Universal Periodic Review

Revise and harmonize its anti-discrimination laws and improve its anti-discrimination institutions and their efficiency and approachability to ensure effective protection against all forms of discrimination, including against persons with disabilities and children and young persons in the asylum procedure

Proponent:

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

In Austria, a number of different laws regulate protection against discrimination at state and federal level. This makes the enforcement of the law complex in some cases, protection is not standardised and – contrary to numerous calls in the UPR process and in numerous other monitoring processes on human rights conventions – there are significant gaps in protection: 1. in terms of access to goods and services in the private sector, 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 and sexual orientation. This fact has been criticised for years by numerous civil society organisations and equality actors as a lack of levelling up.
2) Furthermore, there is no comprehensive protection against discrimination based on all grounds of discrimination in the area of education.
3. there is also a lack of comprehensive protection against discrimination in a number of areas of social protection.
In addition, the law contains provisions on the reversal of the burden of proof, which makes it easier for the person affected to prove discrimination, as well as provisions for possible claims for damages and compensation (see Equal Treatment Act, GIBG Federal Law Gazette I No. 66/2004: https://ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20003395&FassungVom=2022-02-10). The Introductory Act to the Administrative Procedure Acts (EGVG) provides a legal basis for dealing with racist refusal of admission in Austria. According to this law, both victims and witnesses of racist discrimination can report such incidents. Police officers are obliged to forward these reports to the competent district administrative authority. The procedure under the EGVG is free of charge for the person making the report. The reporting person or organisation, such as ZARA or the Litigation Association, are not informed of the outcome of the proceedings and have no direct party status. In addition, the EGVG does not provide for compensation for the person discriminated against. Instead, offenders can be fined up to 1,090 euros, an amount that has not been evaluated for years. In the event of repeated violations of the EGVG, the trade authority can theoretically withdraw the trade licence. ZARA supports those affected by discrimination through various measures, including letters of intervention to the establishments concerned, legal advice and referral to other legal bodies such as the Equal Treatment Ombudsman’s Office or the Litigation Association. The aim is to find an out-of-court solution or to take legal action to enforce the rights of victims of discrimination. These legal and supportive measures are crucial to strengthening protection against racial discrimination in Austria and dealing with cases of discrimination appropriately (see Racism Report 2022: https://assets.zara.or.at/media/rassismusreport/ZARA-Rassismus_Report_2022.pdf). Civil society calls on the German government to pursue a policy that prioritises the promotion of fundamental and human rights instead of restricting them. It emphasises that the expertise of civil society is indispensable for this task. Further information can be found in an open letter to the German government (see Open letter: https://archiv2022.asyl.at/de/info/news/offenerbriefandiebundesregierung/index.html).