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Legal Studies Media File

Assessment Task 2 - Mitch Cartwright

Article Summary

Title UNICEF Says Hundreds of South Sudanese Forced to Become


Child Soldiers

Source http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2015/s4189870.htm
Accessed on: 18th March, 2017

Date Written March 2, 2015

Key Legal Concepts Human Rights


Child Soldiers

Relevant Law/Legal United Nations


Bodies/Countries UNICEF
Rome Statute (2002)
Convention On the Rights of the Child (1989)
(CROC)
The Hague Regulation (Section 96.13) (1907)
South Sudan
International Criminal Court (ICC)

The issue of child soldiers still prevails today, especially in Africa. These children can
be easily manipulated by those in power and children are more willing to commit
horrific acts because they dont know any better. In the article, a militia group linked to
the South Sudanese Government is being blamed for the kidnapping and use of
children as young as 12 as child soldiers. The Shilluk militia has defied numerous
international laws designed to protect the individual rights of children protected by
CROC. The CROC was created in order to provide a guideline for nations of the world on
how and when children could be used in war. When international law is breached the
court that prosecutes is the ICC, which, in the case of South Sudan might be used to
prosecute the president, Salva Kiir Mayardit, however this relies on the cooperation of
South Sudan and currently, they are not willing to allow the ICC to prosecute their head
of state. Currently the UN believes that over 12,000 children are being used for soldiers
in South Sudan and in order to stop this from happening the root causes of both the
civil war itself and the desire to use child soldiers must be addressed.

Word Count: 207


Article Summary

Title The Guardian view on child soldiers: stop recruiting, start


reintegrating

Source https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/15/the-
guardian-view-on-child-soldiers-stop-recruiting-start-reintegrating
Accessed on: 24th March, 2017

Date Written 16 January, 2017

Key Legal Concepts Human Rights


Child Soldiers

Relevant Law/Legal United Nations


Bodies/Countries UNICEF
Rome Statute (2002)
Convention On the Rights of the Child (1989)
(CROC)
The Hague Regulation (Section 96.13) (1907)
International Criminal Court
South Sudan, United States of America

This editorial piece from The Guardian discusses a trial in the International Criminal
Court (ICC) of Dominic Ongwen, for the abduction and use of children as soldiers.
Ongwen's case is a particularly important and rare as the accused is also a victim of the
crime. This presents a moral dilemma for the judges as they must also take into account
the brutality and mental manipulation that Ongwen himself has suffered. Ongwens
case shows how the legal system must adapt for those who, while they have committed
atrocious crimes, did so under duress and under the belief that it was right. The
editorial then expands into the broader HR issue of child soldiers, with the crux of the
report emphasising the need for the rights of the child to be protected by conventions
such as CROC as well as, significantly, ex-child soldiers not to be forgotten by society,
but for society to integrate them back
Laws must be reformed to reflect the change in societys views regarding the
reintegration of child soldiers into society. The article attempted to explain some
complex legal issues regarding child soldiers in war to varying degrees of success
however it has raised awareness of the issue.

Word Count: 200


Article Summary

Title A Former Child Soldier Fights Her Memories

Source http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/this-is-happening-in-australia-sydney-
victim-of-slavery-speaks-out-20160407-go1bt7.html
Accessed on: 15th April, 2017

Date Written April 10 2016

Key Legal Concepts Human Rights


Human Trafficking

Relevant Law/Legal United Nations


Bodies/Countries Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and
Children
The Protocol
UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Australia
Statute Law: Crimes Act 1914
XYZ v. Commonwealth [2006]

Australian society, and the laws passed by Parliament, centre on being utilitarian.
Susans experience as written in the article is not one that follows those ideals. Susans
case is one of an estimated 3000 cases of slavery currently in Australia, despite the
2005 ratification of the Protocol (see above) which provided additional penalties for
human traffickers. She was held against her will in a Sydney suburb home, forced to
work without pay. This article shows the drastic change in how slavery is viewed,
moving from being perfectly acceptable up until the 1800s to morally reprehensible
today, as well as how laws have been created and modified to better protect the rights
of all people. More recently, the XYZ v R (2006) High Court case set a precedent under
the Australian Constitution for the Federal Government to prosecute human trafficking
offences that occurred overseas as if they happened domestically, allowing prosecution
against some traffickers that previously were free persons.
The international standard set by the Protocol have been met however the responsibility
of people to report crimes and the unwillingness of some victims to press charges has
resulted in an underutilisation of the laws. The article offers a strong overview of some
domestic legal concepts relating to slavery and human trafficking.

Word Count: 210


Article Summary

Title Australians turn to black market for human organs

Source http://www.news.com.au/national/australians-turn-to-black-market-
for-human-organs/news-
story/06905df7ffc5337cb53927c9de1cce3a
Accessed on: 18th March, 2017

Date Written August 7, 2016

Key Legal Concepts Human Rights


Organ Trafficking, Transplant Tourism

Relevant Law/Legal United Nations


Bodies/Countries Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
(1948)
Human Tissue Act 1983 (NSW)
The Act
Australia
World Health Organization (WHO)

Organ transplants are an essential part of our medical system as it exists today.
Currently in Australia it is illegal to sell organs and since the demand for organs
outstrips supply, over 100 people yearly travel overseas to get an organ from
illegitimate sources. This process is also illegal under Australian law as it goes against
the right to life and liberty as set out in the UN-UDHR. Almost 40 years later that
declaration was cited in the Act (see above) which prohibited all transplants unless
consent was freely given prior to death and that consent wasnt retracted. This aspect
of Australian law represents society's view that an individual is entitled to decide what
to do with their own body - the right to life and liberty.
Currently the penalty for organ trafficking ranges from 12-25 years imprisonment and
these penalties were revised in light of the WHOs 1991 guidelines on how best to
manage the exploitation of organ donors, followed by the UN general assemblies 2009
Organ Trafficking paper.
The article presents a altruistic view that all Australians should register to donate their
organs after death and details the significant cost to the taxpayer to care for those that
attempted to get organs from overseas and had complications.

Word Count: 208


Article Summary

Title Shocking exploitation of workers prompts renewed calls for national


crackdown on dodgy labour hire companies

Source http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-28/growers-call-for-national-
crackdown-on-worker-exploitation/8394252
Accessed on: 31th March, 2017

Date Written March 29, 2017

Key Legal Concepts Human Rights


Exploitation of workers

Relevant Law/Legal United Nations


Bodies/Countries Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
(1948)
International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
Fair Work Act 2009 (Cwlth)
Fair Work Ombudsman
Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (NSW)
International Labour Organization (ILO)

All laws, especially fair work laws, exist to protect the people who cannot protect
themselves. Exploitation of workers is an act whereby an employer intentionally
disadvantages an employee for their own gain. Labour hire companies, especially those
specialising in the farm industry, have been investigated by the Fair Work Ombudsman
for the appalling treatment of seasonal immigrant workers. These workers are
particularly at risk and laws are being reformed to attempt to provide stronger
protections for those workers. The ICESCR has provisions for a healthy workplace as
well as the right to just compensation. These provisions have impacted Australian law,
however due to the trade union movement Australia already had strong protections in
place for workers, though, non-union members such as 457 Visa holders werent always
protected adequately. This has led to calls to suspend the program which the Turnbull
Government has recently done. The article calls for a national scheme in order to
attempt to prevent the exploitation of workers, however current Australian laws
provide more than adequate base levels of protection, it is simply the awareness of
these laws that needs to be addressed. A national body may be able to help with that if
it is vested with the power to penalise employers not protecting workers.

Word Count: 209

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