Australia: Inquiry into the treatment of suspected people smugglers who say they are children
Commission President Catherine Branson QC says she holds concerns for at least 20 individuals currently detained in adult prisons who say they are children.
Photo by DIAC Images, Flickr Creative Commons
Commission President Catherine Branson QC has announced she will hold an inquiry into the treatment of suspected people smugglers who claim to be children.
“I have been concerned for some time that errors may have been made in the processes used to determine the age of these individuals,” Ms Branson said.
“These errors may have resulted in children being detained for long periods of time in immigration detention and in adult prisons.
“The individuals of immediate concern are Indonesian nationals who have worked as crew on boats bringing asylum seekers to Australia and who have subsequently been investigated for people smuggling offences,” Ms Branson said.
Ms Branson said Australia has a range of human rights obligations in relation to unaccompanied children who arrive in Australia.
She says she holds concerns for at least 20 individuals currently detained in adult prisons who say they are children.
The inquiry will consider the use of wrist x-rays as evidence of age in criminal proceedings.
“Wrist x-ray evidence has been used to prove age in many cases even though its reliability is disputed by medical experts,” she said.
The Commission’s inquiry into the treatment of individuals suspected of people smuggling offences who say that they are children is expected to run until mid-2012.
The inquiry will request documentation about these individuals from a range of Commonwealth agencies. It will also consider material gathered from submissions, public forums, interviews and visits to immigration detention centres and prisons.
Information about the inquiry can be found at www.humanrights.gov.au/ageassessment/index.html
Date: 21 November 2011
