Bringing-Them-Home-Report-Web

The importance of making reparation to all who suffered as a result of these practicesis recognised in the Inquiry’s terms of reference and was underlined by a number ofsubmissions to the Inquiry.Compensation needs to be seen not only in direct relation to the children who were removed,but also the parents, families and communities from which the children were taken. Wholecommunities were severely affected and collective grief is a continuing reality in thecommunities affected (Link-Up (NSW) Aboriginal Corporation submission 186; supportedby Aboriginal Legal Service of WA submission 127 recommendation 11).This process must include a recognition that the removals affected more than the individualsactually taken, but also the communities they were taken from and the descendants of thosetaken, all of whom continue to suffer the anguish the removals caused (Stolen GenerationsNational Workshop 1996 submission 754 page 50).At the same time, submissions emphasised that the principal victims were thechildren taken away and that their individual rights to reparations should not beoverlooked in the process of making reparation to their families and communities.There is collective grief; but not comparable to the grief suffered by the individuals who werethe subject of the policy and who were deprived of being raised in normal circumstances withtheir family and community. Nor does compensating communities recognise that individuals’legal rights have been affected by the policy, and that individuals suffered damage(Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre submission 325 pages 2-3; supported by NSW AboriginalLand Council submission 643 page 2 and confidential evidence 163, Victoria).ClaimantsRecommendation 4: That reparation be made to all who suffered because offorcible removal policies including,1. individuals who were forcibly removed as children,2. family members who suffered as a result of their removal,3. communities which, as a result of the forcible removal of children, sufferedcultural and community disintegration, and4. descendants of those forcibly removed who, as a result, have been deprived ofcommunity ties, culture and language, and links with and entitlements to theirtraditional land.Acknowledgment and apologyThe first step in any compensation and healing for victims of gross violations ofhuman rights must be an acknowledgment of the truth and the delivery of an apology.Van Boven’s principle 15 concerns ‘satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition’including, as necessary,(a)(b)Cessation of continuing violations;Verification of the facts and full and public disclosure of the truth;