What We Do
DCI-Australia helps solve practical problems about children’s rights:
A member of the public sent us an e-mail seeking advice about how to prevent her former husband
taking their children with him to live in another country. A family lawyer in our membership quickly provided information on the legal steps she could take to seek orders preventing the
abduction of the children. In another case, a priest ministering to a boy at risk of suicide in a detention centre was concerned that the boy was being held beyond his parole date. We found
a local specialist youth lawyer that could take the case and offered to lobby the State government.
DCI-Australia gives free public expert briefings to the community about children’s rights:
A community group in Geelong, Victoria knew we had taken a high public profile along with the Heads
of Churches and a broad range of human rights groups in campaigning against State Government proposals to privatise juvenile justice services. At its request, DCI-Australia led a workshop at the
local youth centre explaining the nature and dangers of the proposals, and how to most effectively join in with the strategies that are being used by other concerned groups.
DCI-Australia agitates for the reform of laws that infringe children’s rights:
We are strong collaborators with Northern Territory advocates, peak national organisations, and
Commonwealth Parliamentarians in seeking the repeal of mandatory sentencing laws. These laws require a court to imprison young people who have committed a second property offence, even if it was
a case of a homeless child stealing food. In October 1999, we made a joint submission with the National Children’s and Youth Law Centre to the Senate Legal and Constitutional References
Committee Inquiry into Mandatory Sentencing.
DCI-Australia supports children speak for themselves about their rights:
Last year, Parliament House Canberra hosted a Children’s Summit attended by both adult and
youth advocates for children’s rights. DCI-Australia assisted the participation of young delegates to the Summit, both personally and financially.
DCI-Australia designs constructive proposals to improve
Australia’s treatment of children’s rights:
We have documented our analysis of overseas initiatives and concluded that Australia needs a
specialist Human Rights Commissioner for Children and Young People. We have drafted a comprehensive and realistic model for the Australian environment. That design has been endorsed by more
than 50 other influential children’s service and advocacy organisations.
DCI-Australia illuminates the children’s rights angle to public issues:
In April 1999, there was media attention to an anti-discrimination case brought by an
adult amateur footballer who chose to disclose that he is HIV+. The VFA had said he was not permitted to play. DCI-Australia provided assistance to a leading AIDS researcher who appeared
as an expert witness for the young man’s case. Our media stance warned that barring him instead of establishing proper safeguards fails to respect
young people’s rights to recreation and their right to health safety. We said it would fail to make sport safe and would send ‘ “ a potentially
deadly message to Australia’s young – “Don’t find out! And if you know, don’t tell!”.’ We advocated for the VFA to spend money on HIV
education for players, their families and the community.
DCI- Australia tells it like it is about children’s rights in Australia:
In 1996, we prepared Australia’s Alternative
Report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in which we highlighted gaps between the rhetoric and reality of children’s rights in Australia. We promoted the findings through leading a delegation of non-government organisations to meetings with the Committee. We will actively promote similar input into Australia’s Second Report (due 2002) through the preparation of a second Alternative Report.
DCI-Australia makes it easy for the public to find out more about
children’s rights:
Every day we respond to requests for information from researchers, students, young people, parents, other
non-government organisations and interested citizens We monitor, analyse and disseminate information on issues relevant to Australia, from many sources overseas. We publish Australian
Children’s Rights News (quarterly) and distribute Juvenile Justice Worldwide (quarterly) and the DCI-Geneva Newsletter. We have a Homepage and a resource collection of approximately 2000
documents on children’s rights issues.
DCI-Australia accepts invitations from expert publications to advocate policy concerns about
children’s rights:
So far this year, articles written on behalf of the organisation have appeared in the publications
of: The University of New South Wales Law Journal, The Victorian Law Foundation, The National Children’s and Youth Law Centre, The Centre for Public Policy of The University of Melbourne,
Juvenile Justice World-Wide, and The Federation Press. Our contributions have covered diverse topics such as: the sterilisation of young women with intellectual disabilities, mandatory
sentencing laws, why Australia needs a Commissioner for Children and Young People, gaps in immigration law, the special access to justice barriers facing abused children and young people, the High
Court’s interpretation of the best interests principle in family law, and unsatisfactory government responses to requests for information about children’s rights issues.
DCI-Australia acts on its responsibilities to children’s rights in other countries:
Last year, we participated in the Global March against Child Labour and in June 99, we took an active role in the
United Nations International Labour Organisation Session on extreme forms of child labour. We have been discussing proposals with the Australian Ambassador to Yugoslavia and Rumania, concerning
assistance to the Yugoslav Centre for Children’s Rights using DCI-Australia as the domestic partner to funding programs. We are a central player in the broad human rights lobby against the
use of children as soldiers in armed conflicts.
|
