On 11 February 2015, the Australian Human Rights ommissioner’s (AHRC) National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention report was tabled. With that a dark cloud of shame has set over Australia. It is now public knowledge that the Australian Government deliberately detains children in dangerous places that have subsequently led to innumerable cases of mental illness, development delays, sexual assaults and self-harm.
The report is collated from interviews with 1,129 children and families, 41 witnesses at five public hearings, a total of 239 submissions received from schools, medical service providers and NGOs and observations from internationally recognised medical experts. The findings in this report on children in detention leave no doubt about its credibility.
The AHRC emphasises that Australia is the only country in the world that practises the mandatory and indefinite detention of children. This is a clear violation of their rights under the Convention for the Rights of Children.
Please follow this link to view the full release.