery from such experiences. As many reports have shown, detention compounds trauma.
4.3 - Convention on the Rights of the Child – Article 37(b)
"No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time"
Australia’s mandatory detention regime has been found to be arbitrary. Children who arrive by boat are detained as a matter of first resort and locked up in facilities across Australia and offshore.
5 - Children do not need to be held in immigration detention there are pratical alternatives.
‘Regardless of the conditions in which they are kept detention has a profound and negative impact on children. It undermines their phycologucal and physical health and compromises their development.’ ~ Captured Childhood
To learn more about alternatives to detention click here
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
A 52 minute film looking at the circumstances and decisions that lead someone to become 'a boat person'.
Jessie Taylor, Ali Rezar Sadiqi and Chris Kamen have made this incredibly brave and award winning documentary. The film was given to me by a woman I met the night we filmed the Go Back Insight Special for SBS. She came up to me afterwards we chatted, turned out Hamid from Go Back had once stayed with her. When you begin to search for truth and knowledge you receive gifts and this film has been one of them. My mother and I watched 'Devil and the Deep Blue Sea' together. We physically held each other in moments and sobbed. My mother turned to me at the end and said 'I'm in, whatever you need'. They were also gracious enough to let me use some of their film for Lessons Overboard. This film is a must see.
http://www.deepblueseafilm.com
Concord Project
The Concord Project - One Voice. The Concord Project is a student initiative which focuses on the issue of prolonged immigration detention of children in Australia.
These amazing girls deliver an on point look at the facts, the moral issues and the devastating affects detention has on children.
"There's two reasons why our mouths have duct tape and our hands are tied. One is because when bad things happen in our community young people like us don't think we can do anything about it. Second is that young people in detention centres think that their voice is not being heard. This is about giving them a voice".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYm8Xd_53Bo
https://www.facebook.com/TheConcordProject/info
Go Back To Where You Came From
Six prominent faces from Australian politics, television and radio, all with outspoken views on refugees and asylum seekers, are set to get the nation talking when they feature in the second instalment of the groundbreaking SBS documentary series, Go Back to Where You Came From. The six participants will find themselves in some of the most dangerous and desperate places on earth.
http://www.sbs.com.au/goback/
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