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Thank you for your email of 10 January, attaching the revised draft of the Summary Report of HREOC's inspection of mainland immigration detention facilities, and for giving GSL the opportunity to comment.

It was established to consider whether Australia's immigration detention laws and its treatment of children in immigration detention comply with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be … used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission was established in 1986. It is an independent statutory organisation and reports to the federal Parliament through the Attorney-General.

The Inquiry received 346 submissions, including 64 confidential submissions. Detailed information was provided by organisations representing detainees, human rights and legal bodies, members of the public, religious bodies, state government agencies and a range of non-government policy and service-providing organisations.

Since 1992, Australia's migration law has made it mandatory for any person in Australia without a valid visa to be detained until they are issued with a visa or removed from Australia. This law applies equally to adults and children.

As a sovereign country, Australia has a right to decide who is allowed to enter and stay in the country. However, with this right comes a set of legal responsibilities.

While a short period of detention may be permitted for the purpose of conducting preliminary health, identity and security checks, Australia's detention system requires detention well beyond those permitted purposes. In fact, Australia's immigration detention laws and practices create a detention system that is fundamentally at odds with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Throughout the course of the Inquiry, a number of serious disturbances occurred in immigration detention centres, including riots, fires, hunger strikes, protests, self-harm and suicide attempts.

I felt so bad staying in a place surrounded by razor fence. I can’t understand and I always asked ‘Why did they take me here?’ … It was scary.

I am primarily a paediatric doctor. I saw many of the children in [Woomera] … and really so many of their problems relate directly to the prolonged and indeterminate nature of their detention, which is a combination of the very harsh and isolated physical environment, the poor accommodation facilities and the lack of resources for their mental health and their leisure activities.

In Port Hedland there is a school outside ... I used to stand on a chair and look out at them. I like to see what they looked like in their school uniform. There was an officer … and she pulled my shoulder down and put me on the ground and said, ‘You are not allowed to look at those people because they are different to you.’ And I was like ‘Why are they different to me? Because they know English and they are Australian, does that make them better?’

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is very clear that extra efforts must be taken to provide children with disabilities with the support they need to enjoy a 'full and decent life'.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child states that unaccompanied children - particularly those seeking asylum - need special protection and assistance. Where unaccompanied children have a legal guardian, their best interests must be the guardian's 'basic concern'.

Rest, play, recreational activities and the opportunity to take part in artistic and cultural events, as set out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, are very important for the healthy development of children.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child requires Australia to protect children's right to cultural identity, language and religion. It places a responsibility on the Department to facilitate their religious and cultural practices, such as worship, diet, health and hygiene.

Following a successful application for asylum, children - either individually or as part of their family group - are generally released from detention into the community on a three-year temporary protection visa (TPV).

The Inquiry has found that Australian laws that require the mandatory immigration detention of children, and the way these laws are administered by the Commonwealth, have resulted in numerous and repeated breaches of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

During the period of the Inquiry, immigration detention facilities in Australia were managed for the Department by Australasian Correctional Management, although the Department maintains an official presence at each immigration detention facility.

Media Pack Homepage Statements by Dr Sev Ozdowski, Human Rights Commissioner