Stop Jailing The Children!

Indonesia is a transit country for asylum seekers whose destination is Australia, but unlike Australia, Indonesia has not ratified the UN Refugee Convention. Meanwhile the UNHCR has an office in Jakarta to process the asylum seeker applications; but the slow process of resettlement of the refugees in Indonesia has led them to find another way to get to Australia. The seamen who bring the refugees from Indonesia are desperately poor; as a result they are willing to work for the people smugglers. In 2009 leaking oil in Timor had a severe social and economic impact on the fishing communities in West Timor from which most of these seamen come.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has described smuggling as an ''evil trade'' perpetrated by people ''who seek to profit from human misery''. Previously her predecessor, Kevin Rudd described people smugglers as "the scum of the earth who can rot in hell"

Meanwhile the Australian Human Rights Commission indicated it was consideringinvestigating allegations that as many as 50 Indonesian juveniles arrested bythe Australian Federal Police (AFP) for involvement in people-trafficking were being held unlawfully in adult prisons.,[2] the estimated number of Indonesian crew held in Australian jails and detention centres for people smuggling is over 400 people. The AFP uses the X-ray process to determine age, but the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists, the Australian and New Zealand Society for Paediatric Radiology and the Australasian Paediatric Endocrine Group, all condemn the use of X-rays and genital examinations to determine whether a fisherman is a juvenile. Previously Sir Al Aynsley-Green, Britain's founding Children's Commissioner, says the federal police's use of X-rays to assess the ages of Indonesian crew members from asylum-seeker boats is ''unethical, inaccurate,not fit for [the] purpose proposed and potentially unlawful.''

Unlike Somalia, Australia has already ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Mr Rudd has promised all possible help for an Australian youth imprisoned for marijuana possession in Indonesia. It is all the more hypocritical for Canberra to lock up Indonesian youth.
Speakers:

Gerry Georgatos is from Human Rights Alliance (Western Australia) and he has been campaigning on this issue and representing amongst others, jailed fisher people who are still children.

Edwina Lloyd is a solicitor from Blair Criminal Lawyers who represents males charged with people smuggling.

Date and Time
12th October 2011
5.30pm to 7.00pm

Venue
Quad Latin 2 S225
The University of Sydney

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Date and Time
17th October 2011
1pm to 2pm

Venue
Lecture Theatre G04
Law Faculty
UNSW

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Date and Time
20th October 2011
5.30pm to 7.00pm

Venue
Building 2, Level 5, Room 32.
University Technology of Sydney

This forum is being organized by Indonesian Solidarity and supported by Human Rights Alliance (WA), SISC (Sydney Indonesian Studies Circle) and the Indonesian Studies Department at the University of Sydney, the Diplomatic Training Program and Migrant Refugee Rights Program at the UNSW and Refugee Action Coalition.

ENDS

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