Stolen Generation

The term Stolen Generation refers to the removal (both voluntary and forced) of the children of Australian Aborigines from their families by the various state governments of Australia with the full consent of the Federal Government. Although there is evidence that this practice had unofficially occurred in Australia since the commencement of European occupation in 1788, the term "Stolen Generation" refers to the government-sanctioned removals that occurred in the period between approximately 1900 and 1970.

According to the offical inquiry and report, in some cases the removals were conducted with the misguided but charitable intention of providing the children with "a better life". However the report made it clear that there were genocidal intentions on the part of at least some government officials, who actively planned the extermination of the indigenous races of Australia. Although no firm figures could be determined, it is estimated that at least 30 000 children were removed from their parents over the seventy year period.

History of public awareness of the Stolen Generation and the official inquiry.

Awareness of the Stolen Generation, and the practices which created it, only began to enter the public arena in the late 1980's through the efforts of Aboriginal activists, artists and musicians. The extensive public interest in the Mabo case had the side effect of throwing the media spotlight on all issues related to Aborigines in Australia, and most notably the Stolen Generation.

In 1992, as media attention and public interest began to mount, the Prime Minister, Paul Keating made the first formal acknowlegdement of the Stolen Generation, by saying in a speech that... ""We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers ... It was our ignorance and prejudice." In 1995 the then Attorney-General, the Hon. Michael Lavarch MP, commissioned a formal inquiry entitled "The National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families".

This inquiry commenced in May 1995, presided over by Sir Ronald Wilson, the president of the (Australian) Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission, and Mick Dodson, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. During the ensuing 17 months, the Inquiry visited every state and Territory in Australia, heard testimony from 535 Aboriginal Australians, and received submissions of evidence from over 600 more. In April 1997 the official report "Bringing Them Home - Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families" was released.

Between the commissioning of the National Inquiry and the release of the final report in 1997, the conservative government of John Howard had replaced the Keating government. The report proved to be a considerable embarrassment for the Howard administration, as it recommended that the Australian Government formally apologise to the affected families, a proposal actively rejected by Howard, on the grounds that a formal admission of wrongdoing would lead to massive compensation litigation. Howard was quoted as saying "Australians of this generation should not be required to accept guilt and blame for past actions and policies." [1]. As a result Commissioner Dodson resigned from the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, saying in a newspaper column that "I despair for my country and regret the ignorance of political leaders who do not appreciate what is required to achieve reconciliation for us as a nation." [1]

As public pressure increased, Howard drafted a motion of "deep and sincere regret over the removal of Aboriginal children from their parents" which was passed by the federal parliament in August 1999.

Findings of the official inquiry

THe report handed down by the National Inquiry

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Some argue that the removal of Aboriginal children from their families constituted genocide. The legal definition of genocide, contained in the [Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide]?, includes "forcibly transferring children of the group to another group". If the intention behind the removal was to destroy Australian Aborigines as an ethnic or racial group, then it would legally be genocide. The argument that the removal constituted genocide was accepted by the "National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families", [2], which said "The policy of forcible removal of children from Indigenous Australians to other groups for the purpose of raising them separately from and ignorant of their culture and people could properly be labelled `genocidal' in breach of binding international law from at least 11 December 1946... The practice continued for almost another quarter of a century."

Court cases have been launched on the issue of the Stolen Generations. However, these cases have not been very successful, since it is difficult to prove what did or did not happen decades ago.

Appeals have also been made to the UN human rights treaty committees, and the UN committees have been largely favourable towards Aboriginal complaints. As a result of this, the Howard Government has become highly critical of the UN human rights system. (One consequence of this has been the refusal of the Howard Government to sign the Optional Protocol to the [Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women]? (CEDAW), which would grant the CEDAW committee the power to hear complaints from individuals.)

This article needs more facts, like: when did these removals take place, how many children were likely removed, links to some of the court cases and UN committee reports, etc.

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Relevant Web Links

http://www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice/stolen_children/
The (Australian) Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission website

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/special/rsjproject/rsjlibrary/hreoc/stolen/
The official Australian government report: "Bringing Them Home - Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families"

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Link(s below are here for future incorporation into the article.

The Gunner-Cubillo lawsuit summary judgement
http://www.smh.com.au/news/0008/11/update/news51.html

history
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/2000/12/08/FFXDTEAWFGC.html