Related Rule
Australia
Practice Relating to Rule 120. Accommodation for Children Deprived of Their Liberty
Australia’s Defence Force Manual (1994) states: “In case of arrest, children should be kept in separate quarters from those of adults.”
Australia, Manual on Law of Armed Conflict, Australian Defence Force Publication, Operations Series, ADFP 37 – Interim Edition, 1994, § 947.
Australia’s LOAC Manual (2006) states: “If arrested, detained or interned for reasons connected with the armed conflict, children must be kept in quarters separate from adults unless they belong to an interned family unit.”
Australia, The Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict, Australian Defence Doctrine Publication 06.4, Australian Defence Headquarters, 11 May 2006, § 9.52; see also 9.50.
The LOAC Manual (2006) replaces both the Defence Force Manual (1994) and the Commanders’ Guide (1994).
Upon ratification of the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, Australia stated:
The obligation to separate children from adults in prison is accepted only to the extent that such imprisonment is considered by the responsible authorities to be feasible and consistent with the obligation that children be able to maintain contact with their families.
Australia, Reservation made upon ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 17 December 1990, reprinted in UN Doc. CRC/C/2/Rev.4, 28 July 1995, p. 12.
