Australian 'child abuse' denounced

More than 500 children are being held in detention centres

By the BBC's Dominic Hughes in Sydney

The Australian Government has been accused of carrying out child abuse as a result of its policy of holding the children of asylum seekers in detention centres.

Child and youth abuse... is being committed daily by Australian authorities in the name of the people of this country

Marcus Einfeld

A former federal judge has told delegates to an international conference being held in Sydney that the government is breaching the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

For 15 years, Marcus Einfeld was a senior judge in Australia's federal court. Three months ago, he stood down and is now a prominent campaigner for human rights.

At a conference marking the 50th anniversary of the UN Convention on Refugees, he launched a blistering attack on the government's policy of mandatory detention for all asylum seekers, including women and children.

Mr Einfeld says that some have been held for up to five years in what is effectively a prison - without having committed any crime - denied a proper education, and sometimes even the care or support of an advocate who can advise them of their rights:

Some illegal immigrants have been held for five years

"This is happening in the Australia of the 21st century, in front of the eyes of every citizen of this country," he said.

"This is child and youth abuse, pure and simple, and it has for years been - and is still being - committed daily by Australian authorities in the name of the people of this country."

There are approximately 525 children being held in immigration detention centres across Australia, including 94 who arrived unaccompanied by an adult.

Immigration Minister Phillip Ruddock has recently defended the detention of children by arguing that some are deliberately sent to developed countries so that their parents may later join them.

But Mr Einfeld says that Australia is in breach of its international commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and that its treatment of asylum seekers in general, but children in particular, is inhumane.