Asylum seeker and refugee children Asylum seeker and refugee children have the right to be provided with appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance so they can enjoy the rights set out in the CRC. This includes their right to be protected from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and be protected from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse and the right to nonrefoulement. Unaccompanied children are entitled to special protection and assistance. While Australia’s resettlement program is good by world standards, its policies and laws towards refugees who come to Australia seeking protection are harsh. For example: • • The number of children in immigration detention has decreased markedly since 2012, and community-based alternatives to detention are most commonly used for children. However, immigration detention remains mandatory for all unlawful non-citizens, including children, under migration law.69 Numerous inquiries have demonstrated that closed immigration detention is an unsafe environment for children.70 The 2014 National 26