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This UPR tool reflects the global recommendations made to Austria by all countries world-wide during the Universial Priodic Review process (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council and their current status of implementation. The League coordinates a significant part of Austrian civil society in the UPR process. See this LINK for an overview about this process.

The recommendations can be filtered in the menu below by human rights topics, SDGs, proponent states etc. And also a search function is available.

We welcome your comments and suggestions at upr@liga.or.at.

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Progress: In progress

Promptly investigate, prosecute and sanction all forms of racism and hate crimes in accordance with the law, including by ensuring that the prosecution and the police have adequate tools and skills

Proponent:

Zambia


Republic of Zambia

Zambia


Republic of Zambia

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Dec 31, 2024):

In Austria, there are reports of racist police checks in which people are discriminated against on the basis of their ethnic origin or skin colour. According to the Amnesty Annual Report 2022, such practices have been documented time and again in police work, which places a particular burden on the communities affected. The Styrian Anti-Discrimination Agency confirms that racial profiling violates the ban on discrimination and must be urgently reformed in order to protect the rights of all citizens (Amnesty International Annual Report: https://www.amnesty.de/informieren/amnesty-report/oesterreich-2022). In Austria, there is still a need to strengthen measures to combat racial discrimination and racial profiling. This requires not only a clear condemnation of such practices, but also the implementation of accountability measures for those who commit, aid and abet or cover up racial discrimination. Promoting transparency, education and training for law enforcement agencies and strengthening the rights of victims are crucial steps to combat racial discrimination and racial profiling. Measures should be taken to hold people who practise racial discrimination and racial profiling accountable (Racism Report 2022 by ZARA- Civil Courage and Anti-Racism Work as PDF: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA-Rassismus_Report_2022.pdf). Around 30,000 police officers throughout Austria were prepared for this task by completing e-learning seminars and receiving training as multipliers. The police now work on the basis of a victim-centred approach, actively listening to the victims and investigating consistently to ensure appropriate prosecution. These measures are designed to help tackle bias crime and improve safety for all citizens. With the systematic recording of hate crimes motivated by prejudice and the publication of statistics on hate crimes recorded by the police, a first important step has been taken to make hate crimes visible. It is important to observe the extent to which the views of the police and victim protection organisations or community organisations agree on whether an incident should be classified as a hate crime or not. These observations are an important basis for the reliability of the statistics now collected on hate crimes (Report of the Federal Ministry of the Interior on „Hate Crime“ in Austria 2021: https://www.bmi.gv.at/408/Projekt/files/218_2021_Hate_Crime_Bericht_2021_GESAMT_V20220510_barrierefrei.pdf).
In addition, relevant amendments to criminal legislation have been introduced to improve the handling of hate crimes. The amendments to the Criminal Code (StGB) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO) contain new regulations to combat hate crime more effectively and to strengthen the rights of victims. It is important to regularly review and adapt these legal changes in order to meet current challenges.  {Hassverbrechen-Strafrecht}

Progress: In progress

Systematically investigate all forms of racism and hate crimes, prosecute and punish those responsible according to the law

Proponent:

Luxembourg


Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Luxembourg


Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Dec 31, 2024):

According to the ZARA Racism Report 2023, people with migration experience, especially from African or Asian countries, are disproportionately affected by discrimination. This discrimination manifests itself in various areas of life, including the labour market, education and access to public services (see ZARA Report 2023: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA_RassismusReport_2023_DE.pdf). The ECRI report by the Ombud for Equal Treatment emphasises that despite progress in the legal framework to combat discrimination, practical implementation is often inadequate. To meet these challenges, comprehensive measures are needed to promote equal treatment and combat racism. This includes both political initiatives and social efforts to raise awareness and education. Around 30,000 police officers throughout Austria were prepared for this task by completing e-learning seminars and receiving training as multipliers. The police now work on the basis of a victim-centred approach, actively listening to the victims and investigating consistently to ensure appropriate prosecution. These measures are designed to help tackle bias crime and improve safety for all citizens. With the systematic recording of hate crimes motivated by prejudice and the publication of statistics on hate crimes recorded by the police, a first important step has been taken to make hate crimes visible. It is important to observe the extent to which the views of the police and victim protection organisations or community organisations agree on whether an incident should be classified as a hate crime or not. These observations are an important basis for the reliability of the statistics now collected on hate crimes (Report of the Federal Ministry of the Interior on „Hate Crime“ in Austria 2021: https://www.bmi.gv.at/408/Projekt/files/218_2021_Hate_Crime_Bericht_2021_GESAMT_V20220510_barrierefrei.pdf).
In addition, relevant amendments to criminal legislation have been introduced to improve the handling of hate crimes. The amendments to the Criminal Code (StGB) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO) contain new regulations to combat hate crime more effectively and to strengthen the rights of victims. It is important to regularly review and adapt these legal changes in order to meet current challenges. The systematic recording of offences motivated by prejudice and the publication of corresponding statistics are decisive steps towards making hate crimes visible. It is important to analyse the extent to which the views of the police and victim protection organisations coincide in order to ensure the reliability of these statistics. An effective referral system for victims of hate crime needs to be developed to facilitate access to support and prosecution, with a focus on raising awareness among different actors such as police and social workers. These observations are an important basis for the reliability of the hate crime statistics that are now being collected. Despite this progress, there are still challenges, particularly in the area of sensitisation and documentation. The bias motive aspect is often not sufficiently taken into account in criminal prosecution, which means that many victims are unable to exercise their special rights under the EU Victims‘ Rights Directive. In order to counteract this, organisations such as ZARA and WEISSE RING are calling for the police to use special forms to record prejudicial motives in reports and for courts to take prejudicial motives into account throughout criminal proceedings. The prosecution of hate crime shows that a significant proportion of perpetrators are young and male. This is particularly noticeable in the case of anti-Semitic offences. In contrast, the proportion of foreign suspects is higher for anti-Christian and anti-Muslim offences. It is crucial that cooperation between law enforcement authorities and civil society organisations is strengthened in order to improve victim protection and counter hate crimes more effectively (see reporting and statement on the Hate Crime Report 2022 by Weisser Ring: https://www.weisser-ring.at/hasskriminalitaet-sichtbar-machen/). There is a lack of political strategies, especially against anti-Muslim racism. Instead, measures are taken that lead to prejudgements of people perceived as Muslim. The establishment of the Documentation Centre for Political Islam and Operation Luxor reinforce a general suspicion of Muslims and lead to people withdrawing from social discourse, a reduction in diversity of opinion and restrictions on participation. Freedom of opinion, freedom of the press, freedom of religion and freedom of assembly can be restricted on the basis of membership of a particular group, which has a negative impact on basic democratic principles (Website of the Federal Chancellery – Documentation Centre for Political Islam: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/nachrichten-der-bundesregierung/2020/integrationsministerin-raab-dokumentationsstelle-politischer-islam-nimmt-arbeit-auf.html). 

Progress: No progress

Keep up its efforts to prevent racial profiling by the police and continue to provide all law enforcement personnel with racial sensitivity training

Proponent:

Greece


Hellenic Republic

Greece


Hellenic Republic

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Dec 31, 2024):

In order to fulfil this recommendation, Austria should take concrete steps to ensure that those who practice racial discrimination and racial profiling are held accountable. This is an important step towards a fairer and more inclusive society (see Racism Report 2022 by ZARA- Zivilcourage und Antirassismusarbeit as PDF: here). This includes training for prospective judges and police officers as well as the integration of human rights education into the curricula of Austrian schools. The training of prison guards, including topics such as human rights and anti-discrimination, is carried out in consultation with the staff representatives (see Federal Law Gazette II No. 129/2011, Overall legal regulation for basic training for employees in pay group v1 in the prison service: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20007252).   Although progress in human rights education is recognisable, it should be noted that there is still a considerable need for action. Positive approaches such as training for prospective judges and police officers and the integration of human rights education into curricula should be further strengthened. The mention of the training of judicial guards is commendable, but additional efforts are needed to achieve comprehensive social sensitisation.  In Austria, there are reports of racist police checks in which people are discriminated against on the basis of their ethnic origin or skin colour. According to the Amnesty Annual Report 2022, such practices have been documented time and again in police work, which places a particular burden on the communities affected. The Styrian Anti-Discrimination Agency confirms that racial profiling violates the ban on discrimination and must be urgently reformed in order to protect the rights of all citizens (Amnesty International Annual Report: https://www.amnesty.de/informieren/amnesty-report/oesterreich-2022).  In Austria, there is still a need to strengthen measures to combat racial discrimination and racial profiling. This requires not only a clear condemnation of such practices, but also the implementation of accountability measures for those who commit, aid and abet or cover up racial discrimination. Promoting transparency, education and training for law enforcement agencies and strengthening the rights of victims are crucial steps to combat racial discrimination and racial profiling. Measures should be taken to hold people who practise racial discrimination and racial profiling accountable (Racism Report 2022 by ZARA- Civil Courage and Anti-Racism Work as PDF: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA-Rassismus_Report_2022.pdf). 

Progress: No progress

Make efforts to prohibit racial profiling by the police and continue to provide racism awareness training to all law enforcement officials

Proponent:

Angola


Republic of Angola

Angola


Republic of Angola

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Dec 31, 2024):

In order to fulfil this recommendation, Austria should take concrete steps to ensure that those who practice racial discrimination and racial profiling are held accountable. This is an important step towards a fairer and more inclusive society (see Racism Report 2022 by ZARA- Zivilcourage und Antirassismusarbeit as PDF: here). This includes training for prospective judges and police officers as well as the integration of human rights education into the curricula of Austrian schools. The training of prison guards, including topics such as human rights and anti-discrimination, is carried out in consultation with the staff representatives (see Federal Law Gazette II No. 129/2011, Overall legal regulation for basic training for employees in pay group v1 in the prison service: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20007252).   Although progress in human rights education is recognisable, it should be noted that there is still a considerable need for action. Positive approaches such as training for prospective judges and police officers and the integration of human rights education into curricula should be further strengthened. The mention of the training of judicial guards is commendable, but additional efforts are needed to achieve comprehensive social sensitisation. In Austria, there are reports of racist police checks in which people are discriminated against on the basis of their ethnic origin or skin colour. According to the Amnesty Annual Report 2022, such practices have been documented time and again in police work, which places a particular burden on the communities affected. The Styrian Anti-Discrimination Agency confirms that racial profiling violates the ban on discrimination and must be urgently reformed in order to protect the rights of all citizens (Amnesty International Annual Report: https://www.amnesty.de/informieren/amnesty-report/oesterreich-2022). In Austria, there is still a need to strengthen measures to combat racial discrimination and racial profiling. This requires not only a clear condemnation of such practices, but also the implementation of accountability measures for those who commit, aid and abet or cover up racial discrimination. Promoting transparency, education and training for law enforcement agencies and strengthening the rights of victims are crucial steps to combat racial discrimination and racial profiling. Measures should be taken to hold people who practise racial discrimination and racial profiling accountable (Racism Report 2022 by ZARA- Civil Courage and Anti-Racism Work as PDF: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA-Rassismus_Report_2022.pdf). 

Progress: No progress

Enhance sensitization and training programmes for law enforcement officials on human rights education, particularly on racial sensitivity

Proponent:

Pakistan


Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Pakistan


Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Dec 31, 2024):

{Menschenrechtsbildung-Justiz}

Progress: No progress

Hold those accountable who commit, aid or abet racial discrimination and profiling

Proponent:

Pakistan


Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Pakistan


Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Dec 31, 2024):

In Austria, there are reports of racist police checks in which people are discriminated against on the basis of their ethnic origin or skin colour. According to the Amnesty Annual Report 2022, such practices have been documented time and again in police work, which places a particular burden on the communities affected. The Styrian Anti-Discrimination Agency confirms that racial profiling violates the ban on discrimination and must be urgently reformed in order to protect the rights of all citizens (Amnesty International Annual Report: https://www.amnesty.de/informieren/amnesty-report/oesterreich-2022). In Austria, there is still a need to strengthen measures to combat racial discrimination and racial profiling. This requires not only a clear condemnation of such practices, but also the implementation of accountability measures for those who commit, aid and abet or cover up racial discrimination. Promoting transparency, education and training for law enforcement agencies and strengthening the rights of victims are crucial steps to combat racial discrimination and racial profiling. Measures should be taken to hold people who practise racial discrimination and racial profiling accountable (Racism Report 2022 by ZARA- Civil Courage and Anti-Racism Work as PDF: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA-Rassismus_Report_2022.pdf). 

Redaktionelle Verantwortung UPR-Tool:

Österreichische Liga für Menschenrechte, upr@liga.or.at

Lizenz CC-BY-SA 

Unterstützung durch:

Forschungskooperation mit der Volksanwaltschaft

Förderung des Zukunftsfonds der Republik Österreich

 

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