• Kate Gauthier, and others
• ChilOut

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Image: NicoleM / flickr

04 July 2011Detaining children violates their basic human rights. But when they are housed in locked facilities such as Christmas Island, it is the responsibility of the government and its contractors, in this case Serco Asia Pacific (“Serco”), to take the very best care of the children. Serco is contractually bound by its Detention Services Contract with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to provide services to people in immigration detention.

Many children in detention have fled active war zones, and depriving them of liberty does not promote their recovery from such experiences. As the mental health section of this report shows, detention compounds trauma.

Australia‟s mandatory detention regime has been found to be arbitrary. For all people who do not hold a valid visa, it is the first, not last, resort. This is its ultimate point of failure: the system is fundamentally flawed. While it imprisons children as a first resort and for indefinite periods of time, it contravenes international law and common sense morality. Children should not be locked up. Ultimately the government must recognise this and legislate to prevent the implementation of policies that breach Australia‟s legal and moral obligations.

Authors: Kate Gauthier, Dianne Hiles, Siobhan Marren, and Jessica Perini.

Image: Christmas Island pier, ニコール (Nicole M) / Flickr