Doomed to repeat: an analysis of the forcible removal of children in Australia from colonisation to the contemporary

Abstract

The development of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide aimed to ensure that the ‘never again’ rhetoric surrounding mass atrocities came to fruition. Yet, at the same time Australia ratified the Convention, First Nations children were being removed from their families under the guise of ‘protection’. This practice has continued from colonisation to today, under different veils however perpetrating the same harm to First Nations communities. This study analyses the deficit in the protection of First Nations communities through the production and implementation of the Genocide Convention, the domestic human rights framework, and the failure to address Australia’s colonial history. It shall explore the obligations owed to First Nations communities for historical injustices and argue that only through acknowledgement and reparation can the ongoing removals cease. Ultimately, it calls for the use of transitional justice to redefine the relationship between First Nations and non-indigenous communities to prevent the continuation of removals. Keywords: Genocide, Transitional Justice, Settler Colonialism, Stolen Generations, Guarantees of Nonrecurrence, Reparations.