Universal Periodic Review

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

Proponent:

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).