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	Locking up 10 year old Aboriginal children not the way to solve problems by Coalition of Peaks, agencies Australia   Oct. 2024   Northern Territory: Locking up 10 year old Aboriginal children not the way to solve problems.   The Australian Children’s Commissioner, Anne Hollonds, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Commissioner, Katie Kiss, have urged the Northern Territory Government to reverse its plan next week to introduce a new law to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to ten years.   The Commissioners have again warned that a ‘tough on crime’ approach will in fact contribute to an increase in criminal activity, rather than address the root issues of offending by children by focusing on education, healthcare and family support.   National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds said: “We all want to live in safe communities, but this plan by the NT Government goes against what all the evidence has shown we need to do to achieve that. It is absolutely critical that they reconsider.   “The younger a child comes into contact with the criminal justice system, the more likely they will go on to commit more serious and violent crimes. Lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 10 years will not make communities safer, it will only see rates of child offending increase. These are primary school age children, and harsh, punitive responses are not the answer.   “The fact that this new law will be brought to the NT Parliament clearly shows its government has misunderstood the problem and solutions based on evidence. It also shows the other systems meant to help children with complex needs, and their families, such as health and education, have failed.   “I urge the NT government to read our landmark report tabled in the Australian Parliament last month, ‘Help Way Earlier!’ How Australia can transform child justice to improve safety and wellbeing. Our 24 recommendations offer a roadmap for reform that increases community safety and keeps our kids out of prison. Prevention and early intervention to address the drivers of offending by children is the only way we can achieve better outcomes for all.”   Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss said: ​“Lowering the age of criminal responsibility condemns First Nations children to a lifetime of abuse, deprivation and disadvantage. Our children are disproportionately affected by the failing ‘tough on crime’ approach, which only serves to perpetuate racial profiling and negative stereotyping.   “The NT’s proposed laws, which will combine reducing the age of criminal responsibility will have a significant impact on First Nations children in the child justice system and their families. It also undermines the NT Government’s commitments under the national Closing the Gap agreement.   “Instead of finding positive solutions, we are instead criminalising First Nations children, and children with disabilities, learning problems and mental health issues. The consequences for us all if this practice continues is dire.   "Recent tragedies and deaths in custody and the child protection system clearly show that current approaches are not working. Kids need care, love and support so they can shake off generational disadvantage, have hope for their futures and feel they are valued and belong.   “I hope the NT Government heeds our call, listens to the experts and puts the futures of our children front of mind.”   NT Opposition Leader Selena Uibo said the move was "dooming young Aboriginal Territorians to a life of disadvantage, reduced opportunities and poorer education outcomes".   "We know – because all of the evidence tells us this – that the earlier a child comes into contact with the criminal justice system, the more prolonged their involvement is likely to be," she said. "We want to see children held accountable for bad behaviour but then supported to get on a better path, to re-engage with school."   Arnhem Land elder and independent Mulka MLA Yiŋiya Guyula said "This government will lock up children who are so young they don't know what they're doing yet," Mr Guyula said. "These children will be scarred and traumatised for life by a government who have taken them from their country and culture. "This will not make our communities a safer place. It will not protect our children or fix the problem of crime."   Larrakia leader Patj Patj Janama Robert Mills said diversionary programs were needed to teach children "the right path and keep them off the wrong path".   "To lock up a 10-year-old child, regardless of their race, I believe is an international crime against humanity," he said. "It's just heartbreaking, soul-destroying. Why would anybody do this?"   NT's children's commissioner Shahleena Musk, a Larrakia woman from Darwin, told the BBC Aboriginal children were less likely to be cautioned, more likely to be charged and pursued through the courts, and more likely to be remanded in custody than non-Aboriginal offenders.   “We shouldn't be seeing these kids going into a youth justice system which is harmful, ineffective, and only compounds the very issues we're trying to change.”   http://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-01/un-urged-to-rule-on-australias-youth-crime-laws/105116196 http://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/nt-government-urged-not-lower-age-criminal-responsibility http://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/media-releases/first-nations-children-deserve-rights-based-future-today http://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/media-releases/nt-youth-crime-laws-fail-children-and-community http://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/childrens-rights/publications/help-way-earlier http://www.hrlc.org.au/news/qld-laws-to-jail-kids http://fxb.harvard.edu/2024/02/12/press-release-research-report-analyzes-healthcare-standards-for-children-deprived-of-their-liberty-in-effort-to-support-the-implementation-of-the-un-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child/ http://fxb.harvard.edu/2024/01/11/press-release-new-report-documents-the-mental-and-physical-harm-experienced-by-children-in-immigration-detention/   Nov. 2024   Ending the Queensland Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry is harmful and divisive - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss   The Queensland Government’s decision to abolish the state’s Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry and repeal its Path to Treaty Act marks a major step backwards for First Nations rights, says Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss.   Newly-elected Premier David Crisafulli, who was sworn into office this week, said yesterday he will follow through on his election promise to end the Queensland’s truth- telling inquiry, which is underway, and repeal its treaty legislation.   Commissioner Kiss, a proud Kaanju and Biri/Widi woman who grew up in Rockhampton on the lands of the Darumbal People, was previously the Executive Director of the Interim Truth and Treaty Body supporting Queensland’s Path to Treaty.   “The decision to scrap the Inquiry, denying our First Nations People a chance to share their stories to help accurately convey our state’s history, is extremely disrespectful and harmful,” Commissioner Kiss said.   “It is disrespectful to communities, but also to the many people who put in years of work to make this Inquiry happen. This includes the contributions of everyday Queenslanders – Indigenous and non-Indigenous – who provided invaluable input to support truth, justice and healing.   “The inaugural truth-telling hearings of the Commission that occurred in September showed the enormous contribution that this process can make to public understanding of the treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Queensland, building a basis for dialogue, understanding and compassion. These hearings showed the immense benefits truth-telling has for everyone.   “The Path to Treaty was something our People have long called for. They believe this is what is needed to bring Queenslanders together in a way that fosters unity, understanding, respect, dignity and wellbeing for all. In particular, those Elders who have lived experience of the impacts of colonial policies and practices of the past, and our families and communities who experience the ongoing trauma and effects.   “Now more than ever, we need policies that promote reconciliation and unity – not division and discord. First Nations Queenslanders deserve and need to have their rights upheld and their stories heard.”   Commissioner Kiss has written to Premier Crisafulli, urging him to reconsider his decision and offering to work collaboratively with his government to achieve better outcomes for First Nations people in Queensland.   “I am very keen to establish a positive working relationship with the new Queensland Government – supporting it to advance the human rights of First Nations people. Truth-telling about past and ongoing injustice is critical to advancing human rights and building a better future for First Nations people and all Queenslanders. I urge the Premier to reconsider his decision," Commissioner Kiss said.   “With the absence now of a First Nations member in the new Queensland Government, it is of great importance to include First Nations People in decisions that affect them. That means meeting with us, talking with us and hearing and incorporating our views into decisions that will impact us all.”   http://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/ending-qld-truth-telling-and-healing-inquiry-harmful-and-divisive http://www.qld.gov.au/firstnations/treaty/resources-support http://nit.com.au/01-11-2024/14640/ending-qld-truth-telling-and-healing-inquiry-is-divisive-indigenous-human-rights-commissioner-says http://www.qcoss.org.au/coss-network-calls-for-queensland-government-to-engage-respectfully-with-first-nations-queenslanders/ http://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/latenightlive/marcia-langton-on-the-defeat-of-truth-telling/104624350 http://www.themandarin.com.au/280198-truth-telling-commission-chair-denounces-unprecedented-political-attack/ http://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-23/truth-telling-inquiry-yoorook-four-corners/104931188 http://yoorrookjusticecommission.org.au/news-stories http://www.reconciliation.org.au/publication/coming-to-terms-with-the-past-identifying-barriers-and-enablers-to-truth-telling/ http://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2024/11/04/2024-charles-perkins-oration-joshua-creamer-makes-the-case-for-truth-telling.html   http://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/opinions/year-our-voice-broke-fallout-failed-referendum-0 http://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/media-releases/dismantling-systemic-racism-perspectives-first-nations-peoples http://yoorrookjusticecommission.org.au/news-stories/truth-telling-has-never-been-more-important http://www.reconciliation.org.au/a-year-after-the-referendum-voice-is-as-important-as-ever/ http://www.reconciliation.org.au/raps-collective-impact-changing-systems/ http://ulurustatement.org/prof-megan-davis-delivers-2024-uq-naidoc-keynote-lecture/ http://www.coalitionofpeaks.org.au/media/community-control-always-was-and-always-will-be-key-to-closing-the-gap   Feb. 2024   Major review finds Australian governments failing to help close the gap between improvements in the life outcomes of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. (Coalition of Peaks)   The life outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples will not change unless there is a fundamental shift in how federal, state and territory governments view the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, according to a major Productivity Commission review.   The review found governments were failing in their commitments under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, did not fully grasp the nature and scale of the changes required, and urgently needed to “close the gap between words and action”.   The Coalition of Peaks, which is a partner to the National Agreement and represents more than 80 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak organisations, said governments must take the findings seriously.   “As Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, we know what is best for our communities, but governments across the board are still not meaningfully giving us a voice in the decisions that affect our lives,” said Coalition of Peaks’ acting Lead Convenor Catherine Liddle.   The Coalition of Peaks is calling for all governments to fulfil the commitments they have already made.   “The National Agreement sets a road map, informed by our communities across the country, on what is needed by governments to help close the gap. This includes making sure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives are at the table with governments to share and lead in the decisions that impact on our communities’ lives.” Said Ms Liddle.   The Productivity Commission review noted the persistence of “government knows best” thinking when designing and implementing services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.   “This review involved extensive community consultation, and it confirms what our own countless conversations have told us – that governments still don’t understand that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people know what is best for our communities,” Ms Liddle said.   “When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are given ownership over the decisions that affect their lives, the resources they need, and the opportunity to partner with government, we see better outcomes.”   Ms Liddle said more funding was needed to deliver the reforms, noting there had been no significant injection of funding since 2008.   “We are calling for a dedicated Closing the Gap fund, enshrined in legislation, and directed to Aboriginal community-controlled organisations and our organisations to support our self-determination,” Ms Liddle said.   “We are calling for tangible commitments to fully fund the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, to make a meaningful difference to the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”   * The Coalition of Peaks is made up of more than 80 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled peak and member organisations across Australia, that represent some 800 organisations.   Feb. 2024   The Australian Productivity Commission's first review of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap has found it's unclear how much funding states and territories have allocated to Aboriginal-controlled organisations.   The report said most state and territory governments have not undertaken or published expenditure reviews and it has heard funding is going to non-government organisations when it could be going to Aboriginal-run programs.   Commissioner Natalie Siegel-Brown said the final report of the first three-year review found state and federal governments' engagement with Indigenous communities was "tokenistic".   "If governments continue to put money towards programs that don't align with what the community is saying will work, or whether these programs are measured in terms of what the community value as markers of change, then governments will continue to allocate public money ineffectively.   "For example, governments would come up with their own policy or program or services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that in some instances were actually harmful to those communities.   "The government would only engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at the 11th hour right before something was about to go to cabinet."   Closing the gap targets have been around for 15 years, but data continuously shows strategies aren't working. In 2020 governments signed up for a radical overhaul and a new national agreement was formed.   The review found that state and federal governments are "failing" to implement what has been promised, and have provided recommendations:   Power needs to be shared, recognising the right that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have control over the decisions that affect their lives. Recognise and support Indigenous data sovereignty. Fundamentally rethink mainstream government systems and culture. Implement stronger accountability.   Ms Siegel-Brown says the government must undertake these changes.   "The task facing governments under the agreement, what they have promised, is to make structural and cultural changes that embed shared decision making, building the Aboriginal community-controlled sector and to achieve that by being completely transparent.   "To ensure governments actually make progress towards the agreement and things don't look the same when we review again in three years."   Sharing power with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to make decisions about their communities lies at the heart of what governments committed to. But the Commission found evidence of a failure to relinquish power and the persistence of ‘government knows best’ thinking.   To address this, the report’s first recommendation proposes five actions, including amending the agreement to better emphasise power sharing, and having governments recognise the expertise of Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations in what works for their communities.   “Efforts to improve outcomes are far more likely to succeed when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people lead their design and implementation. Nothing will change until this model of partnership, based on genuine power sharing, becomes the rule and not the exception,” said Commissioner Romlie Mokak.   The report finds that progress is unlikely unless government organisations fundamentally rethink their systems, culture and ways of working.   “The lack of progress we have seen reflects a disregard for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s knowledges and solutions throughout government. Breaking down these entrenched attitudes and ways of working will require a focused and deliberate effort from every department and organisation,” said Commissioner Siegel-Brown.   http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/closing-the-gap-review/report#media http://www.coalitionofpeaks.org.au/media/major-review-finds-governments-failing-to-meet-closing-the-gap-commitments-as-peak-body-calls-for-renewed-efforts-to-existing-commitments-and-a-dedicated-self-determination-fund http://www.coalitionofpeaks.org.au/outcomes-and-targets http://www.lowitja.org.au/news/lowitja-institute-calls-on-governments-to-hasten-action-to-close-the-gap/ http://closethegap.org.au/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-health-equity-and-justice-still-needs-to-be-progressed-closethegapday2024-report-launch/ Visit the related web page
	Peru: Changes to forestry law will threaten survival of indigenous peoples by Francisco Cali Tzay Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples   Mar. 2024   Colombia’s Indigenous Peoples are at a critical juncture as the country grapples with decades of armed conflict, a UN expert said today.   “It is extremely urgent for Colombia to address historic grievances, especially as the country embarks on new negotiations aimed at achieving ‘total peace’,” said Francisco Cali Tzay, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, in a statement at the end of a 10-day visit to the country.   Cali Tzay acknowledged positive legal advances and Government intentions to strengthen Indigenous Peoples’ rights, but deplored persistent challenges that threaten the very existence of many of them, putting them at imminent risk of physical and cultural extermination.   “The absence of capable state institutions in the territories of Indigenous Peoples, especially in rural areas and far from the Colombian capital, has allowed the progressive and tragic deterioration of their rights for generations,” the expert said.   The Special Rapporteur expressed alarm at the plight of Indigenous women and children, who face multiple forms of discrimination within and outside their communities.   “The testimonies of forced recruitment and displacement, suicides, sexual violence and discrimination in access to health, education and food are devastating,” he said.   Cali Tzay spoke to Indigenous women who have spent more than a decade searching for their daughters, sons and partners who disappeared during the armed conflict, and who have not received an adequate response from authorities. One of them said: “We have always been here, but they treat us as invisible.”   The expert urged the Government to implement the recommendations of his predecessors, who visited Colombia in 2004 and 2009, and called for concrete measures to address the historical marginalisation of Indigenous Peoples.   “The report I will present to the Human Rights Council in September 2024 will include additional recommendations to settle the historical debt owed by the State towards Indigenous Peoples in Colombia,” he said.   The Special Rapporteur highlighted the invaluable contributions of Indigenous Peoples to the country’s cultural tapestry and environmental conservation, and emphasised their central role in combating climate change.   “True progress depends on genuine recognition and respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples, starting with self-government, self-determination, land, territories and resources” Cali Tzay said. “Indigenous knowledge and ancestral wisdom are essential to achieving Colombia’s aspirations for lasting and true Total Peace, as well as environmental protection.”   http://www.ohchr.org/en/media-advisories/2024/03/un-expert-urges-colombia-prioritise-indigenous-peoples-rights-achieve   Feb. 2024   Indigenous group calls on Ecuador to respect referendum to stop oil drilling in Amazon. (EFE)   The Waorani Indigenous people have called for Ecuadorians to stand together to pressure the government to respect last year’s referendum that called for an end to oil exploration in the Yasuni National Park, a highly biodiverse area of the Amazon.   In a press conference from the Amazon, the Waorani recalled that the majority of Ecuadorians voted in favor of stopping oil exploitation from Block 43-ITT (Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini) in 2023.   “We call for the unity of the people, that the consultation of Aug. 20 be respected, that the state, and newly elected President Daniel Noboa, comply with the result”.   The withdrawal of all oil extraction operations was supposed to take place within a year of the referendum, but in January Noboa proposed extending the exploitation of Block 43-ITT oil fields operated by the state-owned Petroecuador for another year.   Ecuadorians voted in favor of indefinitely leaving underground the country's oil reserves.   During the recent election campaign, Noboa supported the abandonment of Block 43-ITT and the dismantling of its facilities, arguing that its profitability would decline over the years as international crude oil prices fell.   In an assembly, the Waoranis declared a “Waorani Territorial Emergency”. They said Noboa’s proposal was an attack on democracy and a violation of “the sovereign decision of the Ecuadorian people” to stop oil drilling in the Yasuni National Park, part of the Waorani’s ancestral territory, and have decided to promote legal action against the Ecuadorian state in national and international courts “so that the will of the people to protect Yasuní is respected.”   http://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/hundreds-of-oil-spill-sites-threaten-amazon-indigenous-lands-protected-areas/ http://insideclimatenews.org/news/10082023/amazon-nations-debate-ending-oil-exploration/ http://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/the-amazon-will-reach-tipping-point-if-current-trend-of-deforestation-continues/ http://news.mongabay.com/list/amazon/   Jan. 2024   Peru: Changes to forestry law will threaten survival of indigenous peoples   Amendments to Peru’s Forestry and Wildlife Law could legalise and encourage the dispossession of Indigenous Peoples from their lands and threaten their physical and cultural survival, a UN expert warned today.   “This legislation will affect the ancestral territories of the Amazonian peoples of Peru,” said Francisco Cali Tzay, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples.   “This happens at a time when the State still has pending obligations to fulfill to legally recognise and secure Indigenous Peoples’ territories,” the Special Rapporteur said. “Approximately a third of the Indigenous Peoples in the Peruvian Amazon have not been titled, leaving them without legal security and vulnerable against third parties,” he said.   The expert said the law explicitly mentions native and peasant communities and Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation but has not gone through a consultation process with a view to obtaining the free, prior and informed consent of these Peoples.   “Indigenous Peoples in situations of isolation and initial contact would be particularly vulnerable to regulatory change, which could threaten their physical and cultural survival,” Cali Tzay said.   The UN expert recalled that Peru had obligations under international law with regard to enacting laws that affect Indigenous Peoples, including article 19 of the UN Declaration on Indigenous Peoples.   Cali Tzay warned that provisions of the law classifying land and rules about agricultural activities would ensure that areas possessed by Indigenous Peoples and were once forests, where agriculture is currently conducted, would automatically become “agricultural exclusion areas.”   “Given strong pressures on unprotected indigenous territories, these exclusion areas could generate impunity for crimes of logging and usurpation, and imply weakening the fight against deforestation and aggravating the current climate crisis,” the expert warned.   “Under the new regulatory framework, activities such as illegal logging and deforestation would be legalised,” he warned. “These activities constitute crimes under the Penal Code, further encouraging deforestation of the Amazon which is especially worrying given the high levels of deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon in recent years,” he said.   “This situation could encourage greater pressure towards indigenous territories and their biological, cultural, environmental and spiritual integrity,” the expert warned.   The expert was gravely concerned that this setback in the country’s forest governance turns its back on threats, attacks and murders of indigenous and environmental defenders, who oppose illicit activities in the forests of their territories.   “In recent years, 33 indigenous leaders have been murdered, including the leader of the Kichwa people, Quinto Inuma. These reforms seem to ignore that territorial dispossession is the driving force of violence against indigenous leaders and implies a withdrawal of the State in rural areas,” Cali Tzay warned.   “This void is filled by criminal groups dedicated to illegal logging, informal mining, coca cultivation and drug and land trafficking, promoting illegal economies that destroy the social fabric and undermine public institutions,” the expert said.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/peru-changes-forestry-law-will-threaten-survival-indigenous-peoples-un http://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/critics-decry-controversial-bill-that-loosens-deforestation-restrictions-in-peru/ Visit the related web page
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