Apology: An essential first step

13 February 

Amnesty International welcomes Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology to members of the Stolen Generations and their families.

"We are greatly encouraged by the Australian Government's decision to make a formal apology one of its first priorities," says AI Australia's Campaign Coordinator Rodney Dillon.

"We hope this gesture will be a symbolic end to the tragic legacy of horrific treatment of Aboriginal children, and the first step towards addressing the serious human rights violations Indigenous Australians face every day."

"An apology will help develop respect and establish meaningful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and is essential to reconciliation."

"We are calling on the Australian Government to now implement the recommendations in the Bringing Them Home report. Restitution, rehabilitation, guarantees against repetition and compensation are critical next steps."

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's (HREOC) outlined 54 recommendations in the 1997 Bringing Them Home report, as a result of its enquiry into the removal of Indigenous children from their families. It found between one in ten and three in ten Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were forcibly removed from between 1910 and 1970, and many were sexually, physically and mentally abused.

The report's recommendations are supported by international law which provides that where a person's human rights have been violated, they must have access to an 'effective remedy' (Article 2(3) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights).

Further Information
Stolen Generations Alliance
National Sorry Day Committee
Bringing Them Home report
Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR)
Close The Gap