Committee on the Rights of the Child
1 November 2018
On 1 November 2018 the Law Council submitted a Shadow Report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child regarding Australia’s compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Report highlighted concerns about child protection policies, abuses in juvenile detention facilities, discriminatory policing practices, barriers to accessing justice for children in remote areas and problematic laws affecting children and young people – including mandatory sentencing and bail and parole laws.
It also addressed the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the juvenile justice and child protection systems.
Amongst other recommendations, the Report calls for governments to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility in line with international standards.
The Report can be accessed here.
Last Updated on 20/12/2019