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Education25 February 2015Webpage
Face the facts: Asylum Seekers and Refugees
Statistics from 2014 Back to main Face the Facts page All people are entitled to protection of their human rights, including the right to seek asylum, regardless of how or where they arrive in Australia. Australia has ratified the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 . This Convention defines who is a refugee, sets out the basic rights that countries should guarantee to refugees and ... -
14 December 2012Book page
Questions and Answers About Refugees & Asylum Seekers
According to the United Nations Convention and Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees (also called the Refugee Convention), a refugee is someone who is outside their own country and cannot return due to a well-founded fear of persecution because of their: -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
16 June 2020SubmissionMigration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2020
The concerns outlined in this submission draw on the Commission’s work inspecting Australia’s immigration detention facilities. The Commission has conducted such inspections since the mid-1990s. -
19 July 2013Project
Immigration detention, asylum seekers and refugees
The Commission seeks to ensure that the human rights of all people held in immigration detention in Australia are protected. The Commission has focused its recent immigration detention work on the conditions and treatment of asylum seekers, refugees and children, because they have specific vulnerabilities and are given special protections under international law. What’s new? Asylum seekers ... -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
2 February 2014Publication
National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention 2014: Discussion Paper
Why are we holding this inquiry? The purpose of this inquiry is to investigate the ways in which life in immigration detention affects the health, well-being and development of children. The inquiry will assess the impact on children by seeking the views of people who were previously detained as children in closed immigration detention and by assessing the current circumstances and responses of ... -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
17 July 2015Publication
Summary factsheet - The Forgotten Children: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention 2014
The Forgotten Children: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention 2014 Summary factsheet July 2015 What was the Inquiry about? On 3 February 2014 the President of the Commission announced a national inquiry into children in immigration detention. The purpose of the Inquiry was to investigate the ways in which life in immigration detention affects the health, well-being and ... -
14 December 2012Book page
A Last Resort? - Summary Guide (2004)
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. -
14 December 2012Book page
National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
This is a paper prepared by Amnesty International for the HREOC Inquiry into children in immigration detention centres. In particular, this paper sets out Amnesty International's concerns with the detention of children, having regard to the international human rights treaties to which Australia has committed itself. -
14 December 2012Book page
National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention - Background Paper 8: Deprivation of Liberty and Humane Detention
In accordance with the general principle stated at Guideline 2 and the UNHCR [1] Guidelines on Refugee Children, minors who are asylum seekers should not be detained… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
30 January 2014Webpage
National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention 2014
About the Inquiry On 3 February 2014 the President of the Commission, Professor Gillian Triggs, launched an inquiry into children in closed immigration detention. The purpose of the Inquiry was to investigate the ways in which life in immigration detention affects the health, well-being and development of children. The Inquiry would assess the impact on children by seeking the views of people who ... -
14 December 2012Book page
Commission Website: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
This submission draws substantially on research papers by Eileen Pittaway and Linda Bartolomei which are currently pending publication. The content of this submission may not be reproduced or quoted without the written permission of these authors. -
14 December 2012Book page
Commission Website: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
This submission will focus on the current Australian immigration detention regime as it applies to minors. The regime will be examined based on data and information made available by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (“DIMIA”) and supporting documentation ranging from government publications, the Flood Inquiry and testimonies given to the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission “HREOC” under oath. -
4 February 2015Book page
5 What does the law say about detaining children?
5.1 Mandatory detention and lawfulness 5.2 Arbitrariness 5.3 Review of detention 5.4 Shortest appropriate period of time 5.5 Decision-making in relation to children 5.6 Minimum conditions of detention 5.7 Duty of care 5.8 Findings in relation to detention law, policy and practice Both domestic and international human rights law are clear when it comes to the detention of children. The detention of ... -
14 December 2012Book page
Commission Website: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
The current mandatory detention policy of the Commonwealth of Australia breaches the fundamental principle of the rights of the child which is that children should be able to develop to their full potential. The policy breaches every article of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The policy violates the right to health as established by international law. -
5 February 2015Book page
10 Unaccompanied children in detention
10.1 Impact of detention on emotional and mental wellbeing 10.2 Self-harm by unaccompanied children 10.3 Pontville Detention Centre 10.4 Forcible transfer of children to Bravo Compound at Christmas Island 10.5 Guardianship and welfare 10.6 Findings specific to unaccompanied children I feel like I’m in jail, no one here to help us. It’s just me and God. (17 year old unaccompanied child, Christmas ... -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
14 December 2012Speech
Current issues Australia faces in relation to its treatment of refugees (2012)
Speech delivered to the United Nations Association of Australia (WA Division) -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
14 August 2015Publication
Use of force in immigration detention facilities
The Migration Amendment (Maintaining the Good Order of Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2015 (the Bill) would give increased power to ‘authorised officers’ to use force against people (including asylum seekers) in immigration detention facilities. It appears that the majority (if not all) of the authorised officers will be employees of Serco Australia Pty Ltd (Serco), the private company contracted by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to run Australia’s immigration detention facilities. -
4 February 2015Book page
4 An overview of the children in detention
4.1 Nationalities of the children in detention 4.2 Reasons for seeking asylum 4.3 Age of children in detention 4.4 Unaccompanied children 4.5 When did the children arrive in Australia? 4.6 How long are children kept in detention? 4.7 Movement of children across the detention network 4.8 Mental health and wellbeing of children in detention 4.9 Detention is a dangerous place 4.10 Rates of self-harm ... -
14 December 2012Book page
HREOC Annual Report 2003-2004 : Chapter 2: Human rights education and promotion
A central function of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission is to undertake education programs that increase public awareness and generate discussion of human rights and anti-discrimination issues within Australia. -
Legal
27 October 2014SubmissionInformation concerning Australia’s compliance with the Convention Against Torture
Information concerning Australia’s compliance with the Convention Against Torture Submission by the Australian Human Rights Commission 17 October 2014 Download PDF Download Word Table of Contents 1 Introduction 2 Statutory powers of the Australian Human Rights Commission 3 Independent monitoring and inspection mechanisms, including ratification of the Optional Protocol 4 Domestic implementation of ...