Good afternoon, in light of "unusual" claims about the conformity of
mandatory sentencing laws in the Northern Territory and Western Australia,
I forward the text of a letter sent today by the Secretary-General of Defence
for Children International, a network of children's rights agencies afffiliated
with the United Nations. A signed copy can be sent by fax upon request.
yours sincerely,
_________________________
Danny Sandor
President
Defence for Children International - Australia
G.P.O. Box 3131
Canberra City
A.C.T. Australia 2601
ph (61) 02 6257 6422
fax (61) 02 6257 6722
direct phone (mobile) 0409 311 510
CONGRATULATIONS TO DCI-A NATIONAL CO-ORDINATOR HELEN BAYES
WINNER OF THE 1999 HUMAN RIGHTS MEDAL !!!
See more at our revamped website by putting your cursor on the following
address and "clicking" -
http://members.dynamite.com.au/dci-aust/html/award_winners.html
go to the "join us now" page to download a membership form
http://members.dynamite.com.au/dci-aust/html/join.html
and help promote the rights of children and young people
by keeping an eye out for entries you want to nominate for
the Australian Children's Rights Media Awards - for more information
about
the awards, go to:
http://members.dynamite.com.au/dci-aust/html/media_awards.html
------- End of forwarded message -------
Deaths In Custody Watch Committee (WA) Inc)
119 Mathieson Road, REDCLIFFE, Western Australia, 6104
"The beginning of the cause of deaths in custody does not occur within
the
confines of police and prison cells or in the minds of the victims.
Initially it starts in the minds of those who allow it to happen."
Elder Dr. Jack Davis (OA, MBE)
* [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.omen.net.au/~dicwc *
****************************
Geneva, 14 February 2000
Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee
Re: Inquiry into Mandatory Sentencing
Defence for Children International (DCI) is an independent non-governmental organization founded as an international movement in 1979 during the International Year of the Child, to promote and protect the rights of child. DCI has grown to become an international organization with sections and associate members in some 60 countries. It is in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, UNICEF, UNESCO and the Council of Europe.
The Australian Section of Defence for Children International has drawn our attention to the existence of mandatory sentencing legislation in Western Australia and the Northern Territory and the legal and social consequences these have on juveniles. The impact of these laws on young people, both those defined as juveniles and those offenders aged between 18-25, and the implications for Indigenous young people within these age groups, are a matter of serious concern.
DCI believes that these laws do not conform to Australia�s international human rights obligations and in particular its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to which Australia is a State party. The Committee on the Rights of the Child, the body responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Convention, commented as follows on Australia's first report on the implementation of the CRC at para 22:
�The Committee is particularly concerned by the enactment of new legislation
in two States, where a high percentage of Aboriginal people lives, which
provides for mandatory detention and punitive measures of juveniles, thus
resulting in a high representation of Aboriginal juveniles in detention.�
We understand that the Australian Parliament has the power to quash State and Territory laws if they do not repeal their mandatory sentencing statutes and that enactment of the Human Rights (Mandatory Sentencing of Juvenile Offenders) Bill would achieve this.
We therefore urge the Committee to strongly recommend the enactment of this Bill.
We also call on the leader of all political parties in the Commonwealth
Parliament:
to make the Bill a first matter of Parliamentary business;
to put human rights and moral leadership above party politics and electoral
considerations by supporting the Bill; and
at a bare minimum, to declare a conscience vote on the Bill
Yours Sincerely,
Maurice Graber
Secretary General
--
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