Universal Periodic Review

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

Proponent:

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}