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ChilOut was established in July 2001 by a group of concerned parents and citizens who felt compelled to advocate and act on behalf of children and their parents living in Australia's immigration detention centres (IDC).

State and Territory legislation, programs and policies in the areas of child welfare, adoption and juvenile justice are intended to provide a non-discriminatory framework for the administration of services. In many cases, programs are designed with the objective of reducing the extent of contemporary removals of Indigenous children and young people. In spite of this, the over-representation of Indigenous children among children living separately from their families and communities, temporarily or permanently, remains high.

The objective of the Commission’s new strategic plan is to build on the Commission’s strengths so that it is in a better position to help build an Australian culture where human rights are understood, respected and enjoyed by ‘everyone, everywhere, everyday’.

The Equal Opportunity Commission of Victoria (the Commission) commends the enquiry by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission into the circumstances of children in immigration detention and the longer-term effects of detention on children who have entered the Australian community. This submission considers the post-detention experience and treatment of children and young adults released into the community as recognised refugees, with particular reference to,

Experiences of discrimination differed greatly depending on whether the discrimination was based on a person’s sexual orientation or on a person’s sex and/or gender identity.

Dr William Jonas commenced duty as acting Race Discrimination Commissioner in September 1999 in addition to his duties as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner.

The Ethnic Communities Council of Western Australia commends the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and Human Rights Commissioner Sev Ozdowski in particular, for instituting the Children in Immigration Detention Inquiry.

"Like sands shifted by restless winds, refugees spill today across the globe. They constitute a Fourth World, one whose inhabitants have no representation and over which they have no control."

Young people in the workplace contains a series of activities and resources to help students explore the issues around workplace discrimination. The activities help students to draw comparisons between the dramatised workplace issues and their personal experiences by looking at how concepts of difference, discrimination and harassment may operate in their daily lives.

Homelands still belong to the people, we want to build homes on our land and live there. When we come to the homeland we come back to the peace and quiet. ... It is a much better environment on the homelands, better things for the children.[1]

Australia's Immigration Detention Centres are contradictory to the human rights of the child. The Immigration Detention experience is extremely harmful to children and has effects of traumatisation and re-traumatisation during the Detention experience and continuing after release. Concerning alternatives to Detention, the present options are also not geared towards the best interest of the child.

Lutheran Community Care, South Australia is pleased to use the opportunity to make a submission to the above Inquiry, based upon extensive experience and expertise in working with families, including refugee families.

The experience of people in rural and remote Australia has always featured prominently in the Commission's work. During the reporting year the Commission undertook two major projects addressing the human rights of children and young people in rural and remote Australia.

The YWCA of Australia is a women's membership movement, nourished by its roots in the Christian Faith and sustained by the richness of many beliefs and values. Strengthened by diversity the Association draws together members who strive to create opportunities for growth, leadership and empowerment in order to attain a common vision: peace, justice freedom and dignity for all people.

"Protection is not a simple concession made to the refugee: he is not an object of assistance, but rather a subject of rights and duties. Each country has the responsibility to respect the rights of refugees and assure that they are respected as much as the rights of its own citizens" [1]