Australia Should Contribute To The Status Of Refugees

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According to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees Article 1, a refugee is a person who is outside his or her country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return due to a well-founded fear of persecution. This means that people from other countries whose governments are unable to protect their human rights flee from their country of origin to seek asylum. Unfortunately, due to our system of mandatory detention of both refugees and asylum seekers, it is particularly concerning that a great number of children are held in immigration detention for often prolonged periods.
Australia is different in the way they treat children seeking refuge. It is the only country that mandates the indefinite and closed detention of children while their claims are being processed when they arrive on the shores. Australia’s system of compulsory immigration detention was introduced in 1992
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The international human rights principles, as well as those set out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child deliver a clear instruction on how asylum seeking children should be treated. The Convention, tells us that: The best interests of the child should be a primary consideration and must be respected in all case concerning children; That a child should only be detained as a measure of last resort, and for the shortest suitable period of time; That there should be no child subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Children in detention have the right to be treated with respect and humanity; and that children who lack the support of their parents are entitled to special protection and help from the government. This means that Australia has the obligation to guarantee that all children in Australia the rights set out in the