Call for Immediate Release of Children from Immigration Detention by Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission Australian Human Rights &Equal Opportunity Commission 5:58pm 23rd Jun, 2003   20 June 2003. Sydney.Australia.    Human Rights Commissioner Dr Sev Ozdowski has called on the federal government to immediately release children and their families from immigration detention following yesterday’s historic Family Court decision regarding children in immigration detention.    The majority (Chief Justice Nicholson and Justice O’Ryan) found that the welfare jurisdiction of the Family Court extended to children in immigration detention. Their Honours further held that, in exercising that jurisdiction, the Family Court had power to order the release of children detained indefinitely.    In arriving at their conclusions, their Honours specifically expressed the view that the indefinite detention of the children in this case constituted a “serious breach” of Australia’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In relation to that point, Commissioner Ozdowski said:    “The Commission made similar findings regarding Australia’s international obligations some five years ago in Those Who’ve Come Across the Seas, the Commission’s report on immigration detention. The time has come for the Government to start acting upon the findings and recommendations of the Courts, the Commission and other domestic and international watchdog bodies.”    The Commissioner welcomed the decision on World Refugee Day, which is an opportunity to reflect on the plight of refugees, celebrate their courage and resilience and work towards solving refugee problems.    “The focus of this year’s World Refugee Day is ‘refugee youth’ and we must use this time to ensure we don’t rob these young people of what should be the most promising, formative years of their lives by locking them up for long periods in detention camps,” Dr Ozdowski said.    The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission is currently working on a report to federal parliament on a National Inquiry into Children in Immigration in Detention which will be released later this year. Visit the related web page
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