Children In Immigration Detention

The focal issue of this argument is when an Asylum Seeker arrives in Australia without a visa, they are required to stay in detention well beyond the period of time it should take to gather basic information about an asylum claim, health identity or security issues. This can lead to an asylum seeker often being detained for months and sometimes for years. Under the Migration Act (Cth.) 1958 there is no time limit on this detention and only very limited review by the courts is available. The ‘United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty’, rule 11 (b) (UNHCR) considers ‘detention as; confinement within a narrowly bounded or restricted location, where freedom of movement is substantially curtailed, and where the only opportunity

Every year, thousands of people seek refuge in Australia after being forced to flee their homes. Under the UN 1951 Refugee convention, countries are obliged to protect refugees and basic human rights must be upheld. However, Australia is violating these laws. As of August 2013, a report by the Australian Human Rights

The issue of Detention centres and whether or not there uses are necessary to protect our nation is a subject of great debate. This issue seems to fall into a moral grey area, as not having them would be morally wrong in that we would be letting anyone from anywhere into our country thus leaving unchecked entries of possible terrorists and other sorts of plausible threats. But having them still, at the same time, falls into this moral grey spot. The reason that these detention centres exist is because people that occupy Australia’s land without a visa are illegal immigrants and therefore subject to lawful inquiries, while these inquiries are made the person/people that are in question are transported to a detention centre technically out

The resettlement of refugees in Australia is a controversial topic; many people believe that they come here to commit crime, change our culture and steal our jobs. ‘The Happiest Refugee’ has enhanced my belief that refugees should be allowed to live in Australia. I believe that refugees are here to escape war and persecution; they are not criminals, nor do they want to change our culture or steal our jobs. Refugees are generally grateful for their new lives in Australia and they embrace our culture. ‘The Happiest Refugee’ is a source of evidence that supports this.

Asylum seekers who are held in mandatory and indefinite detention for prolonged periods of time

Another technique used in the documentary to challenge the viewers’ assumptions was the use of narration to present facts about the refugee situation. These facts and figures give the viewers a truthful and realistic picture of the situation. Some beliefs that exist in Australian society are that we are taking in too many refugees; they are criminals, they are taking over Australia, using Australian tax payers’ money and changing our culture. However, we are presented with facts and figures that change our assumptions. For example, more than 30 million people have fled their homes with nothing but the clothes they wear, boat smugglers charge up to and over $10, 000 US dollars, 13, 000 refugees are accepted annually only 2,000 of those refugees arrive by boat. Despite what many people think, like Raye who believed refugees in Australia are “handed everything on a gold platter,” life in detention centres is hard. In Villawood Detention Centre, over 9 months, three detainees committed suicide and 18 caused self-harm.

“My hope finished now. I don’t have any hope. I feel I will die in detention.”
Unaccompanied 17 year old, Phosphate Hill Detention Centre, Christmas Island, 4 March 2014. 
Few social justice issues in Australia have attracted as much attention and controversy in recent times as the issue of asylum seekers. An asylum-seeker ‘is an individual who has sought international protection and whose claim for refugee status has not yet been determined’. In contrast, a refugee is an individual whose protection has been deemed necessary by the UNHCR or a State who is a signatory to the Refugee Convention. 
The issues surrounding asylum seeker has divide opinions and evoke strong emotional responses across the community. We are aware that asylum seekers are often vulnerable people, desperately fleeing civil unrest, warfare and persecution from across the world. We know that Australia is a destination of choice for many people seeking to embark on a new life in safety. And we know that there are people who will exploit the vulnerability of asylum seekers by offering them unsafe passage by sea to our shores. 
There were 584 children detained in immigration detention centres on mainland Australia and 305 children on Christmas Island. A further 179 children were detained on Nauru as at 31 March 2014.

In regards to the safety of children, a solution needs to be implemented immediately, not only because we are obliged to do so, but because it is the right thing to do. The compulsory and prolonged detention causes severe damage to children’s wellbeing and abuses international human rights treaties such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This injustice needs to end now. We need to emphasise the human side of the story. Who are the people we have locked up in detention? Babies, unaccompanied young children and teenagers, parents who have lost children and children who have lost parents. These are all human beings. Detention of children is not an option. Children are entitled to their basic needs, including: their right to enjoy the

Political unrest and local war happens around the world all the time. Many people live in a dangerous situation and suffered from violence. Hence, large amount of asylum seeker undertakes a huge perilous, try to cross the ocean and arrive Australia. To deal with this issue, Australian government enacted mandatory detention policy and offshore processing policy, these policies become highly contentious in the community with many arguments and criticisms. This report will focus on the nature and purpose of these immigration policies and the impact towards the asylum seeker as well as the criticism form international. To propose some advice about how the future policies should be framed.

During 2012-13 Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian program increased from 13,750 to 20,000 places divided between offshore resettlement and onshore protection. It resulted in 87% rise in the number of offshore resettlement visas granted. The alternatives include indefinite mandatory detention and mandatory detention. Asylum seekers who arrive without prior valid visas usually have to go through mandatory detention. They usually stay in detention for an average of 450 days. Community placement are another alternative. Many asylum seekers from immigration detentions centers are released are placed on bridging visas so they can live in community. Although

This essay explores how unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) are oppressed in the UK. An unaccompanied asylum seeking child is a person under the age of eighteen who has left their country of origin in order to seek refuge and is ‘separated from both parents and are not being cared for by an adult who, by law or custom has responsibility to do so’ (UNHCR, 1994:121). They are therefore applying for asylum in their own right.

To address these concerns and ensure that the rights of LGBTI asylum seekers are protected, the Commission recommends that the Australian Government adopt an on-shore processing solution for irregular maritime arrivals. Due to the vulnerable position of sexual minorities in detention, the Commission also urges the Government to implement community detention arrangements for all LGBTI asylum seekers awaiting refugee status determination’s (RSD). In addition, increased opportunities for judicial review following negative RSD’s, improved independent monitoring, the development of guidelines on LGBTI

Australia, among many places, has legal restrictions and conventions in reference to the captivity and treatment of asylum seekers. These are seen through the ‘1951 Refugee Convention’ and it’s 1967 protocol. Legal guidelines are also seen in significant human rights treaties.

Australia has arguably the most restrictive immigration control in the world and has very tough policies in place for asylum seekers who arrive by boat. Under Australia 's system of mandatory detention, all non-citizens who are in Australia without a valid visa must be detained, including children. In 2012, offshore processing of asylum seekers commenced and detention centres in Nauru and Manus Island (Papua New Guinea) were established. This new system enforced policies that transferred asylum seekers who arrive by boat without a valid visa to a third country. Once the processing of asylum seekers was completed, those found to be genuine refugees will be resettled in Papua New Guinea or Cambodia, not Australia. The Abbott Government stated that no immigrant who arrives in Australia by boat will be grated a visa, no matter the legitimacy of their claim. In April 2016, the Manus Island detention centre was closed after the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea found it to be illegal. Current immigration Peter Dutton has made it clear that asylum seekers on Manus Island are the responsibility of Papua New Guinea and would not come to Australia. As well as the hundreds of immigrants in offshore detention centres, there are hundreds more in community detention in Australia. There are currently over 26,800 visa applications from those who are awaiting the outcome of their refugee application whilst living on a bridging visa in Australia.

Good morning delegates of the youth parliament and observing members. Today I stand before you to discuss an issue that continues to evoke high emotions and create deep divisions within Australian society. I refer to the matter of refugees and Australia's immigration policy. Not since the second world war has the world faced such an upheaval with so many people displaced. In 2015 there were 65.3 million people forcibly displaced from their homes because of conflict and persecution. Developing countries hold 84% of refugees while wealthier countries like Australia prioritise the need to reduce asylum seekers within their borders. The current policy contravenes the proper treatment of refugees and asylum seekers; because regardless of their mode of entry, once here Australia has a duty to provide protection.