Universal Periodic Review

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: No progress

Create a new National Action Plan „Protection against Violence for Women“ which also considers women with disabilities, precarious residence permits and asylum seekers and women with mental illness

Proponent:

Netherlands


Kingdom of the Netherlands

Netherlands


Kingdom of the Netherlands

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

With the National Action Plan for the Protection of Women against Violence 2014-2016, measures were taken throughout Austria to implement the requirements of the Istanbul Convention against Violence against Women (see National Action Plan 2014-2016 as PDF: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/dam/jcr:1f95e551-0e17-4d67-8090-b7bced3f4947/nap.pdf). However, the National Action Plan has now expired without replacement. Despite the fact that Austria has ratified the Convention, there is a lack of implementation and improvement of further measures, including due diligence in victim protection and, in particular, improved cooperation with civil society.   In August 2023, the ACA published the report „Violence and Victim Protection for Women“, which identifies potential for the effective protection of women affected by violence. The ACA also highlights shortcomings in strategic planning and recommends a coordinated joint strategy between the federal ministries and the federal states (Gewalt- und Opferschutz für Frauen, BUND 2023/21: https://www.rechnungshof.gv.at/rh/home/home/2023_21_Gewalt_und_Opferschutz_Frauen.pdf). A National Action Plan for the Protection of Women against Violence 2014-2016 with 60 measures has been drawn up, but no further action plan is planned (National Action Plan for the Protection of Women against Violence 2014-2016 on the website of the National Coordination Centre for the Protection of Women against Violence: https://www.coordination-vaw.gv.at/koordinierung/nap.html).  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

Continue strengthening successful policy to increase access to education, health and integration into the labour market for women with disabilities, ethnic minority groups, migrants, refugees and Asylum seekers

Proponent:

Somalia


Federal Republic of Somalia

Somalia


Federal Republic of Somalia

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

Gender stereotypes and role expectations contribute to inequality, make it difficult for women to advance in their careers and reduce their opportunities. To tackle the gender pay gap in the EU, the Council of the European Union adopted new rules on 24 April 2023 to combat pay discrimination and reduce the gender pay gap. According to the Pay Transparency Directive, companies in the EU should in future exchange information on how much they pay women and men for work of equal value and take action if their gender pay gap exceeds 5 per cent. EU member states now have up to 3 years to transpose the directive into national law. This will include more comprehensive disclosure of starting salaries and pay levels, increased reporting obligations for companies and improved access to legal measures for employees (more information on this: here). In Austria, corresponding legislation has not yet been passed. The employment rate for women is also still lower than for men (in 2022 70% compared to 78%, Statistics Austria: https://www.statistik.at/statistiken/arbeitsmarkt/erwerbstaetigkeit/erwerbstaetige-merkmale).  With regard to women with disabilities, it should be noted that they are not a specific target group of the Austrian labour market service. The status of ministerial work is still the 2017 inclusion package (see information on the website of the Ministry of Social Affairs: https://www.sozialministerium.at/Themen/Soziales/Menschen-mit-Behinderungen/Berufliche-Teilhabe-von-Menschen-mit-Behinderungen.html). Civil society considers this to be insufficient. No measures have been taken to prevent multiple and/or intersectional discrimination against women and girls with disabilities. There is still a lack of adequate consideration of the gender perspective in disability legislation, the disability perspective in women’s legislation and the related enforcement of laws. The Ombud for Equal Treatment (website:https://www.gleichbehandlungsanwaltschaft.gv.at), a state institution at the Federal Chancellery (BKA), is responsible for all grounds of discrimination except disability. However, women with disabilities must contact the Social Ministry Service (website: https://www.gleichbehandlungsanwaltschaft.gv.at) in the event of multiple discrimination and apply for conciliation. This conciliation procedure is mandatory and must be carried out before a lawsuit is filed with the civil court. The problem is that the Social Ministry Service has no specific expertise in dealing with women with disabilities and is not trained in a gender-equitable approach.  With regard to people of foreign origin, the employment rate is lower than for people born in Austria. Women from certain countries of origin are particularly affected (e.g. Turkey with a female employment rate of only 44%) and foreign origin is still a frequent reason for discrimination in the workplace (see Statistics Austria, „Labour market situation of migrants in Austria 2022“: https://www.statistik.at/fileadmin/publications/Arbeitsmarktsituation-Migrant-innen-2021.pdf). 

Progress: No progress

Expand multilingual/native language health services for children and families with a migration background

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):

Law enforcement agencies continued to use facial recognition technologies without a clear legal basis, despite the potential discrimination against gender and ethnic minorities and the interference with the rights to privacy, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. Racial profiling by the police continued to be practised and there was a lack of effective mechanisms to investigate these practices (see Human Rights Situation in Austria 2022, Amnesty International Austria: https://www.amnesty.at/themen/menschenrechte-in-oesterreich/menschenrechtslage-in-oesterreich-2022-amnesty-jahresbericht/). Between January and August 2021, 64 Afghan nationals were deported to Afghanistan despite the risk of serious human rights violations upon their return. In August of the same year, the Austrian government refused to evacuate Afghan refugees from the Taliban and to redistribute asylum seekers from the Greek islands. In July 2021, the Provincial Administrative Court of Styria found that seven asylum seekers had been illegally returned to Slovenia. This showed that unlawful pushbacks were being systematically practised in Austria in some cases. In February 2022, the same court confirmed that an asylum seeker from Morocco had been unlawfully returned to Slovenia and pointed out the methodical application of such unlawful pushbacks. By the end of 2022, around 90,000 Ukrainian refugees had received temporary protection in Austria in accordance with the EU mass influx directives. In September 2022, the Ministry of the Interior reported that 5,140 unaccompanied minors had gone missing between January and July. Numerous NGOs and politicians are calling for the immediate allocation of guardians for unaccompanied minors as soon as they arrive, instead of waiting for admission to the asylum procedure, which often takes several months;

Redaktionelle Verantwortung UPR-Tool:

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

Lizenz CC-BY-SA 

Unterstützung durch:

Forschungskooperation mit der Volksanwaltschaft

Förderung des Zukunftsfonds der Republik Österreich

 

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