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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. 

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

 

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

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Progress: In progress

Strengthen efforts to combat anti-Semitism and promote religious tolerance by continuing its work in education and policing

Proponent:

USA


United States of America

USA


United States of America

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Apr 1, 2025):

A large number of measures have been taken since 2021 to combat all forms of antisemitism. A central coordination centre for the topic of anti-Semitism has been established at the Federal Chancellery and a national strategy against anti-Semitism has been published (National Strategy of the Republic of Austria to Prevent and
Combating all forms of antisemitism, 2021: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/dam/jcr:8bd2975f-0483-4e74-abd9-d66446195d7c/antisemitismusstrategie.pdf ). Even though the position has now been downgraded to a department in the Policy Section, it still exists in principle. Two implementation reports are available (for 2021 and 2022). For the education sector, a strategy paper on the „Prevention of antisemitism through education“ was drawn up in 2022, which contains recommendations for the implementation of the National Strategy against Antisemitism for the Austrian education administration and teacher training institutions (Strategy paper, 2022: https://www.erinnern.at/themen/artikel/massnahmenpaket-praevention-von-antisemitismus-durch-bildung). These recommendations were discussed in September 2022 at the symposium on „Preventing antisemitism through education“. A working group was established to document antisemitic incidents with the aim of learning from the experiences of other organisations that already document racist, antisemitic, etc. incidents. The aim is to learn from the experiences of other organisations that already document racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents in order to set up an anti-Semitism documentation centre that meets current requirements.   Parliament also commissioned a study on anti-Semitism in Austria, which was presented in April 2023 (Study, 2023: https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/fachinfos/publikationen/Langbericht-Antisemitismus-2022-Oesterreichweite-Ergebnisse.pdf ). A large number of measures have been taken since 2021 to combat all forms of antisemitism. A central coordination centre for the topic of anti-Semitism has been set up at the Federal Chancellery and a national strategy against anti-Semitism has been published (see https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/dam/jcr:8bd2975f-0483-4e74-abd9-d66446195d7c/antisemitismusstrategie.pdf). Even though the position has now been downgraded to a department in the Policy Section, it still exists in principle.   There are two implementation reports (for 2021 and 2022). For the education sector, a strategy paper on the „Prevention of antisemitism through education“ was developed in 2022, which contains recommendations for the implementation of the National Strategy against Antisemitism for the Austrian education administration and teacher training institutions (see: https://oead.at/fileadmin/Dokumente/oead.at/KIM/Downloadcenter/OeAD_E.AT_Strategiepapier_FIN_01.pdf). These recommendations were discussed at the symposium on „Preventing antisemitism through education“ in September 2022. In 2022, the National Forum against Antisemitism was also established to pool knowledge, combat antisemitism and promote Jewish life in Austria. The body is made up of representatives from the federal government, the provinces, municipalities, social partners, academia, religious communities, Jewish museums and civil society.   A working group on the documentation of anti-Semitic incidents has been established with the aim of learning from the experiences of other organisations that already document racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents. The aim is to learn from the experiences of other organisations already documenting racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents in order to set up an anti-Semitism documentation centre that meets current requirements.   Parliament also commissioned a study on anti-Semitism in Austria, which was presented in April 2023 (see https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/fachinfos/publikationen/Langbericht-Antisemitismus-2022-Oesterreichweite-Ergebnisse.pdf).   As part of the Government Plan 2025-2029, the federal government is pursuing this goal through close cooperation with all stakeholders (see Government Plan 2ß025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html).There are currently no specific programmes or legal regulations in Austria that focus exclusively on the topic of religious tolerance. However, this does not mean that religious tolerance is not important in society. In general, it is strengthened by various general anti-discrimination measures and the promotion of diversity and inclusion. 

Progress: In progress

Continue to promote measures in combating racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance

Proponent:

Barbados


Barbados

Barbados


Barbados

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Apr 1, 2025):

Racism remains a serious social problem in Austria. The latest report by SOS Mitmensch and other studies show that racist discrimination and hate crimes are on the rise. Anti-Muslim racism in particular has increased in recent years, partly fuelled by political rhetoric and campaigns targeting Muslim communities. Anti-Muslim hate crimes are common and are often supported by certain political groups. In 2023, the Documentation Centre on Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism recorded a total of 1522 racist attacks against Muslims and people perceived to be Muslim. Compared to the previous year, 263 more cases were reported to us offline, which represents an increase of over 100 per cent of active case reports. The report shows a striking increase in case reports from the education sector. See report: here).
Austria has various laws in place to combat racism, including the Prohibition Act and the Equal Treatment Act. However, these legal frameworks are not always applied consistently, leading to calls for stronger policy measures and more rigorous enforcement of existing laws. Education and awareness-raising measures are also crucial to raise awareness of racial discrimination in the population and bring about long-term change (see SOS-Mitmensch report: https://www.sosmitmensch.at/site/momagazin/alleausgaben/7/article/395.html&ts=1720702499859).
ZARA’s report for the year 2023 provides a comprehensive overview of the extent and various forms of racism in Austria. A total of 1302 reports were documented and processed, almost 60% of which concerned online racism. This underlines the importance of digital platforms as a place for racist incidents, which can often be documented and reported using simple screenshots. The public sphere and the goods/services sector were particularly affected, with 58.2% and 15.9% of reports respectively. State authorities and institutions were involved in 11% of cases, while racist incidents in the police were only formally complained about in 4 out of 58 cases. In most of the other cases, those affected sought support from ZARA through counselling sessions and legal advice. A significant number (almost 78%) of reports came from witnesses, while 22% were submitted by those directly affected. The report also criticises the lack of implementation of a National Action Plan against Racism in Austria, although the need for structural change and combating institutional racism is obvious. There are still challenges in dealing with racism in Austria and the need for social support and structural changes to effectively address these issues (see Racism Report 2023, March 2024 edition: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA_RassismusReport_2023_DE.pdf).  As part of the Government Plan 2025-2029, the federal government is pursuing this goal through close cooperation with all stakeholders (see Government Plan 2ß025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html).It should be noted that in Austria, both the development and implementation of measures to combat discrimination have been driven forward in close cooperation with various civil society organisations. However, it must be noted that the public discourse often focuses on so-called „immigrant anti-Semitism“ and thus accuses people with migration experience from Turkey and Arabic-speaking countries in particular of anti-Semitism across the board. However, there is a lack of clear responsibility at federal level to combat anti-Black racism, anti-Muslim racism and racism in general. Few concrete measures have been taken so far. There is a lack of targeted awareness-raising measures that address discrimination against people with disabilities and limited abilities as well as aspects of self-empowerment and human rights. In 2023, the Ombud for Equal Treatment reported an increase in discrimination complaints, which indicates a greater sensitisation of the population. A recent update on xenophobia in Austria shows that the issue remains highly relevant to society. New studies and surveys confirm that xenophobia remains a significant issue, although exact figures and trends may vary depending on the source and methodology. One of the more recent studies, conducted by institutions such as the University of Vienna or SORA (Institute for Social Research and Empirical Methods), shows that a significant proportion of the Austrian population remains sceptical about immigration and foreigners. These attitudes manifest themselves in the rejection of cultural diversity, different religious practices and the perception of economic effects on jobs and social security. In addition to traditional forms of xenophobia as measured in the past, new forms of xenophobia often manifest themselves in the form of online hate speech and on social media. These platforms can act as a catalyst for negative attitudes and actions towards foreigners. Political debates and events, both within Austria and internationally, often influence public perceptions and attitudes towards migrants and foreigners. For example, immigration policy issues and security concerns related to refugee flows have continued to fuel debate and possibly changes in attitudes in recent years. Overall, xenophobia in Austria remains a complex and highly debated issue that continues to shape political, social and cultural dynamics and poses challenges for integration and social coexistence. 

Progress: Partial success

Continue to address the problem of Anti-Semitism as referenced to in the National Report

Proponent:

Israel


State of Israel

Israel


State of Israel

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Apr 1, 2025):

A large number of measures have been taken since 2021 to combat all forms of antisemitism. A central coordination centre for the topic of anti-Semitism has been set up at the Federal Chancellery and a national strategy against anti-Semitism has been published (see https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/dam/jcr:8bd2975f-0483-4e74-abd9-d66446195d7c/antisemitismusstrategie.pdf). Even though the position has now been downgraded to a department in the Policy Section, it still exists in principle.   There are two implementation reports (for 2021 and 2022). For the education sector, a strategy paper on the „Prevention of antisemitism through education“ was developed in 2022, which contains recommendations for the implementation of the National Strategy against Antisemitism for the Austrian education administration and teacher training institutions (see: https://oead.at/fileadmin/Dokumente/oead.at/KIM/Downloadcenter/OeAD_E.AT_Strategiepapier_FIN_01.pdf). These recommendations were discussed at the symposium on „Preventing antisemitism through education“ in September 2022. In 2022, the National Forum against Antisemitism was also established to pool knowledge, combat antisemitism and promote Jewish life in Austria. The body is made up of representatives from the federal government, the provinces, municipalities, social partners, academia, religious communities, Jewish museums and civil society.   A working group on the documentation of anti-Semitic incidents has been established with the aim of learning from the experiences of other organisations that already document racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents. The aim is to learn from the experiences of other organisations already documenting racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents in order to set up an anti-Semitism documentation centre that meets current requirements.   Parliament also commissioned a study on anti-Semitism in Austria, which was presented in April 2023 (see https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/fachinfos/publikationen/Langbericht-Antisemitismus-2022-Oesterreichweite-Ergebnisse.pdf).   As part of the Government Plan 2025-2029, the federal government is pursuing this goal through close cooperation with all stakeholders (see Government Plan 2ß025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html).

Progress: In progress

Take specific measures to increase the visibility of racial minority communities

Proponent:

Angola


Republic of Angola

Angola


Republic of Angola

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Apr 1, 2025):

Racism remains a serious social problem in Austria. The latest report by SOS Mitmensch and other studies show that racist discrimination and hate crimes are on the rise. Anti-Muslim racism in particular has increased in recent years, partly fuelled by political rhetoric and campaigns targeting Muslim communities. Anti-Muslim hate crimes are common and are often supported by certain political groups. In 2023, the Documentation Centre on Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism recorded a total of 1522 racist attacks against Muslims and people perceived to be Muslim. Compared to the previous year, 263 more cases were reported to us offline, which represents an increase of over 100 per cent of active case reports. The report shows a striking increase in case reports from the education sector. See report: here).
Austria has various laws in place to combat racism, including the Prohibition Act and the Equal Treatment Act. However, these legal frameworks are not always applied consistently, leading to calls for stronger policy measures and more rigorous enforcement of existing laws. Education and awareness-raising measures are also crucial to raise awareness of racial discrimination in the population and bring about long-term change (see SOS-Mitmensch report: https://www.sosmitmensch.at/site/momagazin/alleausgaben/7/article/395.html&ts=1720702499859).
ZARA’s report for the year 2023 provides a comprehensive overview of the extent and various forms of racism in Austria. A total of 1302 reports were documented and processed, almost 60% of which concerned online racism. This underlines the importance of digital platforms as a place for racist incidents, which can often be documented and reported using simple screenshots. The public sphere and the goods/services sector were particularly affected, with 58.2% and 15.9% of reports respectively. State authorities and institutions were involved in 11% of cases, while racist incidents in the police were only formally complained about in 4 out of 58 cases. In most of the other cases, those affected sought support from ZARA through counselling sessions and legal advice. A significant number (almost 78%) of reports came from witnesses, while 22% were submitted by those directly affected. The report also criticises the lack of implementation of a National Action Plan against Racism in Austria, although the need for structural change and combating institutional racism is obvious. There are still challenges in dealing with racism in Austria and the need for social support and structural changes to effectively address these issues (see Racism Report 2023, March 2024 edition: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA_RassismusReport_2023_DE.pdf).  As part of the Government Plan 2025-2029, the federal government is pursuing this goal through close cooperation with all stakeholders (see Government Plan 2ß025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html).In 2021, funding for ethnic groups in Austria was significantly increased, with funding now totalling almost 8 million euros. New laws were also adopted to combat hate speech on the internet and violent hate crimes (ACFC/OP/V(2023)002, 5th Review Report of the Advisory Committee for the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Secretariat of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Council of Europe: https://rm.coe.int/5th-op-austria-de-full-version/1680ace87b). Nevertheless, challenges remain, particularly in the area of minority language teaching and with regard to mutual respect and intercultural dialogue in society. In Austria, the Framework Convention is implemented and monitored by a dialogue platform in which government representatives, civil society organisations and experts from science and research work together. This dialogue process is crucial for compliance with the provisions of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (further information on the website of the Federal Chancellery: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/themen/volksgruppen/roma-strategie.html). 

Progress: In progress

Strengthen its ongoing work and take effective measures to combat discrimination, intolerance, racism and xenophobia

Proponent:

Nicaragua


Republic of Nicaragua

Nicaragua


Republic of Nicaragua

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

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.  

Progress: In progress

Scale up efforts in combatting racism, racial discrimination and hate crimes

Proponent:

Nigeria


Federal Republic of Nigeria

Nigeria


Federal Republic of Nigeria

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Apr 1, 2025):

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.  Racism remains a serious social problem in Austria. The latest report by SOS Mitmensch and other studies show that racist discrimination and hate crimes are on the rise. Anti-Muslim racism in particular has increased in recent years, partly fuelled by political rhetoric and campaigns targeting Muslim communities. Anti-Muslim hate crimes are common and are often supported by certain political groups. In 2023, the Documentation Centre on Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism recorded a total of 1522 racist attacks against Muslims and people perceived to be Muslim. Compared to the previous year, 263 more cases were reported to us offline, which represents an increase of over 100 per cent of active case reports. The report shows a striking increase in case reports from the education sector. See report: here).
Austria has various laws in place to combat racism, including the Prohibition Act and the Equal Treatment Act. However, these legal frameworks are not always applied consistently, leading to calls for stronger policy measures and more rigorous enforcement of existing laws. Education and awareness-raising measures are also crucial to raise awareness of racial discrimination in the population and bring about long-term change (see SOS-Mitmensch report: https://www.sosmitmensch.at/site/momagazin/alleausgaben/7/article/395.html&ts=1720702499859).
ZARA’s report for the year 2023 provides a comprehensive overview of the extent and various forms of racism in Austria. A total of 1302 reports were documented and processed, almost 60% of which concerned online racism. This underlines the importance of digital platforms as a place for racist incidents, which can often be documented and reported using simple screenshots. The public sphere and the goods/services sector were particularly affected, with 58.2% and 15.9% of reports respectively. State authorities and institutions were involved in 11% of cases, while racist incidents in the police were only formally complained about in 4 out of 58 cases. In most of the other cases, those affected sought support from ZARA through counselling sessions and legal advice. A significant number (almost 78%) of reports came from witnesses, while 22% were submitted by those directly affected. The report also criticises the lack of implementation of a National Action Plan against Racism in Austria, although the need for structural change and combating institutional racism is obvious. There are still challenges in dealing with racism in Austria and the need for social support and structural changes to effectively address these issues (see Racism Report 2023, March 2024 edition: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA_RassismusReport_2023_DE.pdf).  As part of the Government Plan 2025-2029, the federal government is pursuing this goal through close cooperation with all stakeholders (see Government Plan 2ß025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html).The Federal Ministry of the Interior has published the situation report „Hate Crime 2022“ (see Hate Crime 2022 Report: The core results, p.10: https://www.bmi.gv.at/bmi_documents/3042.pdf). It shows an increase in offences motivated by prejudice, with 5,865 cases reported. These offences mainly concern ideology, national/ethnic origin and religion. One third of the offences reported were violations of the Prohibition Act. Interior Minister Karner emphasised the importance of prevention, especially among young people, in order to recognise and combat extremist tendencies at an early stage. Measures to sensitise and train the police have been intensified. On a positive note, it should be emphasised that the Federal Ministry of the Interior has integrated the systematic recording of prejudiced motives in intentional criminal offences into police work as part of an EU project. For this purpose, the category „Hate crime“ was introduced in the police logging programme (PAD) as a separate „Motive“ tab with the title „Prejudice motives (hate crime) according to victim groups“. The recorded data is transmitted to the justice system via a separate interface: Electronic Legal Transactions (ERV) and subjected to quality assurance by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. In 2022, the Report of the Federal Ministry of the Interior on „Hate Crime“ in Austria – Annual Report 2021 was published for the first time. In the period from January to December 2021, 5,464 offences motivated by prejudice were recorded by the police (Report of the Federal Ministry of the Interior on „Hate Crime“ in Austria 2021: here). 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 on hate crimes that are now being collected. ECRI has also emphasised that politicians should take a firm stance against racist hate speech and that political parties should introduce codes of conduct that prohibit the use of hate speech. So far, these recommendations have gone unheeded.   As part of a European mapping project on hate crimes, work is being done on a victim-centred referral system for affected people. In Austria, ZARA is working on this project together with CEJI. Other civil society organisations, the Ombud for Equal Treatment, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Ministry of Justice are also involved (project homepage: http://scan-project.eu/). Further measures are needed to create a victim-centred, easily accessible referral system for people affected by hate crimes that protects them from (re)traumatisation and re-victimisation. In particular, the police, social workers, teachers, the judiciary, etc. must be further sensitised in order to quickly recognise hate crimes and refer those affected to the right places. Such a referral system should make it easier for those affected by hate crimes to gain access to support and criminal prosecution of the perpetrators. The publication of data by the judiciary is important in order to gain an insight into how many of the reported hate crimes are followed up and what can be learned from them for prevention measures (a detailed catalogue of recommendations is available at: https://standup-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/A4_policy_brief_standUP_DE.pdf). 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. 

Progress: No progress

Adopt a national action plan against racism

Proponent:

Azerbaijan


Republic of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan


Republic of Azerbaijan

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

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.  

Progress: In progress

Strengthen its efforts to combat acts or advocacy of racial or religious hatred, including consider adopting a national plan of action against racism

Proponent:

Thailand


Kingdom of Thailand

Thailand


Kingdom of Thailand

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Apr 1, 2025):

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.  Racism remains a serious social problem in Austria. The latest report by SOS Mitmensch and other studies show that racist discrimination and hate crimes are on the rise. Anti-Muslim racism in particular has increased in recent years, partly fuelled by political rhetoric and campaigns targeting Muslim communities. Anti-Muslim hate crimes are common and are often supported by certain political groups. In 2023, the Documentation Centre on Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism recorded a total of 1522 racist attacks against Muslims and people perceived to be Muslim. Compared to the previous year, 263 more cases were reported to us offline, which represents an increase of over 100 per cent of active case reports. The report shows a striking increase in case reports from the education sector. See report: here).
Austria has various laws in place to combat racism, including the Prohibition Act and the Equal Treatment Act. However, these legal frameworks are not always applied consistently, leading to calls for stronger policy measures and more rigorous enforcement of existing laws. Education and awareness-raising measures are also crucial to raise awareness of racial discrimination in the population and bring about long-term change (see SOS-Mitmensch report: https://www.sosmitmensch.at/site/momagazin/alleausgaben/7/article/395.html&ts=1720702499859).
ZARA’s report for the year 2023 provides a comprehensive overview of the extent and various forms of racism in Austria. A total of 1302 reports were documented and processed, almost 60% of which concerned online racism. This underlines the importance of digital platforms as a place for racist incidents, which can often be documented and reported using simple screenshots. The public sphere and the goods/services sector were particularly affected, with 58.2% and 15.9% of reports respectively. State authorities and institutions were involved in 11% of cases, while racist incidents in the police were only formally complained about in 4 out of 58 cases. In most of the other cases, those affected sought support from ZARA through counselling sessions and legal advice. A significant number (almost 78%) of reports came from witnesses, while 22% were submitted by those directly affected. The report also criticises the lack of implementation of a National Action Plan against Racism in Austria, although the need for structural change and combating institutional racism is obvious. There are still challenges in dealing with racism in Austria and the need for social support and structural changes to effectively address these issues (see Racism Report 2023, March 2024 edition: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA_RassismusReport_2023_DE.pdf).  As part of the Government Plan 2025-2029, the federal government is pursuing this goal through close cooperation with all stakeholders (see Government Plan 2ß025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html).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.  A large number of measures have been taken since 2021 to combat all forms of antisemitism. A central coordination centre for the topic of anti-Semitism has been set up at the Federal Chancellery and a national strategy against anti-Semitism has been published (see https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/dam/jcr:8bd2975f-0483-4e74-abd9-d66446195d7c/antisemitismusstrategie.pdf). Even though the position has now been downgraded to a department in the Policy Section, it still exists in principle.   Two implementation reports are available (for 2021 and 2022). For the education sector, a strategy paper on the „Prevention of antisemitism through education“ was developed in 2022, which contains recommendations for the implementation of the National Strategy against Antisemitism for the Austrian education administration and teacher training institutions (see: https://oead.at/fileadmin/Dokumente/oead.at/KIM/Downloadcenter/OeAD_E.AT_Strategiepapier_FIN_01.pdf). These recommendations were discussed at the symposium on „Preventing antisemitism through education“ in September 2022. In 2022, the National Forum against Antisemitism was also established to pool knowledge, combat antisemitism and promote Jewish life in Austria. The body is made up of representatives from the federal government, the provinces, municipalities, social partners, academia, religious communities, Jewish museums and civil society. A working group on the documentation of anti-Semitic incidents was also established with the aim of learning from the experiences of other organisations that already document racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents. The aim is to learn from the experiences of other organisations already documenting racist, anti-Semitic incidents in order to set up an anti-Semitism documentation centre that meets current requirements.   Parliament also commissioned a study on anti-Semitism in Austria, which was presented in April 2023 (see https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/fachinfos/publikationen/Langbericht-Antisemitismus-2022-Oesterreichweite-Ergebnisse.pdf). While there are political strategies against anti-Semitism, there is no comparable approach to 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). Regarding hate speech on the internet, the Hate on the Net Act was introduced to help victims of online hate, including group-focused misanthropy (HiNBG see: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/BgblAuth/BGBLA_2020_I_148/BGBLA_2020_I_148.html). 

Progress: No progress

Prioritise developing a strategy against racism, xenophobia, radicalisation and violent extremism, taking into account the views of civil society and underpinned by necessary legislation and budgetary resource

Proponent:

United Kingdom


United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United Kingdom


United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Apr 1, 2025):

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.   Racism remains a serious social problem in Austria. The latest report by SOS Mitmensch and other studies show that racist discrimination and hate crimes are on the rise. Anti-Muslim racism in particular has increased in recent years, partly fuelled by political rhetoric and campaigns targeting Muslim communities. Anti-Muslim hate crimes are common and are often supported by certain political groups. In 2023, the Documentation Centre on Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism recorded a total of 1522 racist attacks against Muslims and people perceived to be Muslim. Compared to the previous year, 263 more cases were reported to us offline, which represents an increase of over 100 per cent of active case reports. The report shows a striking increase in case reports from the education sector. See report: here).
Austria has various laws in place to combat racism, including the Prohibition Act and the Equal Treatment Act. However, these legal frameworks are not always applied consistently, leading to calls for stronger policy measures and more rigorous enforcement of existing laws. Education and awareness-raising measures are also crucial to raise awareness of racial discrimination in the population and bring about long-term change (see SOS-Mitmensch report: https://www.sosmitmensch.at/site/momagazin/alleausgaben/7/article/395.html&ts=1720702499859).
ZARA’s report for the year 2023 provides a comprehensive overview of the extent and various forms of racism in Austria. A total of 1302 reports were documented and processed, almost 60% of which concerned online racism. This underlines the importance of digital platforms as a place for racist incidents, which can often be documented and reported using simple screenshots. The public sphere and the goods/services sector were particularly affected, with 58.2% and 15.9% of reports respectively. State authorities and institutions were involved in 11% of cases, while racist incidents in the police were only formally complained about in 4 out of 58 cases. In most of the other cases, those affected sought support from ZARA through counselling sessions and legal advice. A significant number (almost 78%) of reports came from witnesses, while 22% were submitted by those directly affected. The report also criticises the lack of implementation of a National Action Plan against Racism in Austria, although the need for structural change and combating institutional racism is obvious. There are still challenges in dealing with racism in Austria and the need for social support and structural changes to effectively address these issues (see Racism Report 2023, March 2024 edition: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA_RassismusReport_2023_DE.pdf).  As part of the Government Plan 2025-2029, the federal government is pursuing this goal through close cooperation with all stakeholders (see Government Plan 2ß025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html).On 1 February 2022, Section 4(3a)(2) of the Ordinance of the Federal Minister of Justice of 16 June 1986 on the Implementation of the Public Prosecutor’s Office Act (DV-StAG) was amended in order to enshrine in law the establishment of special competences for terrorist criminal cases in public prosecutor’s offices with more than ten systematised posts (see DV-StAG: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/eli/bgbl/1986/338/A1P4/NOR40241334). At the same time, Section 32 (5) of the Court Organisation Act (GOG) created the legal obligation to also introduce special jurisdiction for criminal terrorism cases at the regional courts. With the entry into force of the Counter-Terrorism Act (TeBG, Federal Law Gazette I No. 159/2021) on 1 September 2021 and 1 January 2022, additional measures were taken to combat terrorism (see: TeBG, Federal Law Gazette I No. 159/2021: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/BgblAuth/BGBLA_2021_I_159/BGBLA_2021_I_159.html). The law contains comprehensive provisions that enable the authorities to take more effective action against terrorist and anti-state offences, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The Criminal Records Act also introduced a separate labelling of such crimes (see MVAG, BGBI. I No. 223/2022: https://ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/BgblAuth/BGBLA_2022_I_223/BGBLA_2022_I_223.). The Coordination Unit for the Prevention of Extremism and Deradicalisation in Prisons aims to gain information and insights through closer cooperation with prisons, courts, public prosecutors‘ offices and authorities. It deals with risk assessments, the monitoring of external contacts, the definition of training and further education programmes, the implementation of inter-agency case discussions and the monitoring of measures and structures in the prison system. The target group is offenders convicted under the Prohibition Act or for terrorist offences or international crimes, as well as inmates suspected of radicalisation (see BMJ website: https://www.bmj.gv.at/themen/Strafvollzug/Koordinationsstelle-Extremismuspr%C3%A4vention-und-Deradikalisierung-(KED).html). A national action plan to combat right-wing extremism and prevent extremism and radicalisation may be planned, but has not been implemented. In 2018, an „Austrian Strategy for the Prevention of Extremism and Deradicalisation“ was adopted, which has led to changes in parts (see PDF: https://www.dsn.gv.at/501/files/Praevention/767_Strategie_Extremismuspraevention_und_Deradikalisierung_publikation_210x297mm_DE_WEB_20190115.pdf).   In general, it should be noted that comprehensive measures have been taken in this area. However, there is concern that the strong emphasis on combating extremism in security policy practice does not jeopardise other fundamental rights and freedoms. It should be noted that in recent years, the responsible members of government have repeatedly gone to great lengths to advertise specific large-scale actions against extremism (e.g. the media-famous Aktion Luxor), while in many of these cases the measures and investigations actually carried out did not stand up to subsequent judicial review for the most part.
  As part of the Government Plan 2025-2029, the Federal Government has set itself the goal of countering extremism with targeted measures and strengthening social resilience (see Government Plan 2025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html).The website of the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN) presents current developments and measures in the area of „Preventing extremism and deradicalisation in Austria“ (see website: here). The focus is on the implementation of the „Austrian Action Plan for the Prevention of Extremism and Deradicalisation“, which was published in July 2023 (see NAP: https://www.dsn.gv.at/216/files/BNED_NAP_Deutsch_web_bf_20240527.pdf). The DSN emphasises the importance of coordinated cooperation between state authorities, educational institutions and civil society organisations in order to effectively counter extremist tendencies.   
An important aspect of current efforts is to raise awareness among the population and provide preventative educational programmes. The DSN also provides various resources and information to better educate professionals and the general public about the risks and signs of extremism. The aim is to increase security in Austria and counter extremist influences through early intervention and targeted deradicalisation programmes;
There are currently clear challenges in the prevention of extremism in Austria. The Extremism Advice Centre points out existing gaps, particularly in the accessibility and availability of prevention services for young people. There is a lack of sufficiently specialised contact points and long-term projects that address the diverse needs of different target groups. In addition, the „RE:WORK – Preventing extremism in schools“ project was launched to provide schools with more support in their prevention work. The project aims to train teachers and pupils in dealing with extremist tendencies and provide them with tools for effective prevention.
 
As part of the Government Plan 2025-2029, the Federal Government has set itself the goal of countering extremism with targeted measures and strengthening social resilience (see Government Plan 2025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html). One of the current priorities in the fight against terrorism in Austria is the need for basic research. In November 2021, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer emphasised the importance of a deep understanding of radicalisation processes and the ideological motives behind terrorism for the development of effective prevention strategies. The research should help to improve targeted measures to prevent terrorist attacks and combat extremist networks.
In addition, the 5th Prevention Summit on Extremism and Terrorism was held in March 2024. The summit serves as a platform for the exchange of best practices and the development of new concepts for preventing extremism and terrorism.
Overall, these developments show that a comprehensive understanding and continuous exchange are essential elements for optimising security strategies in Austria and taking effective action against terrorism and extremism.
  As part of the Government Plan 2025-2029, the federal government has set itself the goal of countering extremism with targeted measures and strengthening social resilience (see Government Plan 2025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html).In April 2021, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution reported an increasing threat from right-wing extremism in Austria. The 2021 constitutional protection report emphasises that right-wing extremist groups and individuals are increasingly spreading violent and extremist ideologies, particularly through their presence on the internet. These actors often use conspiracy theories and pseudo-scientific arguments to spread their messages (see the 2021 Report on the Protection of the Constitution, page 20ff: https://www.dsn.gv.at/501/files/VSB/VSB_2021_bf_012023.pdf).   In addition, a parliamentary question was submitted in June 2021, which emphasised the need to combat right-wing extremism in Austria more effectively. The answers to this enquiry made it clear that, in addition to monitoring and criminal prosecution, preventative measures are also essential. These include increased education and awareness-raising initiatives as well as closer cooperation between security authorities and civil society organisations in order to curb the spread of right-wing extremist ideologies at an early stage and reduce their influence on society (see Action Plan against Right-Wing Extremism 2021: <a href=https://www.parlament.gv.at/gegenstand/XXVII/A/1656< https://www.parlament.gv.at/gegenstand/XXVII/A/1656).
  As part of the Government Plan 2025-2029, the Federal Government has set itself the goal of countering extremism with targeted measures and strengthening social resilience (see Government Plan 2025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html).The problems in the school environment were particularly emphasised, where preventative work against racism is urgently needed. Several measures are proposed to prevent discrimination in Austria, based on the current findings of the ZARA Racism Report 2023. These include educational initiatives to promote awareness and sensitivity to discrimination, as well as the strengthening and consistent implementation of anti-discrimination laws. Public campaigns should support tolerance and diversity, while counselling centres and support services help those affected. These approaches aim to create a more inclusive and non-discriminatory society. Further details can be found in the full report (see Zara Report 2023: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA_RassismusReport_2023_DE.pdf ). The ZARA Racism Report 2023 emphasises the need for strict measures to prevent discrimination in Austria. This includes the consistent application and enforcement of anti-discrimination laws to ensure that offences are effectively punished. In addition, specialised counselling centres and support services should be easily accessible for those affected. Law enforcement agencies must be sensitised and trained to recognise and combat discrimination in order to ensure an appropriate response to racist incidents. These measures help to promote a discrimination-free society. Organisations such as SOS Mitmensch and the Ombud for Equal Treatment are also calling for improved legislation and stronger prosecution to prevent discrimination. They emphasise the importance of monitoring and reporting in order to measure progress and identify gaps. 

Progress: No progress

Work towards establishing and adopting a national strategy aimed at combating all forms of racisms and xenophobia

Proponent:

Bahrain


Kingdom of Bahrain

Bahrain


Kingdom of Bahrain

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Apr 1, 2025):

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.   Racism remains a serious social problem in Austria. The latest report by SOS Mitmensch and other studies show that racist discrimination and hate crimes are on the rise. Anti-Muslim racism in particular has increased in recent years, partly fuelled by political rhetoric and campaigns targeting Muslim communities. Anti-Muslim hate crimes are common and are often supported by certain political groups. In 2023, the Documentation Centre on Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism recorded a total of 1522 racist attacks against Muslims and people perceived to be Muslim. Compared to the previous year, 263 more cases were reported to us offline, which represents an increase of over 100 per cent of active case reports. The report shows a striking increase in case reports from the education sector. See report: here).
Austria has various laws in place to combat racism, including the Prohibition Act and the Equal Treatment Act. However, these legal frameworks are not always applied consistently, leading to calls for stronger policy measures and more rigorous enforcement of existing laws. Education and awareness-raising measures are also crucial to raise awareness of racial discrimination in the population and bring about long-term change (see SOS-Mitmensch report: https://www.sosmitmensch.at/site/momagazin/alleausgaben/7/article/395.html&ts=1720702499859).
ZARA’s report for the year 2023 provides a comprehensive overview of the extent and various forms of racism in Austria. A total of 1302 reports were documented and processed, almost 60% of which concerned online racism. This underlines the importance of digital platforms as a place for racist incidents, which can often be documented and reported using simple screenshots. The public sphere and the goods/services sector were particularly affected, with 58.2% and 15.9% of reports respectively. State authorities and institutions were involved in 11% of cases, while racist incidents in the police were only formally complained about in 4 out of 58 cases. In most of the other cases, those affected sought support from ZARA through counselling sessions and legal advice. A significant number (almost 78%) of reports came from witnesses, while 22% were submitted by those directly affected. The report also criticises the lack of implementation of a National Action Plan against Racism in Austria, although the need for structural change and combating institutional racism is obvious. There are still challenges in dealing with racism in Austria and the need for social support and structural changes to effectively address these issues (see Racism Report 2023, March 2024 edition: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA_RassismusReport_2023_DE.pdf).  As part of the Government Plan 2025-2029, the federal government is pursuing this goal through close cooperation with all stakeholders (see Government Plan 2ß025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html).Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the current government programme, no national action plan to combat racism has been adopted and no other significant programmes in the area of anti-racism work have been implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism;In 2023, the Ombud for Equal Treatment reported an increase in discrimination complaints, which indicates a greater sensitisation of the population. A recent update on xenophobia in Austria shows that the issue remains highly relevant to society. New studies and surveys confirm that xenophobia remains a significant issue, although exact figures and trends may vary depending on the source and methodology. One of the more recent studies, conducted by institutions such as the University of Vienna or SORA (Institute for Social Research and Empirical Methods), shows that a significant proportion of the Austrian population remains sceptical about immigration and foreigners. These attitudes manifest themselves in the rejection of cultural diversity, different religious practices and the perception of economic effects on jobs and social security. In addition to traditional forms of xenophobia as measured in the past, new forms of xenophobia often manifest themselves in the form of online hate speech and on social media. These platforms can act as a catalyst for negative attitudes and actions towards foreigners. Political debates and events, both within Austria and internationally, often influence public perceptions and attitudes towards migrants and foreigners. For example, immigration policy issues and security concerns related to refugee flows have continued to fuel debate and possibly changes in attitudes in recent years. Overall, xenophobia in Austria remains a complex and highly debated issue that continues to shape political, social and cultural dynamics and poses challenges for integration and social coexistence. 

Progress: In progress

Strengthen its efforts to combat acts or advocacy of racial or religious hatred, including by bringing those responsible to justice and adopting of a national action plan against racism and resurgence of neo-Nazism

Proponent:

North Korea


Democratic People's Republic of Korea

North Korea


Democratic People's Republic of Korea

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

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.  A large number of measures have been taken since 2021 to combat all forms of antisemitism. A central coordination centre for the topic of anti-Semitism has been set up at the Federal Chancellery and a national strategy against anti-Semitism has been published (see https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/dam/jcr:8bd2975f-0483-4e74-abd9-d66446195d7c/antisemitismusstrategie.pdf). Even though the position has now been downgraded to a department in the Policy Section, it still exists in principle.   Two implementation reports are available (for 2021 and 2022). For the education sector, a strategy paper on the „Prevention of antisemitism through education“ was developed in 2022, which contains recommendations for the implementation of the National Strategy against Antisemitism for the Austrian education administration and teacher training institutions (see: https://oead.at/fileadmin/Dokumente/oead.at/KIM/Downloadcenter/OeAD_E.AT_Strategiepapier_FIN_01.pdf). These recommendations were discussed at the symposium on „Preventing antisemitism through education“ in September 2022. In 2022, the National Forum against Antisemitism was also established to pool knowledge, combat antisemitism and promote Jewish life in Austria. The body is made up of representatives from the federal government, the provinces, municipalities, social partners, academia, religious communities, Jewish museums and civil society. A working group on the documentation of anti-Semitic incidents was also established with the aim of learning from the experiences of other organisations that already document racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents. The aim is to learn from the experiences of other organisations already documenting racist, anti-Semitic incidents in order to set up an anti-Semitism documentation centre that meets current requirements.   Parliament also commissioned a study on anti-Semitism in Austria, which was presented in April 2023 (see https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/fachinfos/publikationen/Langbericht-Antisemitismus-2022-Oesterreichweite-Ergebnisse.pdf). While there are political strategies against anti-Semitism, there is no comparable approach to 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). Regarding hate speech on the internet, the Hate on the Net Act was introduced to help victims of online hate, including group-focused misanthropy (HiNBG see: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/BgblAuth/BGBLA_2020_I_148/BGBLA_2020_I_148.html).  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. 

Progress: In progress

Develop a national action plan to combat acts of racial or religious hatred and its apology, in particular against minorities, migrants and asylum seekers and refugees

Proponent:

Ecuador


Republic of Ecuador

Ecuador


Republic of Ecuador

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

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.  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. A large number of measures have been taken since 2021 to combat all forms of antisemitism. A central coordination centre for the topic of anti-Semitism has been set up at the Federal Chancellery and a national strategy against anti-Semitism has been published (see https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/dam/jcr:8bd2975f-0483-4e74-abd9-d66446195d7c/antisemitismusstrategie.pdf). Even though the position has now been downgraded to a department in the Policy Section, it still exists in principle.   Two implementation reports are available (for 2021 and 2022). For the education sector, a strategy paper on the „Prevention of antisemitism through education“ was developed in 2022, which contains recommendations for the implementation of the National Strategy against Antisemitism for the Austrian education administration and teacher training institutions (see: https://oead.at/fileadmin/Dokumente/oead.at/KIM/Downloadcenter/OeAD_E.AT_Strategiepapier_FIN_01.pdf). These recommendations were discussed at the symposium on „Preventing antisemitism through education“ in September 2022. In 2022, the National Forum against Antisemitism was also established to pool knowledge, combat antisemitism and promote Jewish life in Austria. The body is made up of representatives from the federal government, the provinces, municipalities, social partners, academia, religious communities, Jewish museums and civil society. A working group on the documentation of anti-Semitic incidents was also established with the aim of learning from the experiences of other organisations that already document racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents. The aim is to learn from the experiences of other organisations already documenting racist, anti-Semitic incidents in order to set up an anti-Semitism documentation centre that meets current requirements.   Parliament also commissioned a study on anti-Semitism in Austria, which was presented in April 2023 (see https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/fachinfos/publikationen/Langbericht-Antisemitismus-2022-Oesterreichweite-Ergebnisse.pdf). While there are political strategies against anti-Semitism, there is no comparable approach to 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). Regarding hate speech on the internet, the Hate on the Net Act was introduced to help victims of online hate, including group-focused misanthropy (HiNBG see: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/BgblAuth/BGBLA_2020_I_148/BGBLA_2020_I_148.html). The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities came into force in Austria on 1 July 1998. It aims to protect and promote the rights of national minorities and sets Europe-wide standards in this regard. In the current Resolution CM/ResCMN (2023)14 of the Committee of Ministers of 13 December 2023 (see: https://search.coe.int/cm#{%22CoEIdentifier%22:[%220900001680adcf6e%22],%22sort%22:[%22CoEValidationDate%20Descending%22]}), as well as in the Report of the Secretariat of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Council of Europe of 16 October 2023 (see: https://rm.coe.int/5th-op-austria-de-full-version/1680ace87b) emphasises that Austria must continue its efforts to safeguard the rights of national minorities, but must expand them in key areas (see Resolution CM/ResCMN (2023) 14 of the Committee of Ministers of 13 December 2023: https://search.coe.int/cm#{%22CoEIdentifier%22:[%220900001680adcf6e%22],%22sort%22:[%22CoEValidationDate%20Descending%22]} ) which provides for immediate measures to protect ethnic groups.   While there are political strategies against anti-Semitism, there is no comparable approach to 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). Austria should step up its efforts to combat discrimination and hate speech against ethnic minorities, immigrants and refugees. It is crucial to provide additional resources for the prosecution of hate crimes while strengthening prevention. This applies in particular to combating discrimination against Muslims, Roma, people of African descent, refugees and migrants. The promotion of awareness campaigns and cooperation with civil society organisations are important elements in promoting an inclusive and tolerant society.  In recent years, there has been a tightening of immigration policy in Austria and an increasing harshness towards asylum seekers. This is reflected in legislative changes aimed at making access to asylum more difficult and facilitating the deportation of rejected asylum seekers. Another problem is the treatment of asylum seekers during the asylum procedure and in reception centres. There are currently reports of overcrowded accommodation, inadequate medical care and a lack of integration into the education system. 

Progress: No progress

Develop a national plan to combat racism, xenophobia and discrimination

Proponent:

Argentina


Argentine Republic

Argentina


Argentine Republic

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

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.  

Progress: No progress

Combat all forms of racial discrimination and develop a national plan of action against racism

Proponent:

Egypt


Arab Republic of Egypt

Egypt


Arab Republic of Egypt

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

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.   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. 

Progress: No progress

Strengthen measures to combat racism, hate crime, and hate speech, including by adopting a national plan of action against racism

Proponent:

Namibia


Republic of Namibia

Namibia


Republic of Namibia

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Apr 1, 2025):

Racism remains a serious social problem in Austria. The latest report by SOS Mitmensch and other studies show that racist discrimination and hate crimes are on the rise. Anti-Muslim racism in particular has increased in recent years, partly fuelled by political rhetoric and campaigns targeting Muslim communities. Anti-Muslim hate crimes are common and are often supported by certain political groups. In 2023, the Documentation Centre on Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism recorded a total of 1522 racist attacks against Muslims and people perceived to be Muslim. Compared to the previous year, 263 more cases were reported to us offline, which represents an increase of over 100 per cent of active case reports. The report shows a striking increase in case reports from the education sector. See report: here).
Austria has various laws in place to combat racism, including the Prohibition Act and the Equal Treatment Act. However, these legal frameworks are not always applied consistently, leading to calls for stronger policy measures and more rigorous enforcement of existing laws. Education and awareness-raising measures are also crucial to raise awareness of racial discrimination in the population and bring about long-term change (see SOS-Mitmensch report: https://www.sosmitmensch.at/site/momagazin/alleausgaben/7/article/395.html&ts=1720702499859).
ZARA’s report for the year 2023 provides a comprehensive overview of the extent and various forms of racism in Austria. A total of 1302 reports were documented and processed, almost 60% of which concerned online racism. This underlines the importance of digital platforms as a place for racist incidents, which can often be documented and reported using simple screenshots. The public sphere and the goods/services sector were particularly affected, with 58.2% and 15.9% of reports respectively. State authorities and institutions were involved in 11% of cases, while racist incidents in the police were only formally complained about in 4 out of 58 cases. In most of the other cases, those affected sought support from ZARA through counselling sessions and legal advice. A significant number (almost 78%) of reports came from witnesses, while 22% were submitted by those directly affected. The report also criticises the lack of implementation of a National Action Plan against Racism in Austria, although the need for structural change and combating institutional racism is obvious. There are still challenges in dealing with racism in Austria and the need for social support and structural changes to effectively address these issues (see Racism Report 2023, March 2024 edition: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA_RassismusReport_2023_DE.pdf).  As part of the Government Plan 2025-2029, the federal government is pursuing this goal through close cooperation with all stakeholders (see Government Plan 2ß025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html).The Federal Ministry of the Interior has published the situation report „Hate Crime 2022“ (see Hate Crime 2022 Report: The core results, p.10: https://www.bmi.gv.at/bmi_documents/3042.pdf). It shows an increase in offences motivated by prejudice, with 5,865 cases reported. These offences mainly concern ideology, national/ethnic origin and religion. One third of the offences reported were violations of the Prohibition Act. Interior Minister Karner emphasised the importance of prevention, especially among young people, in order to recognise and combat extremist tendencies at an early stage. Measures to sensitise and train the police have been intensified. On a positive note, it should be emphasised that the Federal Ministry of the Interior has integrated the systematic recording of prejudiced motives in intentional criminal offences into police work as part of an EU project. For this purpose, the category „Hate crime“ was introduced in the police logging programme (PAD) as a separate „Motive“ tab with the title „Prejudice motives (hate crime) according to victim groups“. The recorded data is transmitted to the justice system via a separate interface: Electronic Legal Transactions (ERV) and subjected to quality assurance by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. In 2022, the Report of the Federal Ministry of the Interior on „Hate Crime“ in Austria – Annual Report 2021 was published for the first time. In the period from January to December 2021, 5,464 offences motivated by prejudice were recorded by the police (Report of the Federal Ministry of the Interior on „Hate Crime“ in Austria 2021: here). 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 on hate crimes that are now being collected. ECRI has also emphasised that politicians should take a firm stance against racist hate speech and that political parties should introduce codes of conduct that prohibit the use of hate speech. So far, these recommendations have gone unheeded.   As part of a European mapping project on hate crimes, work is being done on a victim-centred referral system for affected people. In Austria, ZARA is working on this project together with CEJI. Other civil society organisations, the Ombud for Equal Treatment, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Ministry of Justice are also involved (project homepage: http://scan-project.eu/). Further measures are needed to create a victim-centred, easily accessible referral system for people affected by hate crimes that protects them from (re)traumatisation and re-victimisation. In particular, the police, social workers, teachers, the judiciary, etc. must be further sensitised in order to quickly recognise hate crimes and refer those affected to the right places. Such a referral system should make it easier for those affected by hate crimes to gain access to support and criminal prosecution of the perpetrators. The publication of data by the judiciary is important in order to gain an insight into how many of the reported hate crimes are followed up and what can be learned from them for prevention measures (a detailed catalogue of recommendations is available at: https://standup-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/A4_policy_brief_standUP_DE.pdf). Regarding hate speech on the internet, the Hate on the Net Act was introduced to help victims of online hate, including group-focused misanthropy (HiNBG see: here). Another positive development is that the Federal Ministry of the Interior has integrated the systematic recording of prejudicial motives in intentional criminal offences into police work as part of an EU project. For this purpose, the category „Hate crime“ was introduced in the police logging programme (PAD) as a separate „Motive“ tab with the title „Prejudice motives (hate crime) according to victim groups“. The recorded data is transmitted to the justice system via a separate interface: Electronic Legal Transactions (ERV) and subjected to quality assurance by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Around 30,000 police officers throughout Austria have been 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 those affected and investigating consistently to ensure appropriate prosecution. These measures are designed to help tackle bias crime and improve safety for all citizens.
 In the Government Plan 2025-2029, the Federal Government plans to set up a National Action Plan against Hate Crime with the aim of taking targeted action against hate crime (see Government Plan 2025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html). The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.  

Progress: In progress

Strengthen its efforts to combat acts or advocacy of racial or religious hatred, by adopting a national action plan against racism

Proponent:

Sierra Leone


Republic of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone


Republic of Sierra Leone

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

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.  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.  A large number of measures have been taken since 2021 to combat all forms of antisemitism. A central coordination centre for the topic of anti-Semitism has been set up at the Federal Chancellery and a national strategy against anti-Semitism has been published (see https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/dam/jcr:8bd2975f-0483-4e74-abd9-d66446195d7c/antisemitismusstrategie.pdf). Even though the position has now been downgraded to a department in the Policy Section, it still exists in principle.   Two implementation reports are available (for 2021 and 2022). For the education sector, a strategy paper on the „Prevention of antisemitism through education“ was developed in 2022, which contains recommendations for the implementation of the National Strategy against Antisemitism for the Austrian education administration and teacher training institutions (see: https://oead.at/fileadmin/Dokumente/oead.at/KIM/Downloadcenter/OeAD_E.AT_Strategiepapier_FIN_01.pdf). These recommendations were discussed at the symposium on „Preventing antisemitism through education“ in September 2022. In 2022, the National Forum against Antisemitism was also established to pool knowledge, combat antisemitism and promote Jewish life in Austria. The body is made up of representatives from the federal government, the provinces, municipalities, social partners, academia, religious communities, Jewish museums and civil society. A working group on the documentation of anti-Semitic incidents was also established with the aim of learning from the experiences of other organisations that already document racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents. The aim is to learn from the experiences of other organisations already documenting racist, anti-Semitic incidents in order to set up an anti-Semitism documentation centre that meets current requirements.   Parliament also commissioned a study on anti-Semitism in Austria, which was presented in April 2023 (see https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/fachinfos/publikationen/Langbericht-Antisemitismus-2022-Oesterreichweite-Ergebnisse.pdf). While there are political strategies against anti-Semitism, there is no comparable approach to 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). Regarding hate speech on the internet, the Hate on the Net Act was introduced to help victims of online hate, including group-focused misanthropy (HiNBG see: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/BgblAuth/BGBLA_2020_I_148/BGBLA_2020_I_148.html). 

Progress: No progress

Strengthen Austria’s efforts of a national action plan against all racism

Proponent:

Somalia


Federal Republic of Somalia

Somalia


Federal Republic of Somalia

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

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.  

Progress: In progress

Strengthen its efforts to effectively combat advocacy of racial or religious hatred, including by bringing those responsible to justice

Proponent:

Azerbaijan


Republic of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan


Republic of Azerbaijan

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

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. A large number of measures have been taken since 2021 to combat all forms of antisemitism. A central coordination centre for the topic of anti-Semitism has been set up at the Federal Chancellery and a national strategy against anti-Semitism has been published (see https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/dam/jcr:8bd2975f-0483-4e74-abd9-d66446195d7c/antisemitismusstrategie.pdf). Even though the position has now been downgraded to a department in the Policy Section, it still exists in principle.   Two implementation reports are available (for 2021 and 2022). For the education sector, a strategy paper on the „Prevention of antisemitism through education“ was developed in 2022, which contains recommendations for the implementation of the National Strategy against Antisemitism for the Austrian education administration and teacher training institutions (see: https://oead.at/fileadmin/Dokumente/oead.at/KIM/Downloadcenter/OeAD_E.AT_Strategiepapier_FIN_01.pdf). These recommendations were discussed at the symposium on „Preventing antisemitism through education“ in September 2022. In 2022, the National Forum against Antisemitism was also established to pool knowledge, combat antisemitism and promote Jewish life in Austria. The body is made up of representatives from the federal government, the provinces, municipalities, social partners, academia, religious communities, Jewish museums and civil society. A working group on the documentation of anti-Semitic incidents was also established with the aim of learning from the experiences of other organisations that already document racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents. The aim is to learn from the experiences of other organisations already documenting racist, anti-Semitic incidents in order to set up an anti-Semitism documentation centre that meets current requirements.   Parliament also commissioned a study on anti-Semitism in Austria, which was presented in April 2023 (see https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/fachinfos/publikationen/Langbericht-Antisemitismus-2022-Oesterreichweite-Ergebnisse.pdf). While there are political strategies against anti-Semitism, there is no comparable approach to 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). Regarding hate speech on the internet, the Hate on the Net Act was introduced to help victims of online hate, including group-focused misanthropy (HiNBG see: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/BgblAuth/BGBLA_2020_I_148/BGBLA_2020_I_148.html). 

Progress: In progress

Strengthen the fight against the commission or incitement of acts of racial or religious hatred

Proponent:

Togo


Republic of Togo

Togo


Republic of Togo

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

A large number of measures have been taken since 2021 to combat all forms of antisemitism. A central coordination centre for the topic of anti-Semitism has been set up at the Federal Chancellery and a national strategy against anti-Semitism has been published (see https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/dam/jcr:8bd2975f-0483-4e74-abd9-d66446195d7c/antisemitismusstrategie.pdf). Even though the position has now been downgraded to a department in the Policy Section, it still exists in principle.   Two implementation reports are available (for 2021 and 2022). For the education sector, a strategy paper on the „Prevention of antisemitism through education“ was developed in 2022, which contains recommendations for the implementation of the National Strategy against Antisemitism for the Austrian education administration and teacher training institutions (see: https://oead.at/fileadmin/Dokumente/oead.at/KIM/Downloadcenter/OeAD_E.AT_Strategiepapier_FIN_01.pdf). These recommendations were discussed at the symposium on „Preventing antisemitism through education“ in September 2022. In 2022, the National Forum against Antisemitism was also established to pool knowledge, combat antisemitism and promote Jewish life in Austria. The body is made up of representatives from the federal government, the provinces, municipalities, social partners, academia, religious communities, Jewish museums and civil society. A working group on the documentation of anti-Semitic incidents was also established with the aim of learning from the experiences of other organisations that already document racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents. The aim is to learn from the experiences of other organisations already documenting racist, anti-Semitic incidents in order to set up an anti-Semitism documentation centre that meets current requirements.   Parliament also commissioned a study on anti-Semitism in Austria, which was presented in April 2023 (see https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/fachinfos/publikationen/Langbericht-Antisemitismus-2022-Oesterreichweite-Ergebnisse.pdf). While there are political strategies against anti-Semitism, there is no comparable approach to 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). Regarding hate speech on the internet, the Hate on the Net Act was introduced to help victims of online hate, including group-focused misanthropy (HiNBG see: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/BgblAuth/BGBLA_2020_I_148/BGBLA_2020_I_148.html). 

Progress: In progress

Continue efforts made in the framework of combating discrimination and hate speech against foreigners, minorities, and immigrants

Proponent:

Tunisia


Tunisian Republic

Tunisia


Tunisian Republic

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

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.   While there are political strategies against anti-Semitism, there is no comparable approach to 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). Austria should step up its efforts to combat discrimination and hate speech against ethnic minorities, immigrants and refugees. It is crucial to provide additional resources for the prosecution of hate crimes while strengthening prevention. This applies in particular to combating discrimination against Muslims, Roma, people of African descent, refugees and migrants. The promotion of awareness campaigns and cooperation with civil society organisations are important elements in promoting an inclusive and tolerant society.   In recent years, there has been a tightening of immigration policy in Austria and an increasing harshness towards asylum seekers. This is reflected in legislative changes aimed at making access to asylum more difficult and facilitating the deportation of rejected asylum seekers. Another problem is the treatment of asylum seekers during the asylum procedure and in reception centres. There are currently reports of overcrowded accommodation, inadequate medical care and a lack of integration into the education system.  In 2021, funding for ethnic groups in Austria was significantly increased, with funding now totalling almost 8 million euros. New laws were also adopted to combat hate speech on the internet and violent hate crimes (ACFC/OP/V(2023)002, 5th Review Report of the Advisory Committee for the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Secretariat of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Council of Europe: https://rm.coe.int/5th-op-austria-de-full-version/1680ace87b). Nevertheless, challenges remain, particularly in the area of minority language teaching and with regard to mutual respect and intercultural dialogue in society. In Austria, the Framework Convention is implemented and monitored by a dialogue platform in which government representatives, civil society organisations and experts from science and research work together. This dialogue process is crucial for compliance with the provisions of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (further information on the website of the Federal Chancellery: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/themen/volksgruppen/roma-strategie.html).  Austria has launched programmes and initiatives to promote tolerance and integration. Nevertheless, reports of discrimination and hate speech continue to emerge, suggesting that further action is needed to address these issues. There is a need for continuous monitoring and improvement to ensure that efforts to combat hate speech and discrimination are effective and that the communities affected are sufficiently protected. 

Progress: No progress

Devote additional resources to prosecute hate crimes and prevent discrimination, including against Muslims, Roma, refugees and migrants, and persons of African origin

Proponent:

USA


United States of America

USA


United States of America

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

It should be noted that in Austria, both the development and implementation of measures to combat discrimination have been driven forward in close cooperation with various civil society organisations. However, it must be noted that the public discourse often focuses on so-called „immigrant anti-Semitism“ and thus accuses people with migration experience from Turkey and Arabic-speaking countries in particular of anti-Semitism across the board. However, there is a lack of clear responsibility at federal level to combat anti-Black racism, anti-Muslim racism and racism in general. Few concrete measures have been taken so far. There is a lack of targeted awareness-raising measures that address discrimination against people with disabilities and limited abilities as well as aspects of self-empowerment and human rights. The Federal Ministry of the Interior has published the situation report „Hate Crime 2022“ (see Hate Crime 2022 Report: The core results, p.10: https://www.bmi.gv.at/bmi_documents/3042.pdf). It shows an increase in offences motivated by prejudice, with 5,865 cases reported. These offences mainly concern ideology, national/ethnic origin and religion. One third of the offences reported were violations of the Prohibition Act. Interior Minister Karner emphasised the importance of prevention, especially among young people, in order to recognise and combat extremist tendencies at an early stage. Measures to sensitise and train the police have been intensified. On a positive note, it should be emphasised that the Federal Ministry of the Interior has integrated the systematic recording of prejudiced motives in intentional criminal offences into police work as part of an EU project. For this purpose, the category „Hate crime“ was introduced in the police logging programme (PAD) as a separate „Motive“ tab with the title „Prejudice motives (hate crime) according to victim groups“. The recorded data is transmitted to the justice system via a separate interface: Electronic Legal Transactions (ERV) and subjected to quality assurance by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. In 2022, the Report of the Federal Ministry of the Interior on „Hate Crime“ in Austria – Annual Report 2021 was published for the first time. In the period from January to December 2021, 5,464 offences motivated by prejudice were recorded by the police (Report of the Federal Ministry of the Interior on „Hate Crime“ in Austria 2021: here). 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 on hate crimes that are now being collected. ECRI has also emphasised that politicians should take a firm stance against racist hate speech and that political parties should introduce codes of conduct that prohibit the use of hate speech. So far, these recommendations have gone unheeded.   As part of a European mapping project on hate crimes, work is being done on a victim-centred referral system for affected people. In Austria, ZARA is working on this project together with CEJI. Other civil society organisations, the Ombud for Equal Treatment, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Ministry of Justice are also involved (project homepage: http://scan-project.eu/). Further measures are needed to create a victim-centred, easily accessible referral system for people affected by hate crimes that protects them from (re)traumatisation and re-victimisation. In particular, the police, social workers, teachers, the judiciary, etc. must be further sensitised in order to quickly recognise hate crimes and refer those affected to the right places. Such a referral system should make it easier for those affected by hate crimes to gain access to support and criminal prosecution of the perpetrators. The publication of data by the judiciary is important in order to gain an insight into how many of the reported hate crimes are followed up and what can be learned from them for prevention measures (a detailed catalogue of recommendations is available at: https://standup-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/A4_policy_brief_standUP_DE.pdf). While there are political strategies against anti-Semitism, there is no comparable approach to 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). Austria should step up its efforts to combat discrimination and hate speech against ethnic minorities, immigrants and refugees. It is crucial to provide additional resources for the prosecution of hate crimes while strengthening prevention. This applies in particular to combating discrimination against Muslims, Roma, people of African descent, refugees and migrants. The promotion of awareness campaigns and cooperation with civil society organisations are important elements in promoting an inclusive and tolerant society.   Anti-Muslim racism is a worrying and growing phenomenon in Austria. According to the Anti-Muslim Racism Report 2023 by the Documentation Centre Austria, a total of 1522 cases were reported, a record high since the beginning of the survey. Two thirds of these incidents took place online, while the rest occurred in the real world, including discrimination in public spaces, such as verbal insults and physical assaults. Women, especially those wearing headscarves, are particularly affected.
In the education sector, incidents such as insulting comments from classmates or threats from school administrators towards praying Muslim pupils have been documented. The spread of hate online is particularly problematic, accounting for almost 90 per cent of reported online incidents. Experts warn that these incidents are deepening social divisions and threatening social cohesion (see documentary Report 2023: https://dokustelle.at/reports/dokustelle-report-2023). In an open letter to the Austrian federal government, civil society calls for the introduction of the criminal offence of „political Islam“ to be dropped. The reason for this is the lack of scientific uniformity in the definition of this term, which could allow it to be used indiscriminately. The concern is that this could lead to generalised suspicions and executive measures against Muslims. The organisation also appeals for protection against discrimination and the preservation of religious freedom by ensuring that state authorities allow all communities to practise their religion freely and equally. It also emphasises that deradicalisation and counter-terrorism strategies must respect the rights of Muslim women to protection from discrimination and freedom of expression. Finally, it calls for religious practices and clothing not to be used as indicators of radicalisation and for surveillance not to be carried out on the basis of membership of Islam or Muslim organisations in order to avoid blanket criminalisation.    In 2023, the Documentation Centre Austria documented a total of 1522 racist attacks against Muslim
and persons perceived as Muslim. This figure is made up of cases that were reported offline and cases that were recorded as part of intensified online monitoring. However, the organisation emphasises that the actual number of attacks is likely to be higher; {Hassverbrechen-Migrant:innen} In recent years, there has been a tightening of immigration policy in Austria and an increasing harshness towards asylum seekers. This is reflected in legislative changes aimed at making access to asylum more difficult and facilitating the deportation of rejected asylum seekers. Another problem is the treatment of asylum seekers during the asylum procedure and in reception centres. There are currently reports of overcrowded accommodation, inadequate medical care and a lack of integration into the education system. In Austria, Roma and Sinti:cze continue to be severely affected by discrimination, particularly in areas such as education, work, health and housing. The national strategy for the inclusion of Roma was updated in 2021, but a study continues to reveal prejudice and structural disadvantages. One problem is „underreporting“, as many of those affected do not report discrimination out of fear or bad experiences. The Ombud for Equal Treatment is trying to combat this by providing legal advice and networking with civil society organisations (see study on the evaluation of the national strategy for the inclusion of Roma in Austria (Sensiro)): https://sensiroprojekt.univie.ac.at/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/SENSIRO_Endbericht.pdf).  {Diskriminierung-Afrikanischer Herkunft}

Progress: No progress

Step up measures to combat discrimination, xenophobia and hate crimes against Muslims and other minorities, including migrants

Proponent:

Bangladesh


People's Republic of Bangladesh

Bangladesh


People's Republic of Bangladesh

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

While there are political strategies against anti-Semitism, there is no comparable approach to 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). Austria should step up its efforts to combat discrimination and hate speech against ethnic minorities, immigrants and refugees. It is crucial to provide additional resources for the prosecution of hate crimes while strengthening prevention. This applies in particular to combating discrimination against Muslims, Roma, people of African descent, refugees and migrants. The promotion of awareness campaigns and cooperation with civil society organisations are important elements in promoting an inclusive and tolerant society.  Anti-Muslim racism is a worrying and growing phenomenon in Austria. According to the Anti-Muslim Racism Report 2023 by the Documentation Centre Austria, a total of 1522 cases were reported, a record high since the beginning of the survey. Two thirds of these incidents took place online, while the rest occurred in the real world, including discrimination in public spaces, such as verbal insults and physical assaults. Women, especially those wearing headscarves, are particularly affected.
In the education sector, incidents such as insulting comments from classmates or threats from school administrators towards praying Muslim pupils have been documented. The spread of hate online is particularly problematic, accounting for almost 90 per cent of reported online incidents. Experts warn that these incidents are deepening social divisions and threatening social cohesion (see documentary Report 2023: https://dokustelle.at/reports/dokustelle-report-2023). In an open letter to the Austrian federal government, civil society calls for the introduction of the criminal offence of „political Islam“ to be dropped. The reason for this is the lack of scientific uniformity in the definition of this term, which could allow it to be used indiscriminately. The concern is that this could lead to generalised suspicions and executive measures against Muslims. The organisation also appeals for protection against discrimination and the preservation of religious freedom by ensuring that state authorities allow all communities to practise their religion freely and equally. It also emphasises that deradicalisation and counter-terrorism strategies must respect the rights of Muslim women to protection from discrimination and freedom of expression. Finally, it calls for religious practices and clothing not to be used as indicators of radicalisation and for surveillance not to be carried out on the basis of membership of Islam or Muslim organisations in order to avoid blanket criminalisation.    In 2023, the Documentation Centre Austria documented a total of 1522 racist attacks against Muslim
and persons perceived as Muslim. This figure is made up of cases that were reported offline and cases that were recorded as part of intensified online monitoring. However, the organisation emphasises that the actual number of attacks is likely to be higher; There is a lack of political strategy, particularly with regard to anti-Muslim racism. Instead, measures are taken that lead to prejudgement of people perceived as Muslim. According to a study by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRAU), many migrants reported everyday experiences of discrimination and xenophobia. Data from the organisation ZARA- Zivilcourage und Antirassismus Arbeit documented around 1,300 racist incidents in 2023, which represents a decrease compared to previous years, but still shows a high level (see Zara Racism Report 2023, Data and Analyses, page 10ff: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA_RassismusReport_2023_DE.pdf).
Particularly alarming was an increase in active case reports of more than 100% compared to 2022, with the months of May, October, November and December standing out in particular. These increases correlated with national and global developments, including political events and media coverage of Muslim communities;
In 2022, 1,080 right-wing extremist offences were registered in Austria, with a significant proportion of these offences motivated by xenophobia. These incidents include both physical violence and damage to property specifically targeting migrants (see statistics on the number of right-wing offences in Austria, 2023: https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/881250/umfrage/rechte-straftaten-in-oesterreich-nach-bereichen/). 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 on hate crimes that are now being collected. The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.  {Minderheiten-Disrkiminierung}

Progress: In progress

Intensify efforts to combat hate speech and racial discrimination

Proponent:

Belarus


Republic of Belarus

Belarus


Republic of Belarus

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Apr 1, 2025):

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.   Racism remains a serious social problem in Austria. The latest report by SOS Mitmensch and other studies show that racist discrimination and hate crimes are on the rise. Anti-Muslim racism in particular has increased in recent years, partly fuelled by political rhetoric and campaigns targeting Muslim communities. Anti-Muslim hate crimes are common and are often supported by certain political groups. In 2023, the Documentation Centre on Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism recorded a total of 1522 racist attacks against Muslims and people perceived to be Muslim. Compared to the previous year, 263 more cases were reported to us offline, which represents an increase of over 100 per cent of active case reports. The report shows a striking increase in case reports from the education sector. See report: here).
Austria has various laws in place to combat racism, including the Prohibition Act and the Equal Treatment Act. However, these legal frameworks are not always applied consistently, leading to calls for stronger policy measures and more rigorous enforcement of existing laws. Education and awareness-raising measures are also crucial to raise awareness of racial discrimination in the population and bring about long-term change (see SOS-Mitmensch report: https://www.sosmitmensch.at/site/momagazin/alleausgaben/7/article/395.html&ts=1720702499859).
ZARA’s report for the year 2023 provides a comprehensive overview of the extent and various forms of racism in Austria. A total of 1302 reports were documented and processed, almost 60% of which concerned online racism. This underlines the importance of digital platforms as a place for racist incidents, which can often be documented and reported using simple screenshots. The public sphere and the goods/services sector were particularly affected, with 58.2% and 15.9% of reports respectively. State authorities and institutions were involved in 11% of cases, while racist incidents in the police were only formally complained about in 4 out of 58 cases. In most of the other cases, those affected sought support from ZARA through counselling sessions and legal advice. A significant number (almost 78%) of reports came from witnesses, while 22% were submitted by those directly affected. The report also criticises the lack of implementation of a National Action Plan against Racism in Austria, although the need for structural change and combating institutional racism is obvious. There are still challenges in dealing with racism in Austria and the need for social support and structural changes to effectively address these issues (see Racism Report 2023, March 2024 edition: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA_RassismusReport_2023_DE.pdf).  As part of the Government Plan 2025-2029, the federal government is pursuing this goal through close cooperation with all stakeholders (see Government Plan 2ß025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html). 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.  It should be noted that in Austria, both the development and implementation of measures to combat discrimination have been driven forward in close cooperation with various civil society organisations. However, it must be noted that the public discourse often focuses on so-called „immigrant anti-Semitism“ and thus accuses people with migration experience from Turkey and Arabic-speaking countries in particular of anti-Semitism across the board. However, there is a lack of clear responsibility at federal level to combat anti-Black racism, anti-Muslim racism and racism in general. Few concrete measures have been taken so far. There is a lack of targeted awareness-raising measures that address discrimination against people with disabilities and limited abilities as well as aspects of self-empowerment and human rights.  Regarding hate speech on the internet, the Hate on the Net Act was introduced to help victims of online hate, including group-focused misanthropy (HiNBG see: here). Another positive development is that the Federal Ministry of the Interior has integrated the systematic recording of prejudicial motives in intentional criminal offences into police work as part of an EU project. For this purpose, the category „Hate crime“ was introduced in the police logging programme (PAD) as a separate „Motive“ tab with the title „Prejudice motives (hate crime) according to victim groups“. The recorded data is transmitted to the justice system via a separate interface: Electronic Legal Transactions (ERV) and subjected to quality assurance by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Around 30,000 police officers throughout Austria have been 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 those affected and investigating consistently to ensure appropriate prosecution. These measures are designed to help tackle bias crime and improve safety for all citizens.
 In the Government Plan 2025-2029, the Federal Government plans to set up a National Action Plan against Hate Crime with the aim of taking targeted action against hate crime (see Government Plan 2025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html).

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

Step up efforts to combat the commission or incitement to commit acts of racial or religious hatred

Proponent:

Burkina Faso


Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso


Burkina Faso

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. A large number of measures have been taken since 2021 to combat all forms of antisemitism. A central coordination centre for the topic of anti-Semitism has been set up at the Federal Chancellery and a national strategy against anti-Semitism has been published (see https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/dam/jcr:8bd2975f-0483-4e74-abd9-d66446195d7c/antisemitismusstrategie.pdf). Even though the position has now been downgraded to a department in the Policy Section, it still exists in principle.   Two implementation reports are available (for 2021 and 2022). For the education sector, a strategy paper on the „Prevention of antisemitism through education“ was developed in 2022, which contains recommendations for the implementation of the National Strategy against Antisemitism for the Austrian education administration and teacher training institutions (see: https://oead.at/fileadmin/Dokumente/oead.at/KIM/Downloadcenter/OeAD_E.AT_Strategiepapier_FIN_01.pdf). These recommendations were discussed at the symposium on „Preventing antisemitism through education“ in September 2022. In 2022, the National Forum against Antisemitism was also established to pool knowledge, combat antisemitism and promote Jewish life in Austria. The body is made up of representatives from the federal government, the provinces, municipalities, social partners, academia, religious communities, Jewish museums and civil society. A working group on the documentation of anti-Semitic incidents was also established with the aim of learning from the experiences of other organisations that already document racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents. The aim is to learn from the experiences of other organisations already documenting racist, anti-Semitic incidents in order to set up an anti-Semitism documentation centre that meets current requirements.   Parliament also commissioned a study on anti-Semitism in Austria, which was presented in April 2023 (see https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/fachinfos/publikationen/Langbericht-Antisemitismus-2022-Oesterreichweite-Ergebnisse.pdf). While there are political strategies against anti-Semitism, there is no comparable approach to 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). Regarding hate speech on the internet, the Hate on the Net Act was introduced to help victims of online hate, including group-focused misanthropy (HiNBG see: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/BgblAuth/BGBLA_2020_I_148/BGBLA_2020_I_148.html). 

Progress: No progress

Prosecute all cases of hate crimes and attacks against refugee and asylum-seekers, while strengthening efforts to combat racial or religious hatred, including through ensuring justice and adoption of a national action plan

Proponent:

Afghanistan


Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Afghanistan


Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

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

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.   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). A large number of measures have been taken since 2021 to combat all forms of antisemitism. A central coordination centre for the topic of anti-Semitism has been set up at the Federal Chancellery and a national strategy against anti-Semitism has been published (see https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/dam/jcr:8bd2975f-0483-4e74-abd9-d66446195d7c/antisemitismusstrategie.pdf). Even though the position has now been downgraded to a department in the Policy Section, it still exists in principle.   Two implementation reports are available (for 2021 and 2022). For the education sector, a strategy paper on the „Prevention of antisemitism through education“ was developed in 2022, which contains recommendations for the implementation of the National Strategy against Antisemitism for the Austrian education administration and teacher training institutions (see: https://oead.at/fileadmin/Dokumente/oead.at/KIM/Downloadcenter/OeAD_E.AT_Strategiepapier_FIN_01.pdf). These recommendations were discussed at the symposium on „Preventing antisemitism through education“ in September 2022. In 2022, the National Forum against Antisemitism was also established to pool knowledge, combat antisemitism and promote Jewish life in Austria. The body is made up of representatives from the federal government, the provinces, municipalities, social partners, academia, religious communities, Jewish museums and civil society. A working group on the documentation of anti-Semitic incidents was also established with the aim of learning from the experiences of other organisations that already document racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents. The aim is to learn from the experiences of other organisations already documenting racist, anti-Semitic incidents in order to set up an anti-Semitism documentation centre that meets current requirements.   Parliament also commissioned a study on anti-Semitism in Austria, which was presented in April 2023 (see https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/fachinfos/publikationen/Langbericht-Antisemitismus-2022-Oesterreichweite-Ergebnisse.pdf). While there are political strategies against anti-Semitism, there is no comparable approach to 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). Regarding hate speech on the internet, the Hate on the Net Act was introduced to help victims of online hate, including group-focused misanthropy (HiNBG see: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/BgblAuth/BGBLA_2020_I_148/BGBLA_2020_I_148.html).  A National Action Plan is crucial to ensure a structured approach to tackling crime. This plan should include clear guidelines for prosecution, victim protection and prevention, involving all relevant stakeholders to ensure justice and protection. 

Progress: In progress

To adopt steps to combat acts or advocacy of racial and religious hatred, including by bringing those responsible to justice and envisaging the adoption of a national action plan against racism

Proponent:

Jordan


Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Jordan


Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

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

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.   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. A large number of measures have been taken since 2021 to combat all forms of antisemitism. A central coordination centre for the topic of anti-Semitism has been set up at the Federal Chancellery and a national strategy against anti-Semitism has been published (see https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/dam/jcr:8bd2975f-0483-4e74-abd9-d66446195d7c/antisemitismusstrategie.pdf). Even though the position has now been downgraded to a department in the Policy Section, it still exists in principle.   Two implementation reports are available (for 2021 and 2022). For the education sector, a strategy paper on the „Prevention of antisemitism through education“ was developed in 2022, which contains recommendations for the implementation of the National Strategy against Antisemitism for the Austrian education administration and teacher training institutions (see: https://oead.at/fileadmin/Dokumente/oead.at/KIM/Downloadcenter/OeAD_E.AT_Strategiepapier_FIN_01.pdf). These recommendations were discussed at the symposium on „Preventing antisemitism through education“ in September 2022. In 2022, the National Forum against Antisemitism was also established to pool knowledge, combat antisemitism and promote Jewish life in Austria. The body is made up of representatives from the federal government, the provinces, municipalities, social partners, academia, religious communities, Jewish museums and civil society. A working group on the documentation of anti-Semitic incidents was also established with the aim of learning from the experiences of other organisations that already document racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents. The aim is to learn from the experiences of other organisations already documenting racist, anti-Semitic incidents in order to set up an anti-Semitism documentation centre that meets current requirements.   Parliament also commissioned a study on anti-Semitism in Austria, which was presented in April 2023 (see https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/fachinfos/publikationen/Langbericht-Antisemitismus-2022-Oesterreichweite-Ergebnisse.pdf). While there are political strategies against anti-Semitism, there is no comparable approach to 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). Regarding hate speech on the internet, the Hate on the Net Act was introduced to help victims of online hate, including group-focused misanthropy (HiNBG see: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/BgblAuth/BGBLA_2020_I_148/BGBLA_2020_I_148.html). 

Progress: In progress

Continue efforts and continue taking measures to combat all forms of hate speech and racism

Proponent:

Libya


State of Libya

Libya


State of Libya

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Apr 1, 2025):

Regarding hate speech on the internet, the Hate on the Net Act was introduced to help victims of online hate, including group-focused misanthropy (HiNBG see: here). Another positive development is that the Federal Ministry of the Interior has integrated the systematic recording of prejudicial motives in intentional criminal offences into police work as part of an EU project. For this purpose, the category „Hate crime“ was introduced in the police logging programme (PAD) as a separate „Motive“ tab with the title „Prejudice motives (hate crime) according to victim groups“. The recorded data is transmitted to the justice system via a separate interface: Electronic Legal Transactions (ERV) and subjected to quality assurance by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Around 30,000 police officers throughout Austria have been 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 those affected and investigating consistently to ensure appropriate prosecution. These measures are designed to help tackle bias crime and improve safety for all citizens.
 In the Government Plan 2025-2029, the Federal Government plans to set up a National Action Plan against Hate Crime with the aim of taking targeted action against hate crime (see Government Plan 2025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html). Racism remains a serious social problem in Austria. The latest report by SOS Mitmensch and other studies show that racist discrimination and hate crimes are on the rise. Anti-Muslim racism in particular has increased in recent years, partly fuelled by political rhetoric and campaigns targeting Muslim communities. Anti-Muslim hate crimes are common and are often supported by certain political groups. In 2023, the Documentation Centre on Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism recorded a total of 1522 racist attacks against Muslims and people perceived to be Muslim. Compared to the previous year, 263 more cases were reported to us offline, which represents an increase of over 100 per cent of active case reports. The report shows a striking increase in case reports from the education sector. See report: here).
Austria has various laws in place to combat racism, including the Prohibition Act and the Equal Treatment Act. However, these legal frameworks are not always applied consistently, leading to calls for stronger policy measures and more rigorous enforcement of existing laws. Education and awareness-raising measures are also crucial to raise awareness of racial discrimination in the population and bring about long-term change (see SOS-Mitmensch report: https://www.sosmitmensch.at/site/momagazin/alleausgaben/7/article/395.html&ts=1720702499859).
ZARA’s report for the year 2023 provides a comprehensive overview of the extent and various forms of racism in Austria. A total of 1302 reports were documented and processed, almost 60% of which concerned online racism. This underlines the importance of digital platforms as a place for racist incidents, which can often be documented and reported using simple screenshots. The public sphere and the goods/services sector were particularly affected, with 58.2% and 15.9% of reports respectively. State authorities and institutions were involved in 11% of cases, while racist incidents in the police were only formally complained about in 4 out of 58 cases. In most of the other cases, those affected sought support from ZARA through counselling sessions and legal advice. A significant number (almost 78%) of reports came from witnesses, while 22% were submitted by those directly affected. The report also criticises the lack of implementation of a National Action Plan against Racism in Austria, although the need for structural change and combating institutional racism is obvious. There are still challenges in dealing with racism in Austria and the need for social support and structural changes to effectively address these issues (see Racism Report 2023, March 2024 edition: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA_RassismusReport_2023_DE.pdf).  As part of the Government Plan 2025-2029, the federal government is pursuing this goal through close cooperation with all stakeholders (see Government Plan 2ß025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html).

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: In progress

Strengthen its systematic approach to prevent and combat hate speech and hate crimes, by following up on the recommendations of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI)

Proponent:

Norway


Kingdom of Norway

Norway


Kingdom of Norway

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Apr 1, 2025):

The Federal Ministry of the Interior has published the situation report „Hate Crime 2022“ (see Hate Crime 2022 Report: The core results, p.10: https://www.bmi.gv.at/bmi_documents/3042.pdf). It shows an increase in offences motivated by prejudice, with 5,865 cases reported. These offences mainly concern ideology, national/ethnic origin and religion. One third of the offences reported were violations of the Prohibition Act. Interior Minister Karner emphasised the importance of prevention, especially among young people, in order to recognise and combat extremist tendencies at an early stage. Measures to sensitise and train the police have been intensified. On a positive note, it should be emphasised that the Federal Ministry of the Interior has integrated the systematic recording of prejudiced motives in intentional criminal offences into police work as part of an EU project. For this purpose, the category „Hate crime“ was introduced in the police logging programme (PAD) as a separate „Motive“ tab with the title „Prejudice motives (hate crime) according to victim groups“. The recorded data is transmitted to the justice system via a separate interface: Electronic Legal Transactions (ERV) and subjected to quality assurance by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. In 2022, the Report of the Federal Ministry of the Interior on „Hate Crime“ in Austria – Annual Report 2021 was published for the first time. In the period from January to December 2021, 5,464 offences motivated by prejudice were recorded by the police (Report of the Federal Ministry of the Interior on „Hate Crime“ in Austria 2021: here). 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 on hate crimes that are now being collected. ECRI has also emphasised that politicians should take a firm stance against racist hate speech and that political parties should introduce codes of conduct that prohibit the use of hate speech. So far, these recommendations have gone unheeded.   As part of a European mapping project on hate crimes, work is being done on a victim-centred referral system for affected people. In Austria, ZARA is working on this project together with CEJI. Other civil society organisations, the Ombud for Equal Treatment, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Ministry of Justice are also involved (project homepage: http://scan-project.eu/). Further measures are needed to create a victim-centred, easily accessible referral system for people affected by hate crimes that protects them from (re)traumatisation and re-victimisation. In particular, the police, social workers, teachers, the judiciary, etc. must be further sensitised in order to quickly recognise hate crimes and refer those affected to the right places. Such a referral system should make it easier for those affected by hate crimes to gain access to support and criminal prosecution of the perpetrators. The publication of data by the judiciary is important in order to gain an insight into how many of the reported hate crimes are followed up and what can be learned from them for prevention measures (a detailed catalogue of recommendations is available at: https://standup-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/A4_policy_brief_standUP_DE.pdf). Regarding hate speech on the internet, the Hate on the Net Act was introduced to help victims of online hate, including group-focused misanthropy (HiNBG see: here). Another positive development is that the Federal Ministry of the Interior has integrated the systematic recording of prejudicial motives in intentional criminal offences into police work as part of an EU project. For this purpose, the category „Hate crime“ was introduced in the police logging programme (PAD) as a separate „Motive“ tab with the title „Prejudice motives (hate crime) according to victim groups“. The recorded data is transmitted to the justice system via a separate interface: Electronic Legal Transactions (ERV) and subjected to quality assurance by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Around 30,000 police officers throughout Austria have been 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 those affected and investigating consistently to ensure appropriate prosecution. These measures are designed to help tackle bias crime and improve safety for all citizens.
 In the Government Plan 2025-2029, the Federal Government plans to set up a National Action Plan against Hate Crime with the aim of taking targeted action against hate crime (see Government Plan 2025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html).

Progress: In progress

Take concrete measures to combat incidents of ethnic or racially motivated violence and hatred, including against migrants and refugees

Proponent:

Portugal


Portuguese Republic

Portugal


Portuguese Republic

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. While there are political strategies against anti-Semitism, there is no comparable approach to 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). Austria should step up its efforts to combat discrimination and hate speech against ethnic minorities, immigrants and refugees. It is crucial to provide additional resources for the prosecution of hate crimes while strengthening prevention. This applies in particular to combating discrimination against Muslims, Roma, people of African descent, refugees and migrants. The promotion of awareness campaigns and cooperation with civil society organisations are important elements in promoting an inclusive and tolerant society.  In recent years, there has been a tightening of immigration policy in Austria and an increasing harshness towards asylum seekers. This is reflected in legislative changes aimed at making access to asylum more difficult and facilitating the deportation of rejected asylum seekers. Another problem is the treatment of asylum seekers during the asylum procedure and in reception centres. There are currently reports of overcrowded accommodation, inadequate medical care and a lack of integration into the education system. 

Progress: In progress

Continue in its endeavour of combating acts or advocacy of racial or religious hatred, including by bringing those responsible to justice and envisaging the adoption of a national action plan against racism

Proponent:

Romania


Romania

Romania


Romania

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

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.   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. A large number of measures have been taken since 2021 to combat all forms of antisemitism. A central coordination centre for the topic of anti-Semitism has been set up at the Federal Chancellery and a national strategy against anti-Semitism has been published (see https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/dam/jcr:8bd2975f-0483-4e74-abd9-d66446195d7c/antisemitismusstrategie.pdf). Even though the position has now been downgraded to a department in the Policy Section, it still exists in principle.   Two implementation reports are available (for 2021 and 2022). For the education sector, a strategy paper on the „Prevention of antisemitism through education“ was developed in 2022, which contains recommendations for the implementation of the National Strategy against Antisemitism for the Austrian education administration and teacher training institutions (see: https://oead.at/fileadmin/Dokumente/oead.at/KIM/Downloadcenter/OeAD_E.AT_Strategiepapier_FIN_01.pdf). These recommendations were discussed at the symposium on „Preventing antisemitism through education“ in September 2022. In 2022, the National Forum against Antisemitism was also established to pool knowledge, combat antisemitism and promote Jewish life in Austria. The body is made up of representatives from the federal government, the provinces, municipalities, social partners, academia, religious communities, Jewish museums and civil society. A working group on the documentation of anti-Semitic incidents was also established with the aim of learning from the experiences of other organisations that already document racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents. The aim is to learn from the experiences of other organisations already documenting racist, anti-Semitic incidents in order to set up an anti-Semitism documentation centre that meets current requirements.   Parliament also commissioned a study on anti-Semitism in Austria, which was presented in April 2023 (see https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/fachinfos/publikationen/Langbericht-Antisemitismus-2022-Oesterreichweite-Ergebnisse.pdf). While there are political strategies against anti-Semitism, there is no comparable approach to 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). Regarding hate speech on the internet, the Hate on the Net Act was introduced to help victims of online hate, including group-focused misanthropy (HiNBG see: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/BgblAuth/BGBLA_2020_I_148/BGBLA_2020_I_148.html). 

Progress: In progress

Strengthen efforts to tackle racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic incidents, including through the disaggregation of hate crimes data

Proponent:

Australia


Australia

Australia


Australia

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Apr 1, 2025):

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.  Austria has not yet implemented some of the recommendations of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) from the 2015 report „General Policy Recommendations No. 15 on Combating Hate Speech“. These include, in particular, the pending ratification of the „Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime“ and „Protocol No. 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms“.
ECRI also emphasises that politicians should take a clear stance against racist hate speech and that political parties should introduce codes of conduct that prohibit the use of hate speech. These recommendations have not yet been heeded.  There are no clear responsibilities at federal level in Austria to combat anti-Black racism, anti-Muslim racism and racism in general, and hardly any effective measures have been taken. There is also a lack of targeted awareness-raising programmes that address discrimination against people with disabilities and limited abilities and address aspects of self-empowerment and human rights. The need to implement structural changes and preventive measures to effectively counteract discrimination is emphasised by various organisations and initiatives. It should be critically noted that the public discourse often focuses on so-called „immigrant anti-Semitism“ and thus accuses people with a history of migration from Turkey and Arabic-speaking countries in particular of anti-Semitism across the board. The Documentation and Advice Centre on Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism (Dokustelle) plays a central role in this. This centre was founded in 2014 and systematically collects data on Islamophobic incidents, offers advice in several languages and carries out awareness-raising and educational measures (see the 2022 report of the Documentation Centre on Anti-Muslim Racism and Islamophobia: https://dokustelle.at/fileadmin/Dokuments/Reports/Report_2022/Dokustelle-Report-2022.pdf). The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRAU) has updated its database on Islamophobia, which provides comprehensive information on hate crimes and hate speech against Muslims. In Austria, the database shows that Muslims continue to be the target of hate crimes and discrimination. The FRA reports a large number of incidents ranging from verbal abuse to physical violence. These incidents are also reflected in the Austrian statistics, which show an increasing number of reports and documented cases of Islamophobia (see Austrian database: https://fra.europa.eu/en/databases/anti-muslim-hatred/case-law?country%5B%5D=AT). A large number of measures have been taken since 2021 to combat all forms of antisemitism. A central coordination centre for the topic of anti-Semitism has been set up at the Federal Chancellery and a national strategy against anti-Semitism has been published (see https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/dam/jcr:8bd2975f-0483-4e74-abd9-d66446195d7c/antisemitismusstrategie.pdf). Even though the position has now been downgraded to a department in the Policy Section, it still exists in principle.   There are two implementation reports (for 2021 and 2022). For the education sector, a strategy paper on the „Prevention of antisemitism through education“ was developed in 2022, which contains recommendations for the implementation of the National Strategy against Antisemitism for the Austrian education administration and teacher training institutions (see: https://oead.at/fileadmin/Dokumente/oead.at/KIM/Downloadcenter/OeAD_E.AT_Strategiepapier_FIN_01.pdf). These recommendations were discussed at the symposium on „Preventing antisemitism through education“ in September 2022. In 2022, the National Forum against Antisemitism was also established to pool knowledge, combat antisemitism and promote Jewish life in Austria. The body is made up of representatives from the federal government, the provinces, municipalities, social partners, academia, religious communities, Jewish museums and civil society.   A working group on the documentation of anti-Semitic incidents has been established with the aim of learning from the experiences of other organisations that already document racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents. The aim is to learn from the experiences of other organisations already documenting racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents in order to set up an anti-Semitism documentation centre that meets current requirements.   Parliament also commissioned a study on anti-Semitism in Austria, which was presented in April 2023 (see https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/fachinfos/publikationen/Langbericht-Antisemitismus-2022-Oesterreichweite-Ergebnisse.pdf).   As part of the Government Plan 2025-2029, the federal government is pursuing this goal through close cooperation with all stakeholders (see Government Plan 2ß025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.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: In progress

Continue efforts to improve access to justice for victims of discrimination, including discrimination based on hate speech and ethnic, racial or religious grounds

Proponent:

Cuba


Republic of Cuba

Cuba


Republic of Cuba

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Apr 1, 2025):

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.  Racism remains a serious social problem in Austria. The latest report by SOS Mitmensch and other studies show that racist discrimination and hate crimes are on the rise. Anti-Muslim racism in particular has increased in recent years, partly fuelled by political rhetoric and campaigns targeting Muslim communities. Anti-Muslim hate crimes are common and are often supported by certain political groups. In 2023, the Documentation Centre on Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism recorded a total of 1522 racist attacks against Muslims and people perceived to be Muslim. Compared to the previous year, 263 more cases were reported to us offline, which represents an increase of over 100 per cent of active case reports. The report shows a striking increase in case reports from the education sector. See report: here).
Austria has various laws in place to combat racism, including the Prohibition Act and the Equal Treatment Act. However, these legal frameworks are not always applied consistently, leading to calls for stronger policy measures and more rigorous enforcement of existing laws. Education and awareness-raising measures are also crucial to raise awareness of racial discrimination in the population and bring about long-term change (see SOS-Mitmensch report: https://www.sosmitmensch.at/site/momagazin/alleausgaben/7/article/395.html&ts=1720702499859).
ZARA’s report for the year 2023 provides a comprehensive overview of the extent and various forms of racism in Austria. A total of 1302 reports were documented and processed, almost 60% of which concerned online racism. This underlines the importance of digital platforms as a place for racist incidents, which can often be documented and reported using simple screenshots. The public sphere and the goods/services sector were particularly affected, with 58.2% and 15.9% of reports respectively. State authorities and institutions were involved in 11% of cases, while racist incidents in the police were only formally complained about in 4 out of 58 cases. In most of the other cases, those affected sought support from ZARA through counselling sessions and legal advice. A significant number (almost 78%) of reports came from witnesses, while 22% were submitted by those directly affected. The report also criticises the lack of implementation of a National Action Plan against Racism in Austria, although the need for structural change and combating institutional racism is obvious. There are still challenges in dealing with racism in Austria and the need for social support and structural changes to effectively address these issues (see Racism Report 2023, March 2024 edition: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA_RassismusReport_2023_DE.pdf).  As part of the Government Plan 2025-2029, the federal government is pursuing this goal through close cooperation with all stakeholders (see Government Plan 2ß025-2029: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html).It should be noted that in Austria, both the development and implementation of measures to combat discrimination have been driven forward in close cooperation with various civil society organisations. However, it must be noted that the public discourse often focuses on so-called „immigrant anti-Semitism“ and thus accuses people with migration experience from Turkey and Arabic-speaking countries in particular of anti-Semitism across the board. However, there is a lack of clear responsibility at federal level to combat anti-Black racism, anti-Muslim racism and racism in general. Few concrete measures have been taken so far. There is a lack of targeted awareness-raising measures that address discrimination against people with disabilities and limited abilities as well as aspects of self-empowerment and human rights. Austria has not yet implemented some of the recommendations of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) from its report „General Policy Recommendations No. 15 on Combating Hate Speech (2015)“ (see: ECRI General Policy Recommendations No.15 on Combating Hate Speech,2015: https://rm.coe.int/ecri-general-policy-recommendation-no-15-on-combating-hate-speech/16808b5b01). This includes the pending ratification of the „Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime“ and the „Protocol No. 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.“  A large number of measures have been taken since 2021 to combat all forms of antisemitism. A central coordination centre for the topic of anti-Semitism has been set up at the Federal Chancellery and a national strategy against anti-Semitism has been published (see https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/dam/jcr:8bd2975f-0483-4e74-abd9-d66446195d7c/antisemitismusstrategie.pdf). Even though the position has now been downgraded to a department in the Policy Section, it still exists in principle.   Two implementation reports are available (for 2021 and 2022). For the education sector, a strategy paper on the „Prevention of antisemitism through education“ was developed in 2022, which contains recommendations for the implementation of the National Strategy against Antisemitism for the Austrian education administration and teacher training institutions (see: https://oead.at/fileadmin/Dokumente/oead.at/KIM/Downloadcenter/OeAD_E.AT_Strategiepapier_FIN_01.pdf). These recommendations were discussed at the symposium on „Preventing antisemitism through education“ in September 2022. In 2022, the National Forum against Antisemitism was also established to pool knowledge, combat antisemitism and promote Jewish life in Austria. The body is made up of representatives from the federal government, the provinces, municipalities, social partners, academia, religious communities, Jewish museums and civil society. A working group on the documentation of anti-Semitic incidents was also established with the aim of learning from the experiences of other organisations that already document racist, anti-Semitic, etc. incidents. The aim is to learn from the experiences of other organisations already documenting racist, anti-Semitic incidents in order to set up an anti-Semitism documentation centre that meets current requirements.   Parliament also commissioned a study on anti-Semitism in Austria, which was presented in April 2023 (see https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/fachinfos/publikationen/Langbericht-Antisemitismus-2022-Oesterreichweite-Ergebnisse.pdf). While there are political strategies against anti-Semitism, there is no comparable approach to 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). Regarding hate speech on the internet, the Hate on the Net Act was introduced to help victims of online hate, including group-focused misanthropy (HiNBG see: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/BgblAuth/BGBLA_2020_I_148/BGBLA_2020_I_148.html). 

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). 

Progress: No progress

Refrain from polarizing populist campaigns against migrant communities and take a firm public stance against racist speeches

Proponent:

Turkey


Republic of Turkey

Turkey


Republic of Turkey

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

The international activities of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) and the organisations charged with this task, erinnern.at and OeAD, all aim to support teachers and learners in the field of human rights education. However, there is no further information on specific projects from Austria. Although the World Programme for Human Rights Education was launched by the United Nations in December 2004, various measures to promote human rights education are being implemented in Austria. Although progress in human rights education is recognisable, it should be noted that there is still a considerable need for action. 

Progress: In progress

Strengthen measures to raise public awareness with a special focus on combating hate speech, racism, discrimination, xenophobia and islamophobia

Proponent:

Algeria


People's Democratic Republic of Algeria

Algeria


People's Democratic Republic of Algeria

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

A large number of measures have been taken since 2021 to combat all forms of anti-Semitism. A central coordination centre for anti-Semitism has been set up at the Federal Chancellery.   These measures to combat antisemitism are to be welcomed in principle. It is also positive to note that both their development and implementation were driven forward with the involvement of various civil society organisations. It should be criticised that the public discourse often focuses on so-called „immigrant anti-Semitism“ and thus accuses people with a history of migration from Turkey and Arabic-speaking countries in particular of anti-Semitism across the board.   However, no clear responsibility for combating anti-Black racism, anti-Muslim racism and racism in general has been defined at federal level. There are also hardly any measures in place. There are no targeted awareness-raising measures focussing on combating discrimination against people with disabilities and limited abilities and addressing self-empowerment and human rights. In the area of art, culture, diversity and sport, the Competence Centre for Diversity, Antiracism and Anti-Discrimination (KDA) was set up by the federal government in 2022 to combat structural racism. One measure is the anti-racism strategy, which was published in March 2024. This strategy comprises 23 measures in the areas of sport, art, culture and public service. It was developed in cooperation with civil society and affected communities and focuses on diversity management, strengthening diversity competence and racism-critical communication (see Antiracism Strategy 2024: https://www.bmkoes.gv.at/dam/jcr:ec8e92ef-f349-44d1-8700-94b5f5293030/ars.pdf). There are no clear responsibilities at federal level in Austria to combat anti-Black racism, anti-Muslim racism and racism in general, and hardly any effective measures have been taken. There is also a lack of targeted awareness-raising programmes that address discrimination against people with disabilities and limited abilities and address aspects of self-empowerment and human rights. The need to implement structural changes and preventive measures to effectively counteract discrimination is emphasised by various organisations and initiatives. It should be critically noted that the public discourse often focuses on so-called „immigrant anti-Semitism“ and thus accuses people with a history of migration from Turkey and Arabic-speaking countries in particular of anti-Semitism across the board. The Documentation and Advice Centre on Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism (Dokustelle) plays a central role in this. This centre was founded in 2014 and systematically collects data on Islamophobic incidents, offers advice in several languages and carries out awareness-raising and educational measures (see the 2022 report of the Documentation Centre on Anti-Muslim Racism and Islamophobia: https://dokustelle.at/fileadmin/Dokuments/Reports/Report_2022/Dokustelle-Report-2022.pdf). The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRAU) has updated its database on Islamophobia, which provides comprehensive information on hate crimes and hate speech against Muslims. In Austria, the database shows that Muslims continue to be the target of hate crimes and discrimination. The FRA reports a large number of incidents ranging from verbal abuse to physical violence. These incidents are also reflected in the Austrian statistics, which show an increasing number of reports and documented cases of Islamophobia (see Austrian database: https://fra.europa.eu/en/databases/anti-muslim-hatred/case-law?country%5B%5D=AT). 

Progress: No progress

Adopt codes of conduct for politicians prohibiting the use of racist speeches, and make necessary arrangements for those to adopt approaches for supporting integration rather than isolation and alienation

Proponent:

Turkey


Republic of Turkey

Turkey


Republic of Turkey

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

The implementation of codes of conduct for political actors is an important step towards ensuring ethical standards and accountability in the political arena. These codes serve to regulate the behaviour of politicians and set clear boundaries for their statements. In particular, the prohibition of racist statements is of great importance, as they not only divide society but can also jeopardise integration.   Several codes of conduct exist in Austria that aim to promote ethical standards and integrity in the public sector. One of these is the Code of Conduct for the Prevention of Corruption in the Public Sector, which was adopted by the Council of Ministers in November 2020. This is aimed at federal employees and offers practical instructions and checklists for dealing with attempts at bribery.   Another code is the Code of Conduct of the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI), which was adopted in 2010 and is continuously updated. This serves as a guideline for all employees of the BMI and is based on the applicable legal situation in order to promote ethical standards.   However, it should be noted that there have been no recognisable efforts to date to draw up codes of conduct for politicians that prohibit the use of racist language. Similarly, there is a lack of regulations to ensure that political actors promote inclusion rather than favour isolation and alienation. ECRI has also emphasised that politicians should take a firm stance against racist hate speech and that political parties should introduce codes of conduct that prohibit the use of hate speech. So far, these recommendations have gone unheeded. In Austria, incitement to hatred is prohibited under criminal law, even for politicians. One example of this is the conviction of former FPÖ politician Johann Gudenus, who was prosecuted for racist and inflammatory statements. Similarly, Herbert Kickl, another high-ranking member of the FPÖ, was criticised several times for his provocative statements, even if convictions were not always handed down. In such cases, parliament can decide to waive the immunity of the politician concerned if criminal prosecution is a possibility. This makes it possible to hold the person concerned accountable and prosecute them. It is desirable that politicians are actively committed to integration. However, it is not the responsibility of the government to dictate how they speak out on this issue. Standards of behaviour for politicians must be set by the political parties themselves or in parliament. 

Progress: No progress

Continue its efforts in improving its legal and institutional frameworks for protection against discrimination, and to establish a systematic data collection mechanism to record incidents of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance to ensure that all incidents are investigated, prosecuted and that the perpetrators were punished

Proponent:

Palestine


State of Palestine

Palestine


State of Palestine

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

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. Austria has not yet implemented some of the recommendations of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) from the 2015 report „General Policy Recommendations No. 15 on Combating Hate Speech“. These include, in particular, the pending ratification of the „Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime“ and „Protocol No. 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms“.
ECRI also emphasises that politicians should take a clear stance against racist hate speech and that political parties should introduce codes of conduct that prohibit the use of hate speech. These recommendations have not yet been heeded.  Austria has still not implemented standardised and comprehensive legal protection against discrimination. Austrian equality law is still characterised by a discriminatory hierarchy of grounds for discrimination with large gaps in protection outside the world of work. When it comes to access to goods and services, federal law (which is applicable in the majority of all cases) only provides protection against discrimination on the basis of disability, ethnicity and gender – but not on the basis of age, religion and belief or sexual orientation, and therefore not in the case of multiple discrimination. Furthermore, there is no comprehensive protection against discrimination based on all grounds of discrimination in the area of education and there is no comprehensive protection against discrimination in a number of areas of social protection. There is no explicit legal protection against intersectional discrimination and discrimination based on gender identity, expression or characteristics. The anti-discrimination laws and the respective equality bodies at federal and state level are organised very differently, which makes access to justice more difficult. Those affected by discrimination usually have to take legal action individually. The amounts of damages awarded in practice are low and there is a lack of effective statutory minimum compensation and injunctive relief. A collective action as a collective legal protection instrument only exists in cases of discrimination on the basis of disability.    The current government programme 2025-2029 does not provide for the elimination of these inequalities in discrimination protection (see government programme 2025-2029 as a PDF on the website of the Federal Chancellery: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/die-bundesregierung/regierungsdokumente.html available).  

Progress: No progress

Adopt legislative measures to eradicate all forms of discrimination and to prohibit racial and ethnic profiling by the police

Proponent:

Ecuador


Republic of Ecuador

Ecuador


Republic of Ecuador

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). 

Progress: No progress

End the exacerbated increase in racism, hate speech, xenophobia, Islamophobia and racial violence against minorities, refugees and migrants

Proponent:

Venezuela


Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Venezuela


Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

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

While there are political strategies against anti-Semitism, there is no comparable approach to 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). Austria should step up its efforts to combat discrimination and hate speech against ethnic minorities, immigrants and refugees. It is crucial to provide additional resources for the prosecution of hate crimes while strengthening prevention. This applies in particular to combating discrimination against Muslims, Roma, people of African descent, refugees and migrants. The promotion of awareness campaigns and cooperation with civil society organisations are important elements in promoting an inclusive and tolerant society.  There is a lack of political strategy, particularly with regard to anti-Muslim racism. Instead, measures are taken that lead to prejudgement of people perceived as Muslim. According to a study by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRAU), many migrants reported everyday experiences of discrimination and xenophobia. Data from the organisation ZARA- Zivilcourage und Antirassismus Arbeit documented around 1,300 racist incidents in 2023, which represents a decrease compared to previous years, but still shows a high level (see Zara Racism Report 2023, Data and Analyses, page 10ff: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA_RassismusReport_2023_DE.pdf).
Particularly alarming was an increase in active case reports of more than 100% compared to 2022, with the months of May, October, November and December standing out in particular. These increases correlated with national and global developments, including political events and media coverage of Muslim communities;In 2022, 1,080 right-wing extremist offences were registered in Austria, with a significant proportion of these offences motivated by xenophobia. These incidents include both physical violence and damage to property specifically targeting migrants (see statistics on the number of right-wing offences in Austria, 2023: https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/881250/umfrage/rechte-straftaten-in-oesterreich-nach-bereichen/). 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 on hate crimes that are now being collected. The documentation of anti-Muslim attacks in Austria covers a variety of offences ranging from unequal treatment and insults to physical violence and vandalism. A particular focus was placed on online platforms, where a significant proportion of hate speech against Muslims is recorded, with the dissemination of hate comments accounting for the largest share at 87%. The attacks were documented in various categories of offences, including unequal treatment, insults, spreading hate, physical assaults and vandalism. Particular attention was also paid to online platforms, where the majority of hate speech against Muslims was recorded, with the spread of hate comments accounting for the largest share at 87%.The Documentation Centre Austria worked closely with various organisations, including the Initiative for a Non-Discriminatory Education System (IDB), the association ZARA – Zivilcourage & Anti-Rassismus-Arbeit and the Ombud for Equal Treatment (GAW), to document these cases and support measures against anti-Muslim racism (see Anti-Muslim Racism Report 2023: https://dokustelle.at/fileadmin/Dokuments/Reports/Report_2023/Dokustelle_OEsterreich_Report_2023_-_27.05.2024.pdf).  In 2021, funding for ethnic groups in Austria was significantly increased, with funding now totalling almost 8 million euros. New laws were also adopted to combat hate speech on the internet and violent hate crimes (ACFC/OP/V(2023)002, 5th Review Report of the Advisory Committee for the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Secretariat of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Council of Europe: https://rm.coe.int/5th-op-austria-de-full-version/1680ace87b). Nevertheless, challenges remain, particularly in the area of minority language teaching and with regard to mutual respect and intercultural dialogue in society. In Austria, the Framework Convention is implemented and monitored by a dialogue platform in which government representatives, civil society organisations and experts from science and research work together. This dialogue process is crucial for compliance with the provisions of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (further information on the website of the Federal Chancellery: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/themen/volksgruppen/roma-strategie.html).  On a positive note, the Federal Ministry of the Interior has integrated the systematic recording of prejudice motives in premeditated offences into police work as part of an EU project. For this purpose, the category „Hate crime“ was introduced in the police logging programme (PAD) as a separate „Motive“ tab with the title „Prejudice motives (hate crime) according to victim groups“. The recorded data is transmitted to the justice system via a separate interface: Electronic Legal Transactions (ERV) and subjected to quality assurance by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Around 30,000 police officers throughout Austria have been 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 those affected and investigating consistently to ensure appropriate prosecution. These measures are designed to help tackle bias crime and improve safety for all citizens. The Report of the Federal Ministry of the Interior on Hate Crime in Austria – Annual Report 2021 was published for the first time in 2022. In the period from January to December 2021, 5,464 offences motivated by prejudice were recorded by the police (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). 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 on hate crimes that are now being collected.  Austria has launched programmes and initiatives to promote tolerance and integration. Nevertheless, reports of discrimination and hate speech continue to emerge, suggesting that further action is needed to address these issues. There is a need for continuous monitoring and improvement to ensure that efforts to combat hate speech and discrimination are effective and that the communities affected are sufficiently protected. 

Progress: No progress

Ensure that the NAP on anti-discrimination covers the fight against all forms of racism (e.g. anti-Muslim racism, anti-Semitism, anti-gypsyism, etc.) and includes realistic and measurable indicators

Proponent:

League


Österreichische Liga für Menschenrechte


Rahlgasse 1/26, A-1060 Wien


http://www.liga.or.at/projekte/universal-periodic-review-2020-upr/

League


Österreichische Liga für Menschenrechte


Rahlgasse 1/26, A-1060 Wien


http://www.liga.or.at/projekte/universal-periodic-review-2020-upr/

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

The 2020 EU Action Plan against Racism calls on the member states to draw up National Action Plans against Racism by the end of 2022. In Austria, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for drawing up the National Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination. This National Action Plan is also anchored in the current government programme (EU Action Plan against Racism 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/union-equality-eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en). Austria has also referred to the planned National Action Plan against Racism in various other recommendations regarding the implementation and promotion of measures to combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This shows its particular importance. Contrary to this assurance and contrary to the agreement in the last government programme, no national action plan to combat racism was adopted and no significant other programmes in the area of anti-racism work were implemented, with the exception of the area of anti-Semitism.  

Progress: No progress

Set up efforts to make ethnic profiling transparent and develop countermeasures

Proponent:

League


Österreichische Liga für Menschenrechte


Rahlgasse 1/26, A-1060 Wien


http://www.liga.or.at/projekte/universal-periodic-review-2020-upr/

League


Österreichische Liga für Menschenrechte


Rahlgasse 1/26, A-1060 Wien


http://www.liga.or.at/projekte/universal-periodic-review-2020-upr/

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). 

Progress: No progress

Implement a consistent application of the „special reasons for aggravation“ according to § 33 StGB (Austrian Criminal Code) in proceedings concerning crimes with discriminatory or racist motives

Proponent:

League


Österreichische Liga für Menschenrechte


Rahlgasse 1/26, A-1060 Wien


http://www.liga.or.at/projekte/universal-periodic-review-2020-upr/

League


Österreichische Liga für Menschenrechte


Rahlgasse 1/26, A-1060 Wien


http://www.liga.or.at/projekte/universal-periodic-review-2020-upr/

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

In Austria, the Criminal Code (§ 33 StGB) provides for a number of „special aggravating circumstances“ that increase the penalty for certain offences. A central point concerns the offender’s motive. In particular, racist or xenophobic motives are categorised as particularly reprehensible and are considered an aggravating factor in sentencing. This provision aims to punish offences based on discrimination, hatred or intolerance more severely. Specifically, this means that if someone commits an offence for racist, xenophobic or similar extreme motives, this must lead to a more severe sentence. § Section 33 StGB explicitly mentions this as one of the aggravating circumstances. In addition, other factors such as cruelty, malice or taking advantage of a victim’s defencelessness are also recognised as aggravating circumstances (StGB §33: StGB §33). This provision ensures that offences motivated by discriminatory ideologies are given special consideration and sentenced in order to demonstrate a clear stance against racist and extremist acts and to counteract such acts;

Progress: No progress

Ensure traceable documentation and recording of the development crimes with discriminatory or racist motives

Proponent:

League


Österreichische Liga für Menschenrechte


Rahlgasse 1/26, A-1060 Wien


http://www.liga.or.at/projekte/universal-periodic-review-2020-upr/

League


Österreichische Liga für Menschenrechte


Rahlgasse 1/26, A-1060 Wien


http://www.liga.or.at/projekte/universal-periodic-review-2020-upr/

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

Austria has not yet implemented some of the recommendations of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) from the 2015 report „General Policy Recommendations No. 15 on Combating Hate Speech“. These include, in particular, the pending ratification of the „Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime“ and „Protocol No. 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms“.
ECRI also emphasises that politicians should take a clear stance against racist hate speech and that political parties should introduce codes of conduct that prohibit the use of hate speech. These recommendations have not yet been heeded.  

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