CANBERRA, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) - The United Nations special rapporteur on indigenous rights said here Thursday the shadow of the Stolen Generation still casts a lot of pain in Australia and the wounds are still open.

    When answering Xinhua's question on the current taken away of more than 40 aboriginal kids by welfare staff days ago, James Anaya said "the safety of children should be taken seriously and there has to be a priority on protecting children with no question."

    At the same time, he said, "not only in a particular sense, but also in a general sense, there needs to be sensitivity to the relationship of children with their parents in aboriginal settings-- the particular cultural aspects of that relationship that are unique of aboriginal people and families."

    "The shadow of the stolen generation, I understand, still casts a lot of pain, the wounds are still open," he said, "so there needs to be particular sensitivity when children in any circumstance are taken from their families."

    "It is an issue that requires a lot careful considerations." Anaya told Xinhua at a press conference after a two-week visit in Australia investigating the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people in the country.

    Leading newspaper the Australian reports earlier that welfare workers in New South Wales (NSW) have swooped on the opal mining town of Lightning Ridge in northwest NSW, removing more than 40 Aboriginal children from their homes, including a four-day-old baby who was taken from his mother's breast.

    The story spurred concerns for situation of today's indigenous people in Australia and produced worries that a new Stolen Generation is being created.