Genocide, a Crime of Which No Anglo-Saxon Nation Could be Guilty
AbstractA great deal has happened during Australia’s colonial and post-colonial history for which all Australians can be proud. However, another side of its history is abhorrent. Regrettably, abhorrence is the most apt descriptor for Australia’s treatment of its Indigenous population. This is particularly true of the experiences of the many Aboriginal children forcibly removed into White care throughout Australia’s White Colonial history. It is these people who often referred to themselves as the Stolen Generations. This article considers Australian Territory, State and Commonwealth government removal policies and practices in light of the international law prohibition of genocide. There is no doubt that large numbers of “part-Aboriginal” children were transferred from their parents and extended family groups to White placements. Similarly, there can be little doubt that force was applied in the removal of many of these children. However, to establish that these acts constituted genocide it is necessary to show they were carried out in an atmosphere in which there was an intention to destroy at least a part of the Aboriginal group. The author argues there is sufficient prima facie evidence to conclude there was an intention to destroy the “full-blood” members of the Aboriginal racial and ethnic group. |