Anglican Church of Australia Antiochian Orthodox Church Armenian Apostolic Church Assyrian Church of the East Churches of Christ Congregational Federation of Australia Coptic Orthodox Church Greek Orthodox Church Lutheran Church of Australia Religious Society of Friends Roman Catholic Church Romanian Orthodox Church Salvation Army Syrian Orthodox Church Uniting Church in Australia
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MEDIA RELEASE 31 January 2002
NEW NCCA GENERAL SECRETARY REPEATS CALL FOR THE RELEASE OF CHILDREN IN DETENTION Revd John Henderson, the new General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA), has repeated the call for the release of children detained under Australia’s current mandatory and indefinite detention for asylum seekers and reiterated the need for a royal commission into mandatory detention. “Through signing the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Australia has committed itself to acting in the best interests of every child. Why, then, do we create a situation where children are exposed to violence, heated protests and threats of suicide, and expose them to an atmosphere of despair, and the dehumanising effect of being treated as illegal?” “Current detention practice takes away parents’ ability to protect their children from unnecessary violence and fear. “Australians have been expressing concern about the detention of children for some time. People smuggling must be combated through international cooperation, not harsher treatment of asylum seekers. God calls us to show compassion to those who are suffering. What problems are we now creating for these children and for the community in general? “Is the pain inflicted upon these children a just trade-off in deterring people from our shores?” In Australia, all unauthorised asylum seekers, including children, are subject to indefinite, non-reviewable mandatory detention. The NCCA believes this practice breaches Article 37 of the CRC that the detention of a child shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest period of time. Children can apply to be released from detention on bridging visas, but are rarely released in practice as there is no provision for the release of their parents and it is usually not considered in the best interests of the child to be separated. This system keeps children in detention and has been criticised by the NCCA. Revd Henderson also asked Australian Christians to pray for these children and their families, who are caught up in circumstances beyond their control. He said we also need to pray for our government and decision makers, as well as the management and staff of the centres where asylum seekers are held.
This media release was endorsed by the heads of all NCCA member churches:-
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