COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION
OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
Sixtieth session
4-22 March 2002
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE
9 OF THE CONVENTION
Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination
Austria
1. The Committee considered the fourteenth periodic report of Austria
(CERD/C/362/Add.7) at its 1502nd and 1503rd meetings on 7 and 8
March 2002 (CERD/C/SR.1502 and 1503) and at its 1520th meeting,
on 21 March 2002, adopted the following concluding observations.
A. Introduction
2. The Committee welcomes the updating report presented by the Government
of Austria, which focuses on the recommendations made by the Committee
in its previous concluding observations (CERD/C/304/Add.64 dated
7 April 1999). The Committee also welcomes the State party's regularity
in its submission of periodic reports.
B. Positive aspects
3. The Committee welcomes recent developments that have taken place
in the field of human rights in Austria. It notes in particular,
the establishment in July 1999 of the Human Rights Advisory Council,
an independent body aimed at reviewing and monitoring the activities
of the law enforcement organs in accordance with human rights principles,
as well as the establishment of human rights coordinators at the
Austrian federal ministries and the regional governments of the
nine Austrian Länder.
4. It notes with satisfaction the establishment of the Immigrants
Fund, which assists new immigrants by providing free advice in their
native language on questions concerning their integration in Austria.
5. It notes also the continuation of the work of the Reconciliation
Fund for Victims of National Socialism which so far has received
and approved some 50,000 applications for compensation from persons
who have suffered from forced labour during the Nazi era.
6. The Committee notes the inclusion of provisions aimed at combating
racism and xenophobia in national legislation, such as the Industrial
Code, the Maintenance of Law and Order Act and media law, in particular
the Broadcasting Act and the Regional Radio Act.
7. The Committee further notes with approval the efforts undertaken
by the State party to safeguard linguistic diversity in the country,
including the adoption of bilingual topographical signs in areas
inhabited by Croat and Hungarian minorities.
8. The Committee welcomes the fact that Austria recently made the
declaration under article 14 of the Convention, recognizing the
competence of the Committee to examine communications from individuals
or groups of individuals.
c. Concerns and recommendations
9. The Committee is concerned by the wording of article 1.1 of the
Federal Constitutional Act implementing the Convention, which stipulates
that the legislature and the executive shall refrain from any distinction
on the "sole" ground of race, colour, national or ethnic origin.
In the Committee's view, this may be regarded as representing a
narrower prohibition of discrimination than is provided in the Convention.
The Committee recalls that multiple discrimination, for example
discrimination based simultaneously on race and sex, falls within
the scope of the Convention, and that such phenomena are addressed
in the final documents of the World Conference against Racism.
Therefore, while noting that an amendment to this provision is currently
under consideration, the Committee reiterates its previous invitation
to the State party to consider the possibility of deleting the word
"sole" (CERD/C/304/Add.64, para.11), taking in consideration General
Recommendation XXV of this Committee.
10. Concerning articles 2 and 4 of the Convention, the Committee
is of the view that the legislation in place to combat racism is
not totally adequate to effectively combat discrimination.
While noting the existence of provisions in criminal legislation
aimed at combating racism, as well as recognizing racist or xenophobia
motivations as aggravating circumstances for crimes, the Committee
reiterates its recommendation, as expressed in its previous concluding
observations (CERD/C/304/Add. 64, para. 11), for the State party
to introduce general legislation prohibiting racial discrimination
in all its forms.
11. The Committee has difficulties in understanding the distinction
made by the State party between autochthonous and other minorities
and the legal and practical consequences following from this.
The Committee invites the State party to provide further clarification
in this regard, in its next periodic report.
12. The State party's traditional respect for individual privacy
when collecting information on the ethnic composition of the population
is noted. However, the Committee expresses concern about the paucity
of data at its disposal for monitoring the implementation of the
Convention.
The Committee wishes to emphasize that it is fundamental to establish
basic statistics that indicate how minorities are integrated into
society, and invites the State party to find ways to provide such
data in its next periodic report, including the percentage of minorities
in the workforce and different institutions, as well as governmental
positions.
13. The Committee is concerned about a significant number of allegations
which have been brought to its attention and which reflect the existence
of racist and xenophobic attitudes among some sections of the population.
It is further concerned about allegations of racist incidents involving
police officers and other state employees.
In the light of the Committee's General Recommendation XIX (47),
the Committee encourages the State party to continue monitoring
all tendencies which may give rise to racial or ethnic segregation
and to endeavour to combat the negative consequences of such tendencies.
The Committee further recommends that the State party strengthen
existing educational measures for civil servants who deal with issues
involving foreigners. Efforts should be made to recruit more members
of minority groups into the public administration, in particular
law enforcement.
14. The Committee is concerned by a considerable number of asylum
seekers without identification who were denied the receipt of public
assistance from the Federal Care and Maintenance Program and who
need to rely on private assistance and other agencies for survival.
The Committee recommends that the State party ensure the provision
of basic and equal assistance to all asylum-seekers, without distinction
of race or ethnic and national origin.
15. The Committee also reiterates its appeal to the State party
to ratify the amendments to Article 8, paragraph 6 of the Convention,
adopted on 15 January 1992 at the Fourteenth Meeting of State Parties
to the Convention and endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution
47/111 of 16 December 1992 (CERD/C/304/ Add.64, para. 18)
16. The Committee recommends that the State party's reports be made
readily available to the public from the time they are submitted
and that the Committee's concluding observations on them be similarly
publicized. It encourages the State party to insert the Committee's
concluding observations on the appropriate ministry's website.
17. The Committee recommends that the State party take into account
the relevant parts of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action
when implementing the Convention in the domestic legal order, in
particular in respect of articles 2 to 7 of the Convention, and
that it include in its next periodic report information on action
plans or other measures they have taken to implement the Durban
Declaration and Programme of Action at national level.
18. The Committee recommends that the State party submit its fifteenth
periodic report jointly with its sixteenth periodic report, due
on 8 June 2003, that it be an updating report, and that it address
the points raised in the present observations.
