Source: http://www.red-network.eu/?i=red-network.en.countries&id=1&view=racismAtlas&s=EQUALITY
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 00:23:32+00:00

Document:
There is a system of specialised equality bodies compentent for handling cases of discrimination. The possibility of adopting positive measures to promote equality is explicitly foreseen by Austrian Equal Treatment Legislation. There are many public and private initiatives to promote equal opportunities especially in the fields of employment and education but also in the areas of political and civic participation, housing and health and social protection.
There is a system of specialised equality bodies compenetnt for handling cases of discrimination. The Ombud for Equal Treatment (Gleichbehandlungskommission: http://www.gleichbehandlungsanwaltschaft.at) is competent for assissing victims of discrimination on grounds of gender, ethnic afiliation, religion or belief, age and/or sexual orientation. The Equal Treatment Commission (Gleichbehandlungskommission: http://www.bka.gv.at/site/5467/default.aspx) can receive complaints in cases of discrimination on all grounds as well, it can investigate and draft (non-binding) decisions and recommendations. For disability cases there is a separate set of procedures at the Federal Social Services (Bundessozialamt), which consists of a settlement procedure. Assistance in cases of discrimination on ground of disability is provided by the Disability Ombudsman (Behindertenanwalt des Bundes: http://www.bundessozialamt.gv.at/basb/Behindertengleichstellung/Behindertenanwaltschaft/Der_Behindertenanwalt_des_Bundes).
As a general remark it has to be stated that a collection of data is very difficult in Austria due to a low level of data collection referring to the belonging to groups inclined to discrimination. Some data are available for the grounds of gender, disability and age, most of them related to labour market relevant information. Until recently migrant status was not possible to be traced in official statistics and research had to use data on nationality as an indicator, which was far form providing a picture of reality as discrimination and barriers for equal opportunities do not stop with obtaining Austrian nationality. Since 2008 data on the country of birth is collected by Statistics Austria.
The possibility of adopting special/positive measures to prevent or compensate for disadvantages is explicitly foreseen by Austrian Equal Treatment Legislation.
Austrian Equal Treatment legislation includes an exception of discrimination for specific measures adopted by ways of legislation, regulations, via instruments of collective agreements or in general provisions implemented by the employer for more employees for the promotion of equality (in employment) to prevent or compensate for disadvantages linked to any of the grounds referred to in the respective act. This exception is taken nearly word-by word from the positive action provisions of the EU Directives and included in all legal acts. It does not entail any limitation in terms of proportionality or adequacy. The exception is limited to the labour market for the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, religion and belief and age.
There is a wide range of positive action measures in place for people with disabilities. The core legal source is the Act on the Employment of People with Disabilities (Behinderteneinstellungsgesetz). The Act imposes a duty upon all employers, who employ 25 or more employees within the (Austrian) federal territory to employ the minimum of 1 disabled person each 25 employees. This provision is implementing a quota regulation of 1:25, the so-called ‘obligatory number’ (Pflichtzahl) and goes even further than a mere quota system by including an active employment obligation for people with disabilities. Access to this employment possibility, however, is restricted to disabled people who fulfil certain qualifications. They have to be Austrian nationals or nationals of one of the Member States of the European Union; third country nationals only qualify if they were granted asylum. Furthermore, the degree of disability must reach at least 50 per cent.
The National Minorities Act (Volksgruppengesetz) in its Art. 8f provides for specific measures for recognized national minorities (Volksgruppen: Croats, Slovenes, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks and Roma) to ensure the continuing existence of the ethnic minority group, their characteristics and rights by means of financial contribution, education and assistance.
Bundesgesetz über die Rechtsstellung von Volksgruppen in Österreich. BGBl. 396/1976, last amended by BGBl. I Nr. 35/2002.
There are several initiatives in place that aim at improving the advancement of migrants in education and employment.
The Austrian Labour market services offer targeted trainings and labour market activation programmes for migrants. Moreover the implementation of the mentoring programme for migrants has become quite popular in recent years. The project mentoring for migrants by the Austrian Chamber of Commerce can serve as an example here. The START scolarships programme addresses talented pupils with migration background and aims at encouraging them to further educational carriers.
Yes. legal support for victims of discrimination is provided by the Ombud for Equal Treatment (Gleichbehandlungsanwaltschaft). Access to a dispute resolution bodies is available at the Equal Treatment Commission (Gleichbehandlungskommission) as well as by the court system.
Legal support and assistance is provided by the Ombud for Equal Treatment (Gleichbehandlungsanwaltschaft). In Austria, victims of discrimination can principally choose between two alternative ways of access to justice in discrimination cases. They can either bring their case before the Equal Treatment Commission (Gleichbehandlungskommission), which can result in a legally not-binding opinion (Gutachten) or decision (Prüfungsergebnis) by the ETC, whether the treatment in question was discriminatory or not. Or they can proceed to the competent civil court or labour and social court claiming for damages. Access to equality bodies is structured on the basis of a distinction of grounds and sectors: a) issues of equal treatment for men and women in the labour market, b) issues of equal treatment on the grounds of ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age in the labour market and c) issues of equal treatment in other fields beyond the labour market on grounds of gender or ethnic origin. Protection against discrimination for all six grounds as well as multiple discrimination is provided for in the area of employment. A wider scope of protection against discrimination in access to goods and services is provided for the grounds of ethnic origin, gender and disability. Further protection against discrimination in the fields of education, health and social protection is restricted to discrimination on grounds of ethnic origin.
Yes. The shift of the burden proof is foreseen by Equal Treatment legislation. Problems in concrete interpretation are reported by independent sources.
The Austrian Equal Treatment Act lowers the burden of proof for the plaintiff (Article 26 para 12). According to the law, the plaintiff has to make plausible that a discriminatory act has happened. Thereafter, the respondent has to prove that “it is more likely that a different motive - documented by facts established by the respondent - was the crucial factor in the case or that there has been a legal ground of justification. This is not completely in line with the requirements of the AD Directives, which do not only ask for probabilities but for a proof if plausibility is given. A 2008 Supreme Court decision has clarified the need to interpret the Austrian provision in line with the AD Directives. Independent institutions like the Austrian Ombudsman Board, the Litigation Association of NGOs against discrimination, ZARA, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights, the Ombud for Equal Treatment have repeatedly criticised the non-compiance of the relevant provision with European law.
Yes. To a limited extant representation of complainants by associations, organisations or other legal entities is possible.
Complainants can be represented by NGOs, private persons or any other legal entity in cases, where there is no statutory requirement to be represented by a lawyer in proceedings. In practice this means that representation by NGO employees or representatives is possible in proceedings at the Equal Treatment Commission and in court cases with a litigation interest under EUR 4.000. Representation at the Labour and Social Courts is possible by any person suitable in proceedings of first instance (Art. 40 para 2 no. 4 Labour and Social Court Act). Represention by employees of the Austrian Chamber of Labour is most frequent there. There is no possibility for NGOs to file a claim in the general interest of a group or in their own name (collective claim). The Litigation Association of NGOs against discrimination is entitled to co-intervene in court proceedings as a third party (Nebenintervention) upon request of the claimant (Art 62 Equal Treatment Act).
No class action or action popularis is foreseen in cases of discrimination on grounds of ethnic afiliation.
Yes. The Equal Treatment Act foresees compensation for material as well as for immaterial damages. Restitution of rights is only foreseen for cases of discrimination in access to vocational training and provision of social benefits in firms.
The Equal Treatment Act provides for the possibility to claim for compensation in discrimination. Compensation claims before civil courts can include compensation for pecuniary damages as well as compensation for immaterial damages (Articles 12, 26 and 35 ETA). Furthermore, the plaintiff can claim that the court rules a dismissal on discriminatory grounds null and void or that he or she is included in professional training measures. Effective implementation in practice is limited by various factors. The Equal Treatment Commission does not have the power to rule on compensation for victims. It can only issue recommendations to the respondent, such as an intensive study of equal treatment legislation, reorganisation of future recruitment procedures etc. These recommendations are not enforceable. Moreover compensations awarded by courts tend to be low and can not be considered as dissuasive. Criticism is also expressed concerning the limitation of fines for discriminatory advertisements with EUR 360,- and the absence of the offence to be prosecuted ex officio.
Statement of ZARA to amendments of the government proposal for amendments to the Equal Treatment Act 2010.
Yes. There are several problems with the implementation of the Equal Treatment legislation and access to justice in discrimination cases in Austria.
Problems in implementation of Equal Treatment legislation in Austria mostly refer to access to effective dispute resolution in practice. This is predominantly due to the high level of fragmentation of Equal Treatment legislation with different laws applicable at the Federal level, at the level of the provinces and for the field of employment contracts with the Federal State. Other factors that are identified as problematic are the inconsequent application of the shift of the burden of prove, the low levels of fines and compensations payments awarded by courts and administrative authorities and the limited role of NGOs to intervene in court proceedings.
Source: ECRI (2009): Report on Austria. Fourth monitoring circle.
No. There has not been a thourough evaluation of the effectiveness of the national implementation of the EU Anti-discrimination Directives so far.
No. There has not been a thourough evaluation of the effectiveness of the national implementation of the EU Anti-discrimination Directives so far. ECRI in its 4th report on Austria recommends the Austrian government to evaluate its policies in the field of education in regard to reducing inequalities for non-Austrian children. The Ombuds for Equal Treatment and NGOs have been regularly pointing at deficits in the implementation of the EU AD Directives in their statements to government proposals aiming at amending equal treatment legislation in force. Those recommendations have been based on practical experiences with legislation and the identification of deificits and barriers in this regard.
Since 2006 all employees have the full active and passive right to vote for the workers' council and for the Chamber of Labour.
As the freedom of association and assembly is independent of citizenship there were no legal restriction regarding the membership of migrants in trade unions. However, from 1947 till 2006 non-Austrian citizens were excluded from the passive right to vote for the workers' council and for the Chamber of Labour. In november 23rd, 2005, the Austrian parliament passed a law granting employees from other EU- and EEA-countries and from third countries the eligibilty to these elections. The amendment was due to infringement proceedings against Austria resulting in a decisions, that the exclusion of employees from other EU, EEA and from third countries is incompatible with Community Law.
A study carried out on behalf of the Austrian Federation of Trade Unions found out that the proportion of migrants in the workers' council is increasing, but there is a lack of exact data. The study also revealed that the higher the positions in the unions the fewer are officers with migration background.
Most employments in the public sector require Austrian citizenship.
The access to employment in the public sector is laid down in the public sector employment law. Sec. 4 stipulates that civil servants have to be Austrian citizens if they are employed according to Sec. 42 (exercise of public authority and the responsibility for safeguarding the general interest of the State). Employments concerning other duties are open for Austrian citizens and for person having unrestricted access to the labour market.
As the freedom of association and assembly is independent of citizenship there were no legal restriction regarding the membership of migrants in trade unions. However, from 1947 till 2006 non-Austrian citizens were excluded from the passive right to vote for the workers' council and for the Chamber of Labour. On November 23rd, 2005, the Austrian parliament passed a law granting employees from other EU- and EEA-countries and from third countries the eligibilty to these elections. The amendment was due to infringement proceedings against Austria resulting in a decision, that the exclusion of employees from other EU, EEA and from third countries is incompatible with Community Law.
There are several international obligations or other legal provisions which may be applied to irregular migrants.
There are several international obligations or other legal provisions which may be applied to irregular migrants. Austrian authorities are obliged, in a pending asylum procedure, aliens’ police procedure or upon request of an alien, to assess whether a return decision would permanently violate the right to private and family life (Art. 8 ECHR). The right to private life might become relevant for persons who have spent a long time in the host country, have developed “personal, social and economic ties strong enough for them to be regarded as sufficiently well integrated” and who lack comparable personal ties in other countries. However, under Art. 8 of the ECHR, it is not sufficient “to refrain from deporting the person concerned” – the host state “must also, by means of positive measures if necessary, afford him or her the opportunity to exercise the rights in question without interference.” Art. 8 does not guarantee “the right to a particular type of residence permit” – but must “allow[s] the holder to reside within the territory of the host country and to exercise freely there the right to respect for his or her private and family life.” Thus, if a violation of Art. 8 ECHR would be the result of a return decision, Austrian authorities have to declare a return decision permanently inadmissible (Sec. 10 Asylum Act 2005, Sec. 66 Aliens’ Police Act) and accord ex officio a settlement permit; depending on whether the integration agreement is fulfilled or not, a settlement permit with unrestricted access to the labour market or a settlement permit with restricted access to the labour market is granted.
Outside of the scope of Art. 8 ECHR, persons with irregular residence in Austria can be granted a residence permit under Sec. 44 (4) Settlement and Residence Act (NAG) under certain circumstances: in cases which are besonders berücksichtigungswürdig [particularly worth considering], a quota-free Niederlassungsbewilligung beschränkt [settlement permit with restricted access to the labour market] can be granted if a third-country national has been residing in Austria continuously since 01.05.2004 and if he/she spent at least half of this period as a lawful resident (temporary residence right as an asylum seeker, for example). Authorities have to take into account the degree of integration, in particular the ability to sustain him-/herself, education and professional experience, employment, and knowledge of the German language.
There exist also cases in which persons cannot be expelled and are merely tolerated on Austrian territory without being vested with a legal right of residence or status. Since persons who are merely tolerated do not have the legal right to stay in Austria, they do not have access to wage-earning employment (which requires a certain residence status). Thus, in the following, this category of persons is not further assessed – even though their status seems highly problematic from a human rights point of view: they are “forced” to stay in Austria while being barred from participating in the daily life of Austrian society.
- Diversity and Equal Opportunities at the Workplace: Within the scope of this non-governmental action co-funded by the European Commission, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights in cooperation with businesses works towards an efficient implementation of non-discrimination rules, also, and notably, with regard to the structural dimensions of discrimination. On the basis of the legal framework to combat discrimination and theoretical concepts to deal with diversity at the workplace, the project is carried out together with model companies to develop concrete implementation strategies. In particular, the project aims to encourage organisational development processes which embrace the principles of equality mainstreaming. In order to be carried out in practice the strategies tailored to the needs of the respective organisations are placed at the companies’ disposal and then integrated into a handbook for dealing with diversity and establishing equal opportunities at the workplace. In addition, a network of companies has been established whose objective is to increasingly address the challenges of diversity among their employees and customers.
- DiversCity Award: The Chamber of Commerce Vienna established the DiversCity Award as a non-governmental action to reward business commitment to diversity, inclusion and non-discrimination. It is geared to Vienna-based businesses implementing exemplary initiatives to promote and benefit from staff and customer diversity. For the first time in Austria, all dimensions of diversity are considered: gender, age, ethnic belonging, religion, sexual orientation and disability. By putting the spotlight on companies that recognise the value of workplace diversity as an important resource in their abilities to learn and meet today’s challenges, the Award sets benchmarks to be followed. It was first granted in January 2010 in the categories of small and medium enterprises, large enterprises and ethnic economies.
- WIP complete – German as a Commercial Language, Intercultural Learning, Practical Application for Third-Country Nationals: This non-governmental project targets third-country nationals wishing to enhance their employability through better German language skills. Designed as a three or six-month course at the Institute of Business Promotion Vienna, the project aims to equip unemployed migrants and those already in a professional working situation with sufficient language and intercultural skills to compete in today’s job market. The course consists of three modules – German as a Commercial Language, Know How: Working and Living in Austria, Practical Exercises – all of which aim to strengthen the participants’ self confidence in matters of language and communication. Should the project prove successful, it will be expanded to Austria as a whole.
- PROVIEL. Competence network: apprenticeship: This non-governmental action is targeted at businesses located in the region of Linz and Wels (Upper Austria) that train apprentices with a migration background or are willing to do so in the near future. The aim of the project is to tackle the frequent problem of conflict-ridden situations in multi-ethnic companies and to bring about improvement by promoting mutual respect and appreciating the different geographical, cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the apprentices. The range of services provided within the framework of the project encompasses intercultural trainings, seminars and workshops by qualified professionals for all parties concerned as well as networking with participating companies. But, above all, teams-of-two should be installed among apprentices, with each team assigned at least one apprentice with a migration background. This should provide an excellent opportunity for the apprentices to explore and practice the development of intercultural competences and conflict-solving skills. Ultimately, the project should contribute to a positive working atmosphere as well as allow a beneficial use of cultural differences.
- CIC – Carinthian International Club: The overall objective of this non-governmental action is to ensure better integration of highly qualified expatriates in the Carinthian economy to counter the drop in the numbers of skilled labour. Thus, it is mainly aimed at international employees in Carinthian industry and science with the intention of giving them and their family advice on living and working in Carinthia. In addition to an online guide, the network makes a chat room available for its members including individual international workers as well as for the companies and institutions employing them. A welcome package for new expatriates encompassing, inter alia, relevant information on language courses, (inter-) cultural events and job-training initiatives targeted at their families should help new arrivals gain a foothold in Carinthian society. Furthermore, for member organisations, the project envisages the possibility to exchange good practice and jointly develop new management tools in the field of intercultural management.
There is no systematic data about difficulties of migrants or minority groups in purchasing or renting property. However, in ZARA’s Racism Report 2010 in the section "Housing and goods" there are several incidents about discriminatory housing advertisements and persons with migration background or ethnic minorities having difficulties renting a flat. ZARA documented three incidents of discriminatory housing advertisments, one case where a man was denied an appointment for viewing a flat because of his colour of skin and one person who was refused to extend his lease because he wasn't an Austrian citizen. ZARA's Racism Report 2011 again contains several incidents about discriminating housing advertisments and problems of individuals concerning finding a flat because of their ethnic or foreign origin.
There is no reliable data available to answer this question.
There are several projects in this regard.
There are several projects aiming at promoting intercultural living together. The project wohnpartner is a service of the city of Vienna offering tenants of public housing professional counseling and mediating in neighbourhood conflicts as well as various measurements for fostering neighbourhood communities and increasing identification with the shared environment. It aims to improve the quality of living for the residents of the Vienna's community housing by improving the cooperation and understanding among neighbours. wohnpartner carries out the project Public Apartment Building as a Meeting Place, which addresses the issue of people from different backgrounds living together. At numerous events, the so-called "ambassadors" (often celebrities with a migration background) spoke in to gatherings of interested residents about their personal experiences as Austrians with a migration background.
A project carried out by the Interface Wien GmbH [Interface Vienna Ltd.] addresses the housing problems of people who have been granted asylum or subsidiary protection. It aims to ensure a stable housing situation of the target group as a necessary prerequisite for every further step towards independent living. In the municipal districts of Leopoldstadt and Simmering, the city of Vienna is constructing new residential buildings under the heading of ‘intercultural housing’. This is to encourage understanding among persons of diverse cultural backgrounds and good neighbourly relations between them.
Unequal access to education is still a problem faced by children originating from the Roma Community.
There is no data on different enrolment rates for members of minority groups. Evidence about obstacles in access to equal education is obtained by research based on self assessmenst of Roma organisations. Findings show that Roma children are more often attending special schools than members of majority population and their representation in higher level education is still disproportionally low. The Advisory Council moreover points at a tendency to under-achieve among Roma pupils and recommends the implementation of comprehensive measures aiming at integration in the classroom.
Yes, but the situation is quite complex.
According to the report migration & integration published by Statistik Austria children with migration background were less likely to attend nursury school, preschool or kindergarden. In 2010, 40 per cent (in 2009: 39 per cent) of 2-year old children with Austrian citizenship attended nursery school compared to 31 per cent (in 2009: 35 per cent) of 2-year old children with migration background. However, the relation is reversed concerning children of school age. There are more Austrian children between the age of 6 to 11 who attend a child care center than children from immigrants.
In school year 2010-2011 about 10 per cent (2009-2010: 9 per cent) of all students didn't have Austrian citizenship. In schools for special education the proportion of non-Austrian students was twice as high (18 per cent). Most of the latter are students from the former Yugoslavia (without Slovenia) and Turkey. 11.1 per cent of students attending elementary school had a foreign citizenship (3.0 per cent EU, EEA or Switzerland; 3.8 per cent former Yugoslavia (without Slovenia); 1.9 per cent Turkey and 2.4 per cent other countries). 12.4 per cent of students attending secondary modern school were non-Austrian citizens (2.3 per cent EU, EEA or Switzerland; 4.9 per cent former Yugoslavia (without Slovenia); 2.6 per cent Turkey and 2.5 per cent from other countries). The proportion of foreign students in upper secondary education is below average (7.3 per cent in general upper secondary schools [AHS] and 6.0 per cent in vocational upper secondary schools [BHS]). Especially in the AHS students with a citizenship of EU or EEA-countries or Switzerland (3.5 per cent) are outnumbering those from the former Yugoslavia (2.1 per cent) or Turkey (0.4 per cent). The relation is reversed in vocational upper secondary schools. In 2010-2011 there were 1.9 per cent students from EU, EEA-countries and Switzerland, 2.7 per cent students from the former Yugoslavia (without Slovenia), 0.5 per cent of students from Turkey and 0.9 per cent students from other countries.
In the winter term 2010-2011 the proportion of foreign students at Austrian universities was (2009-2010: 17 per cent). 37 per cent were from Germany, 12 per cent from Italy, 22 per cent from other EU and EEA-countries including Switzerland, 10 per cent from the former Yugoslavia, 5 per cent from Turkey, 3 per cent from other European countries and 11 per cent from non-European countries. In the winter term 2009-2010, 35 per cent of foreign students were from Germany, 13 per cent from Italy, 22 per cent from other EU and EEA-countries including Switzerland, 11 per cent from the former Yugoslavia, 5 per cent from Turkey, 3 per cent from other European countries and 11 per cent from non-European countries.
Statistik Austria, 2011, migration & integration, zahlen.daten.indikatoren 2011, http://www.bmi.gv.at/cms/BMI_Service/STS/Web_Jahrbuch_72dpi.pdf, Accessed on 07.11.2012.
Statistik Austria, 2012, migration & integration, zahlen.daten.indikatoren 2012, http://www.bmi.gv.at/cms/BMI_Service/Integration_2012/migration_integration_2012_72dpi.pdf, Accessed on 07.11.2012.
The performance of students with migration background is below the average and the drop out rate is higher.
The regular Austrian school system can be characterized as being very selective in regard to students with migrant and refugee background and coming from socially weak families. The dropout rate among those adolescents is quite high. This diagnosis is also supported by the findings of a study carried out on behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture in 2007. The proportion of students dropping out from the school system who are Austrian citizens and whose first language is German is 7.2%. The dropout rate of students of the so-called 2nd or 3rd generation of migrants and whose first language is not German is 15.6% and of those without EU-citizenship amounts to 29.8%.
Results of the PIRLS-survey 2006 concerning the performance of students in elementary schools in the field of mathematic and natural science show that the performance of students at the end of elementary schools is corresponding to the average OECD-performance. However, students whose parents weren't born in Austria, are performing below the international average.
Findings of the PISA-survey 2006 reveal that the performance of Austrian students at the end of compulsory schooling corresponds to the average performance of students in the OECD-region in the fiels of reading, mathematics and natural sciences. However, the performance of students coming from families with migration background is significantly below the average. Students of the second or third generation of immigrations are scoring less than Austrian students. Whereas the reading abilities of 25 per cent of students with migration background was corresponding or above the OECD-average, the percentage of Austrian students in this regard amounted up to 50 per cent. Especially concerning highest or lowest scores the performance of non-Austrian students was considerably less compared to Austrian students.
The dropout rate among adolescents with migration background is quite high.
This diagnosis is also supported by the findings of a study carried out on behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture in 2007. The proportion of students dropping out from the school system who are Austrian citizens and whose first language is German is 7.2%. The dropout rate of students of the so-called 2nd or 3rd generation of migrants and whose first language is not German is 15.6% and of those without EU-citizenship amounts to 29.8%. However there is no data available segregated according to the national or ethnic origin of the students.
Steiner, M./Wagner, E., 2007, Dropoutstrategie, Grundlagen zur Prävention und Reintegration von Dropouts in Ausbildung und Beschäftigung, Studie im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur, November 2007, available at: http://www.bmukk.gv.at/medienpool/16245/do_strategie_endbericht.pdf, Accessed on 07.11.2012.
The Nationaler Aktionsplan für Integration (National action plan for Integration), which was published by the Ministry of Interior in January 2010, includes a section describing challenges, principles and objectives with regard to matters of integration in the area of education. In this section, the following declarations of intent are listed: the pre-school language promotion for children should be further developed; multilingualism and the principle of intercultural education should be taken into account in the entire education system; language courses for migrant women and parents of children with a migrant background should be advanced; the acquisition of German by new immigrants should be supported; teenagers with a migrant background should be supported in their educational and professional orientation; further education for adults with a migrant background should be offered to a greater extent; formal degrees and competences which were acquired abroad should be approved more easily; the training of teachers should include the acquisition of intercultural competences and anti-racist awareness-raising should be integrated into the school system. However, organisations like ZARA and opposition parties like the Greens criticise that the NAP does neither indicate who is responsible for the implementation of the declarations of intent nor does it mention by whom these measures shall be financed.
> “Dynamo” is a comprehensive programme consisting of a network of partners, which offers a broad range of qualification skills and educational achievement for young migrant persons for integration into the educational system and into the job market.
> EPIMA I+II (2002 – 2007): targeting asylum-seeking children, mainly through providing basic and advanced education, job orientation and preparation for the labour market, psychosocial counseling.
> Educational project “BACH”: Basic Education – Coaching – Courses for the Graduation of Secondary Education.
> Project Minerva: Basic Education – Preparatory Courses for Secondary Education Graduation – Developing of intercultural and social competences.
Sources: http://www.integration.at/fileadmin/Staatssekretariat/4-Download/Bericht_zum_Nationalen_Aktionsplan.pdf; http://www.epima.at/; http://fluechtlingsdienst.diakonie.at; http://www.sos-kinderdorf.at; http://www.vhs-sbg.at; http://www.lobby16.org/; http://www.jubiz.at; http://www.integrationshaus.at.
There are several racist incidents in schools reported by NGOs. However there is no comprehensive collection of data in this regard.
A case which attracted a lot of public and media attention occurred in a school in Graz. During a school trip, two girls tried to burn the headscarf of a female Muslim classmate. The fringes of the headscarf were damaged, the scarf itself did not catch fire. After talking to the girls, the school principal and the Landesamt für Verfassungsschutz und Terrorismusbekämpfung (LVT) [Regional Agency for the Protection of the Constitution and Counter-Terrorism] ruled out religious motives for the act and declared that it was just a harmless fight. The spokeswoman of the Islamische Glaubensgemeinschaft (IGGiÖ) [Islamic Faith Community] stated that although it might have been just a normal fight between school girls the incident should not be played down. She said that presumably the two aggressors had been aware of the symbolic character of the act. Since the two girls had not been ready to apologise to the victim, they were suspended from the school and charged for attempted bodily harm.
Other exemplary incidents in schools concerning racist slander: a girl was mobbed by her classmates because of her black skin and a Chechen boy was insulted by his classmates and teachers as “weird and a potential terrorist” because of his status as asylum seeker. Increased complaints by parents were documented by Helping Hands Graz: their children were forbidden to use their mother tongue in everyday conversations at school.
In another case, which was also reported on by the media, a university staff member detected “systematic discrimination” with regard to students who were long-term resident third-country nationals: they had been regularly asked to pay university fees although there were laws explicitly excluding long-term resident third country nationals from this obligation.
Further incidents happened in Linz where a teacher used defaming expressions in regard to persons of dark skin and in Graz where a teacher degraded a student of Egyptian origin.
Yes, at the level of compulsory schools since 1992-1993.
Only at the level of compulsory schools, language training in the child’s mother tongue is provided all over Austria since 1992/93. All pupils with a different first language than German are eligible to attend courses in different languages. In primary schools, special schools and lower secondary schools, mother-tongue-courses are provided as optional exercises and free subjects up to six hours per week. Statistically, Turkish (13.961 pupils or 46.8%) and BKS (Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian – 10.870 pupils - 36.5%) are the most widely spoken (first) languages and account for more than 80% (24,831 in total) of all pupils attending one of these two mother tongue language courses.
In the autochthonous settlement area of the national minorities in the Burgenland, the children – nearly without exception – attend bilingual lessons in Hungarian as well as in Croatian. In the school year 2009/2010, 2,143 pupils in compulsory schools and secondary schools were registered for lessons in Croatian and 2,717 pupils in compulsory schools and secondary schools were registered for lessons in Hungarian. Only five children in the compulsory school system attended lessons in Romanian.
Schoolbooks and teaching material in the languages of the national minorities are regularly updated and advanced. In doing so, the Federal Chancellery seeks to cooperate with scientific institutes at Austrian universities and associations of national minorities. An example is the education service of the Burgenland which provides didactic material for bilingual instruction. Furthermore, the publication of a new schoolbook in Slovak (“Slovencslovo za slovom”) is mentioned. The Landesschulräte [Federal Education Authorities] are regularly carrying out enquiries to measure the degree of satisfaction of the teachers with the bilingual schoolbooks and teaching material.
Yes, there is evidence that curricula and teaching material is modified.
The presentation of the topic “migration” in Austrian schoolbooks for history and geography classes was recently analysed on behalf of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institut für Europäische Geschichte und Öffentlichkeit [Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for European History and the Public] in the context of the research focus “Migration and Memory: Representations of Migration in Europe since 1960”. A sample of 82 schoolbooks for teaching “geography and economics” and “history and social studies” at secondary schools of general education issued during the last 40 years has been studied in order to find out, how migrants and the recent immigration flows to Austria are depicted. The research results show that the topic “migration” found its way into Austrian schoolbooks relatively late: until the 1980s, Austria’s recent immigration history was only sporadically mentioned. The amendment of the curriculum in 2004 brought relevant improvements for geography books, since it made “migration” an explicit subject matter in geography for secondary schools of general education. Nevertheless, it took significantly longer until Austria’s recent immigration history was mentioned in history books. Although the amendment of 2004 mentioned the overcoming of stereotypes, prejudices and racisms as well as the development of a global understanding of history as educational tasks, the history of migration is not specified as a subject matter in history classes for secondary schools of general education. Another important result of the survey concerns the way migrants are presented in the analysed schoolbooks. Although there have been significant improvements in the last 10 to 15 years, stereotypical depictions and dichotomous categorisations of migrants can still be found in current history and geography books. Nevertheless, one of the main narratives about migration presented in recent schoolbooks is the account that Austria has evolved from a country of emigration into a country of immigration in the second half of the twentieth century and that migration is a ubiquitous, ordinary phenomenon. This narrative is contrary to the predominant self-image that Austria is not an immigration country and therefore contributes to critically question the Austrian politics of memory, in which the topic “migration” is still marginalised.
However, the Ministry of Education, Art and Culture has established the department "Migration and Education". The department supports teachers concerning multilingual teaching and intercultural learning and provides information on websites, teaching material and tutorials.
Concerning national minorities: Schoolbooks and teaching material in the languages of the national minorities are regularly updated and advanced. In doing so, the Federal Chancellery seeks to cooperate with scientific institutes at Austrian universities and associations of national minorities. An example is the education service of the Burgenland which provides didactic material for bilingual instruction. Furthermore, the publication of a new schoolbook in Slovak (“Slovencslovo za slovom”) is mentioned. The Landesschulräte [Federal Education Authorities] are regularly carrying out enquiries to measure the degree of satisfaction of the teachers with the bilingual schoolbooks and teaching material.
There are some good practices and positive initiatives to solve problems of discrimination, racism or xenophobia.
Two good practice initiatives can be found in the area of anti-racist awareness-raising in schools. The two projects aim primarily at triggering debates about the topics “racism” and “prejudices” among the pupils and at pointing out the positive aspects of a multicultural society. Another good practice initiative, the launching of a Master course in linguistic pedagogy and multilingualism, aims at promoting the languages of Austria’s national minorities.
The project Macht/schule/theater is a nationwide theatre initiative. It was launched in June 2008 by the Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture together with the associations CultureContact Austria and Jungle Vienna in the framework of the broader initiative Weiße Feder (White Feather). The main focus of the theatre project in the school year 2009/2010 was everyday racism. The objective of the initiative is to trigger an intensive debate about the topics “everyday racism”, “violence” and “violence prevention in schools” among the pupils who are involved in the theatre performances as well as among the mainly young audience. Additionally, the initiative also aims at raising awareness in the general public on the mentioned topics. With the assistance of professional artists the pupils elaborate the plays in workshops themselves. Thirteen playhouses all over Austria work together with at least two schools and render a professional performance possible. In the school year 2009/10, 13 plays were performed, for example: Auslandia in the “Jungle Vienna-playhouse for young people” and Ressentimental Journey/Heimat in der Fremde, Fremde in der Heimat (Ressentimental Journey/ Home abroad and foreigners at home) in the playhouse of Salzburg.
Another project was Together in Vienna – photo competition for Viennese vocational schools 2010. The project was initiated by the Education Authority Vienna in March 2010. With the support of the Association “Economy for Integration” and the KUS- network, a photo competition for pupils in vocational schools was organised. The project focused on the multiculturalism of Vienna and its positive aspects and potentials. The objective was to encourage teachers and pupils to debate the topic “diversity in Vienna” in a creative way. Furthermore, the issues “diversity management”, “prejudices” and “exploration of one’s own origin” should be addressed in the course of the project. Finally, the pupils were supposed to take photographs which show the different aspects of Vienna and its inhabitants. In order to implement the principle of “political education”, the teachers and their classes were invited to participate in the photo competition.
The Master course for linguistic pedagogy and multilingualism started in the summer term 2010 at the Pedagogic Academies of the Burgenland, Lower Austria and Carinthia. For the time being, the following target languages are offered: English, Croatian, Slovenian and Hungarian. The Master course aims at instructing participants, who speak one of these languages as second- or first language, in teaching the respective language to others. Another explicitly mentioned objective is the promotion of the acceptance and appreciation of the languages which are spoken in multilingual areas. They should be considered as important languages of great social and economic relevance.
There are some efforts to integrate diversity issues into the curriculum.
The Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture has launched initiatives to enhance competences of teachers with other first languages than German. The education of migrants is one of nine suggested fields of priorities of advanced training at pedagogical universities. Furthermore the Ministry has developed a basic module of education of teachers in the field of language diversity and intercultural learning.
The curriculum of pedagogical universities normally offer modules on intercultural pedagogic and teaching multilingual classes as optional or mandatory modules. Furthermore advanced training for teachers on the acquisition of a second language and intercultural pedagogic are provided. Intercultural learning is one out of 13 teaching principles which teachers have to respect in class.
However, the Austrian OECD country report on migration and education has criticised the lack of training of teachers concerning the teaching of heterogenous classes, the lack of diversity among teachers, the lack of leadership at school level to promote a positive attitude towards diversity and insufficient expertise in reference to successful strategies concerning the education of migrants.
Persons coming from Turkey or the former Yugoslavia less frequently use preventive than curative health care. Especially hospitalisation and medical practitioners are more frequently used by persons with migration background. Yet, dental services and ophthalmological examinations are less often used by persons with migration background. Women with migration visit less often the gynaecologist than Austrian women.
Furthermore the morbidity rate of persons with migration background is higher than those of Austrian origin. Especially high are chronic spinal problems among migrants from Turkey or the former Yugoslavia (without Slovenia). Also migraine, high blood pressure, chronic anxiety and depression are more widespread among migrants from Turkey or the former Yugoslavia than of Austrian citizens or citizens from other countries.
There is evidence that migrant population is to a greater extent suffering from chronic disease.
Persons coming from Turkey or the former Yugoslavia less frequently use preventive than curative health care. Especially hospitalisation and medical practitioners are more frequently used by persons with migration background. Yet, dental services and ophthalmological examinations are less often used by persons with migration background. Women with migration background visit less often the gynaecologist than Austrian women.
Furthermore the morbidity rate of persons with migration background is higher than those of Austrian origin. In 2010, chronic spinal problems were especially high among migrants from Turkey or the former Yugoslavia (without Slovenia). Also migraine (approx. 22 per cent migrants from Turkey or former Yugoslavia, 15 per cent from Austria and 14 per cent from other countries), high blood pressure (approx. 22 per cent migrants from Turkey or former Yugoslavia, 16.5 per cent from Austria and 15 per cent from other countries), arthrosis and rheumatism (approx. 15 per cent migrants from Turkey or former Yugoslavia, 13 per cent from Austria and 12 per cent from other countries), chronic anxiety and depression (approx. 11 per cent migrants from Turkey or former Yugoslavia, 11 per cent from Austria and 10 per cent from other countries) were more widespread among migrants from Turkey or the former Yugoslavia than of Austrian citizens or citizens from other countries in this year. Concerning allergies the relation was reversed: 17 per cent of Austrian citizens, 15 per cent of migrants from other countries and only 10 per cent of migrants from Turkey or the former Yugoslavia complained about allergies.
In 2010, foreign citizens who were employed in Austria throughout the whole year received a net income of approximately 18,361 Euro. That means they earned 83% of the median income (22,026 Euro) in Austria. Austrian citizens had a median income of 22,448 Euro at their disposal. Citizens from EU-countries which had entered the EU before 2004 earned slightly less than Austrian citizens. Citizens from EU-countries which had joined the EU after 2004 and citizens from the former Yugoslavia and Turkey earned nearly one-fifth less than Austrian citizens and citizens from other Non-EU-states received the least income (16,080 Euro, about 73% of the median income). Compared with 2008 the difference in wage level beween Austrian citizens and persons with migration background is increasing.
In the years 2007/2009 approximately 12 per cent of the population was at a risk of poverty and 6 per cent of the population was affected by manifest poverty. Compared to the years 2004/2006 the population at a risk of poverty decreased by one percentage point and the population affected by manifest poverty increased by one percentage point. To be at risk of poverty was much more likely among the population with foreign citizenship (24 per cent) compared to the population with Austrian citizenship (11 per cent). Most likely to be at risk of poverty were Turkish citizens (36 per cent), persons from other Non-EU-countries (40 per cent). The possibility to be affected by manifest poverty was three times higher among foreign citizens (foreign citizens total: 15 per cent, Austrian citizens: 5 per cent, EU/EEA/Switzerland: 9 per cent, former Yugoslavia (without Slovenia): 13 per cent, Turkey: 18 per cent, other countries: 27 per cent).
The National Action Plan for Integration, which was published by the Bundesministerium für Inneres (BMI) [Federal Ministry of the Interior (MoI)] in January 2010, includes a section on challenges, principles and objectives concerning matters of integration in the area of health care and social services. In this section, the following declarations of intent are listed: intercultural competences should be strengthened in the areas of health care and social services; the “health literacy” of migrants should be improved; specific services and measures should especially target female migrants in order to protect their health more effectively; migrants should be offered more jobs and perspectives in the health care area and the social situation of people with a migrant background should be improved.
In its Annual Report 2009, the Austrian Ombudsman welcomed that the 12. Ärztegesetz-Novelle [12th amendment of the medical law] eased the former strict regulation which required Austrian citizenship for persons who wanted to achieve the medical job-authorisation in Austria. According to sec. 4 and 5b of the amended medical law, the attainment of the medical job-authorisation is now also possible for persons from the EEA, Switzerland and for third-country nationals who have the right of long-term residence.
1) The project “women in motion” started in April 2010. It is organised by the association “FEM-Institute for women’s and men’s health”. FEM is a non-profit association with three headquarters in three different Viennese hospitals. The project is targeting women with a migrant background in order to compensate for the lack of offers for female migrants in the area of the promotion of health and exercise. Women with a migrant background between 18 and 50 are invited to participate in weekly exercise courses for a fee of only one Euro. The exercise courses are supposed to sustain the women’s apperception of their own bodies and therefore contribute to a better health awareness of the women in general. Furthermore, the long-term objective of the project is to better institutionalise exercise and health courses for women with a migrant background in culture and sport institutions. Additionally, very talented and active participants can receive further instruction so that they are able to give exercise lessons themselves. This strengthens their self-confidence and can have a positive influence on their independence and integration.
2) Healthy working without borders 3-Gender sensitive and intercultural health promotion for cleaning staff in the Viennese Hospital Association: The project started in September 2009 and runs until August 2012 and is organised by FEM Süd. It is the first gender- and culture sensitive project of health promotion in businesses in Austria. The target group are low qualified women who work in hospitals respectively geriatric centres of the Viennese Hospital Association either as cleaning staff or in the laundry. Women with migrant background are especially addressed since they are overrepresented among the cleaning staff. The intercultural, socio-economically disadvantaged professional group of cleaning women is often restricted in the access to projects concerning the health promotion in businesses. Consequently, the project aims at enhancing the participation of cleaning women with and without a migrant background in health promotion measures in businesses. To achieve this, FEM Süd organises for example health groups in which the cleaning women can communicate in their mother tongue. This measure is meant to empower the women and strengthen their resources and competences. On the other hand, the businesses are supported in creating a health promoting work environment. The project is the successor of “Healthy working without borders 1&2”, which were carried out by the FEM Süd in the years before.
Migrants are entitled to vote or to be elected if they have acquired Austrian citizenship. There is no right to self-government for minority members. There are the so called National Minority Advisory Councils (Volksgruppenbeiräte), but in practice, they are regarded as a government tool to control independent national minority organisations. The Public administration doesn’t reflect the ethnic diversity of society.
Migrants are only entitled to vote or to be elected if they have required Austrian citizenship (with the exception of EU-citizens who also have the right to vote for municipal council and mayor elections).
Eligible to vote are all Austrian citizens who are over 16 years of age. The right to be elected to an electoral office are all Austrian citzens who are over 18 years of age with exception of the Austrian Federal President (35 years of age). Therefore migrants are only entitled to vote or to be elected if they have required Austrian citizenship. Concerning municipal council and mayor elections also EU-citizens who have their residence in Austria are entitled to vote or to be elected (in Vienna EU-citizens are also entitled to vote for and to be elected to disctrict elections).
In April 2010, the City Council of Vienna published its Monitor for Integration and Diversity, a tool to capture the outcome of integration measures and to evaluate the performance of Vienna’s diversity approach. While the monitor observes a process of social advancement, inequalities based on migrant background can still be noticed.
With regard to political participation the monitor highlights the significant decrease of naturalisations – due to legal restrictions – which leads to the situation that 20 per cent of the population of voting age do not have the right to vote in municipal or national elections. This illustrates the need to grant non-EU citizens the right to vote and stand as candidates in local elections. In some Austrian municipalities (Graz, Linz) aliens’ advisory boards whose members are third country nationals have been set up enabling migrants to have a say in local affairs. However, the effectiveness of these boards as a tool for political participation is rather questionable. They are only consultative bodies whose competences are restricted to issues concerning migration and integration. The influence of these bodies is therefore very restricted and their establishment cannot be seen as an alternative to the introduction of electoral rights for third country nationals.
Austrian citizenship is required to stand as a candidate for electoral offices.
Austrian citizenship is required to stand as a candidate for electoral offices at all political levels with the exception of EU citizens. They are only entitled to vote and stand as candidates in elections on municipal or district level.
No, there is no right to self-government for minority members.
However, the political participation of recognised national minorities is ensured since their members are Austrian nationals and are therefore eligible to vote and stand as candidates in local, regional and national elections. In areas where there is a concentration of recognised national minorities some of their members are represented in mainstream parties. One example is a representative of the Burgenland Roma who is a member of a district council in Vienna.
There are the so called National Minority Advisory Councils and aliens' advisory boards in some Austrian municipialities.
There are the so called Volksgruppenbeiräte [National Minority Advisory Councils]. According to the National Minorities Act [Volksgruppengesetz] they must be heard prior to the adoption of legislation or policies affecting the interests of their ethnic groups; they may submit proposals for the improvement of the situation of their ethnic group. However, the government is not obliged to report to the National Minority Advisory Councils and the obligation to hear them is widely ignored in reality. In practice, they are regarded as a government tool to control independent national minority organisations. This is especially relevant regarding their role in the allocation of funding. The Council Members are selected by the government, the half part of the members are to be nominated by national minority organisations.
In some Austrian municipalities (Graz, Linz) aliens’ advisory boards whose members are third country nationals have been set up enabling migrants to have a say in local affairs. However, the effectiveness of these boards as a tool for political participation is rather questionable. They are only consultative bodies whose competences are restricted to issues concerning migration and integration. The influence of these bodies is therefore very restricted and their establishment cannot be seen as an alternative to the introduction of electoral rights for third country nationals.
At the Ministry of Interior an asylum and migration advisory board was established in 2001. The mandate of the board is to give advice on refugee issues, immigration, asylum and integration. Furthermore the board is entitled to give recommendations to the aliens’ department concerning legal residence on humanitarian grounds.
In some Austrian municipalities (Graz, Linz) aliens’ advisory boards whose members are third country nationals have been set up by municipal council decisions enabling migrants to have a say in local affairs. However, the effectiveness of these boards as a tool for political participation is rather questionable. They are only consultative bodies whose competences are restricted to issues concerning migration and integration. The influence of these bodies is therefore very restricted and their establishment cannot be seen as an alternative to the introduction of electoral rights for third country nationals.
In 2001 the Austrian parliament established an asylum and migration advisory board at the Ministry of Interior by an amendment of the settlement and residence law (Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsrecht). The mandate of the board is to give advice on refugee issues, immigration, asylum and integration. Furthermore the board is entitled to give recommendations to the aliens’ department concerning legal residence on humanitarian grounds.
Public administration doesn’t reflect the ethnic diversity of society. Due to data protection restrictions data on the national origin of employees in public administration are not collected. However, in the statistic yearbook on migration & integration the share of persons with migration background in the field of public administration and national defence is said to be 6 per cent of the total amount of employees.
Migrant children born in Austria whose parents are not Austrian citizens are entitled to acquire Austrian citizenship after residing continuously in Austria for six years.
- At least ten year legal and nonstop residence in Austria including at least five years with a settlement permit. There are some exceptions of this rule if persons have a legal right to obtain citizenship.
- No criminal record, no pending criminal action and no severe administrative offences with special degree of unlawfulness.
- German language skills and basic knowledge of the democratic system, history of Austria and the respective Federal State.
- Positive attitude towards the Republic Austria and warranty that there is no danger for public peace, order and security.
- No exclusion order or pending legal proceeding to terminate the residence.
- No eviction order within the last 12 months.
- No close relationship to any extremist or terrorist group.
- Principally loss of previous citizenship.
- Due to the acquisition of the citizenship the international relations to the Republic of Austria must not be significantly affected and the interests of the Republic of Austria must not be harmed.
Citizenship can be awarded because there is a legal claim of the applicant, at discretion and if the applicant has his/her residence in a foreign country.
- Compliance with general requirements.
- Minimum of 30 years nonstop main residence in Austria or a minimum of 15 years legal and nonstop residence in Austria upon proof of sustainable individual and professional integration.
- Minimum of six years legal and nonstop residence in Austria if the applicant is married to an Austrian citizen for at least five years or recognised as refugee or a citizen of an EWR-country or was born in Austria or his or her achievements in the field of science, economy, art or sports are in the public interest.
The prerequisites for awarding citizenship at discretion are the fulfilment of the general requirements.
- Exceptional performance in the interest of the Republic of Austria.
- Spouses of Austrian citizens who are employed by Austrian authorities and whose place of work is in a foreign country.
The National Action Plan on Integration contains general guidelines on integration policy including a definition of integration and preliminary considerations and analysis. In the context of the EU-framework for political cooperation in the field of social protection and social inclusion Austria submitted several national strategic reports including a National Action Plan for Social Inclusion, National Strategies for Pensions and National Strategies for Health and Long-term Care.
The government program of the 24th legislative period (2008-1013) stipulated the introduction of a National Action Plan on Integration (NAP). On the basis of a draft written by the Federal Ministry of Interior a steering group was composed of representatives of the ministries, the federal states, the Association of Towns and Municipialities, social partners and the Federation of Austrian Industry as well as NGOs. Two expert meetings were held with international experts to discuss the paper and a consulting process with NGOs in the field of migration was initiatied. Furthermore an opinion survey on the status quo concerning integration in Austria was carried out. On the basis of this deliberation process a report was written and indicators on and measures to promote integration were developed.
1) Language and education: The main objectives are to develop the language education of children and language teaching at schools, to promote the offer of language courses for women and parents, to develop integration measures concerning recent immigration, to promote education and career orientation for adolescents, to enhance adult education for migrants, to recognize qualifications to a greater extent, to advance the training of teachers, to raise antiracist awareness and democratic participation.
2) Employment and job: The main objectives are to promote the integration of persons with migration background into the labour market, to enhance the integration - especially adolescents with migration background - into vocational training, to promote the independence of migrants and to aim at the harmonisation of right of residence and the right of access to the labour market.
3) Rule of law and values: This field aims at communicating and further developing the laws, developing an intercultural understanding within authorities, ensuring a modern training for teachers of religious education, further developing measures and instruments to protect victims and at integrationg the subject of rule of law and values in school education.
4) Health and social issues: The objectives are to strengthen intercultural competences in the field of health and concerning social issues, to enhance the health literacy of migrants, to provide special measures to promote the health of female migrants, to open up the health sector as a vocational field for migrants and to advance the social situation of migrants.
5) Intercultural dialogue: The aims are to integrate diverse target groups and subjects into an intercultural dialogue, to provide information and establish rules in order to enhance the dialogue, to conceptualise the communication between NGOs and religious communities as being part of the intercultural dialogue and to convey values and rules of equality and non-discrimination.
6) Sports and leisure: The following objectives are included in the report: to promote the potential of organised sports activities in regard to integration, to enhance special measures for girls and women to foster exercise and to publicily address the significance of sport for integration.
7) Housing and regional dimensions of integration: The targets in this field to develop regional economic policies in an integration-oriented way, to counter discrimination in the sector of housing and to actively and preventively face challenges concerning integration in regard to urban planning and housing policies.
There is a definition in the National Action Plan on Integration.
Integration is a reciprocal process, based on mutual appreciation and respect, with clear rules ensuring societal cohesion and social peace. Successful integration is obtained when there is a sufficient German knowledge for work, further training as well as for the contact with public institutions, when migrants economically can take care of themselves and when there is appreciation of and compliance with the Austrian and European system of rule of law and values.
An integrated society is characterized by its permeability and oppenness. It enables the individual person to autonomously organize his/her life without being discriminated on grounds of origin, language or colour of skin.
Integration aims at the participation in economic, social, political and cultural processes as well as the compliance with the duties associated with these processes. Integration is an individual as well as a societal process, which is created by individual engagement as well as governmental conditions. The creation of a "We-feeling" which is mutually supported by the majority and the migrants, is a crucial objective of integration policies. In this context measures against racism and discrimination are vital."
- Individuals: The report says that integration is the duty and responsibility of each individual. Only if all parts concerned show willingness integration can be successful. The positive attitude of all persons living in Austria towards migrants is an important basis for the integration process.
- The state has the duty to provide the framework for successful integration. Being a cross-sectoral issue integration is a responsibility of the state, the federal states and the communities in cooperation with social partners and representatives of civil society.
- Migrants: Migrants have contributed with their work to economic welfare and growth. The integration of migrants into the labour market is a crucial precondition for the further developement of the economy and society.
The National Action Plan on Integration (NAP) was accepted in the Council of Ministers on January 19th, 2010. It comprised a report laying out definitions and the most important fields of action, a paper on indicators of integration and a catalogue containing a systematic collection of measures in the field of integration carried out so far by the state, the federal states, communities, organisations of the social partnership and civil society and other community organisations.
On January 12th, 2011, the Minister of interior presented an expert group which is being appointed to give advice on the implementation of the NAP. In July, 2011, the group presented a report on 20 proposals for the implementation of the NAP. The proposals correspond with the seven field of action presented in the NAP. In the field of language and education the experts recommend an assistance package on German before immigration, initiatives on the promotion of German courses for immigrants who have been residing in Austria for a longer period, the strengthening of the participation in the educational system and sanctions for violating the obliation to attend school. In the area of work and job the group proposes the acknowledgment of foreign job and school qualifications and the increase of the employment of female migrants. Concerning health and social issues the experts suggest the enhancement of health awareness among migrants and the improvement of awareness of diversity in the field of health and nursing. In regard to the rule of law and values the group recommends a primer accompanying the "Rot-Weiß-Rot-Card" (a residence permit for highly qualified persons) in order to impart the Austrian culture of values and rights, to promote the interest of people in obtaining citizenship and to publicily promote examples of successful migrants (embassadors of integration). In the field of intercultural dialogue the experts suggest the establishment of a forum on Islam, the development of a Code of Conduct for media in reference to the handling of the subject integration in the media, the introduction of a media award on integration and the promotion of young journalists with migration background. Concerning the area of sports and leisure the group recommends an improved cooperation between schools and NGOs and to enhance integration in the federal sport promotion. In the field of housing and regional policies the experts propose an initiative on housing in order to avoid segregation, property management which respects principles of diversity and the promotion of competences about integration on a municipal level.
However, as the NAP in general and the proposals of the expert group are quite recent initiatives there is no evaluation on the concrete implementation available so far.
The introduction of the National Action Plan on Integration (NAP) evoked criticism from opposition parties and representatives of NGOs because of a lack of a funding scheme and the tightening of the legal framework for migrants.
The introduction of the National Action Plan on Integration (NAP) evoked criticism from opposition parties and representatives of NGOs. The main points of criticism are the lack of a funding scheme and time scheduling to implement the recommended propositions. Therefore the recommendations are mere declarations of intent argued representatives of the Green party. Furthermore it was criticised that federal states and communites are not involved sufficiently in the implementation process. Another problematic issue concerns the fact that immigrants who are coming to Austria in the context of family reunification have to prove adequate knowledge of German language before entering the country. It is criticised that it is not ensured that there are adequate possibilities to learn German in the countries of origin. Therefore the main point of criticism voiced by NGOs is that the NAP constitutes a tightening of the legal framework for migrants.
The NGO ZARA further criticised that the NAP adopts a deficit-oriented view towards migrants and that integration is not seen as a task for which the whole society is responsible but rather as a duty for which migrants are solely responsible for. Instead ZARA demands that equality of opportunities has to be the central focus of all integration measures.
In the context of the EU-framework for political cooperation in the field of social protection and social inclusion Austria submitted several national strategic reports. The first Austrian Report on Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2006-2008 was delivered in 2006. The second report for the period 2008-2010 was submitted in 2008.
c) good governance, transparency and the involvement of stakeholders in the design, implementation and monitoring of policy (p. 7).
2. The National Action Plan for Social Inclusion includes measures concerning more development opportunities for children and young people, measures for labour market integration, a mean-tested guaranteed minimum income and integrative measures in other policy areas.
3. The chapter on National Strategies for Pensions contains the objective of maintaining the statutory pension system and details on the adequacy of pensions, on the financial sustainability of pension systems and on modernising pension systems.
4. The chapter on National Strategies for Health and Long-term Care comprises a description of the health care system, measures in the context of the health reform 2005 and an agreement on the organisation and financing of the health system. Furthermoree it contains details on the access to adequate health-care and the quality of health care. It also reports on the progress and challenges of long-term care.
The Austrian Report on Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2008-2010 only refers to the term social cohesion but doesn't define it.
There is no systematic evaluation available.
The association with an ethnic group is based on self-identification.
The Austrian Ethnic Groups Act defines that ethnic groups are those groups of Austrian citizens living on the federal territory who do not have German as a first language and who have their own distinct customs (Art. 2). The association with an ethnic group is based on self-identification. No one is obliged to prove his/her association to a certain ethnic group (Art.3).
No. According to Sec. 7 Federal Constitutional Act, Sec. 14-15 Austrian Constitution and Sec. 9 European Convention on Human Rights the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association is guaranteed.
There are no legal restrictions in regard to freedom of assembly. However there is a hostile political discourse on Muslims which may infringe the religious rights of persons of Muslim faith.
There are no legal restrictions in regard to freedom of assembly of religious minorities. However, evidence that freedom of religion is not respected, exists – in particular with regard to the right of Muslims to manifest their religion or belief and to establish religious institutions, organisations and associations. In this regard we refer to the amendments to the construction laws in Vorarlberg and Carinthia which aim at restricting the construction of mosques and minarets. There are also numerous citizens’ groups in Vienna which mobilise against the construction of mosques or Islamic cultural centres; they enjoy particular support by the leader of the Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ) [Austrian Freedom Party], H.C. Strache. In the city of Bad Vöslau in Lower Austria – after long-lasting negotiations – a mosque with minarets was opened in 2009. In the municipal elections in March 2010, the mayor of Bad Vöslau and his ‘Bürgerliste Flammer’ lost ten per cent of the votes and four seats in the municipal council – this loss exactly equalled the percentage of votes gained by the local FPÖ (who supported the opponents of the mosque).
Following the debates in France and Belgium, discussions with regard to the prohibition of the burka came up in spring 2010. It was initiated by the State Secretary for Family Affairs (Österreichische Volkspartei (ÖVP) [People’s Party]) and was supported by the Minister of the Interior (ÖVP) as well as the Minister for Women (Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs (SPÖ) [Social Democrats]). The Islamic Faith Community criticised the proposal arguing that there would be no need for such a prohibition since there were no women wearing the burka in Austria and a prohibition would not necessarily protect women concerned from suppression. FPÖ officials continued to reiterate the need to prohibit the burka. The prejudiced atmosphere against Muslims is mirrored in a survey commissioned by the weekly journal profil which reveals that 52 per cent of the Austrians consider Muslims to be less tolerant than members of other faith communities.
There are several initiatives to promote migrant and minority media, however representation of minorities and migrants is quite poor.
The Austrian press council had agreed on an Austrian code of conduct for the Austrian press, which imposes obligations by ways of self-regulation. It entails a prohibition of any discrimination based on racist, religious, national, sexual or other motives as violations of the protection of the individual. In 2002 the Austrian Newspaper Association (Verband österreichischer Zeitungen) left the Austrian Press Council, which since then only exists as so-called relict-press council (Rumpf-Presserat).
A module on language and discrimination has been introduced in the basic training of the Austrian Broadcasting Agency (Österreichischer Rundfunk) as a pilot in 2008.
Representation of persons of immigrant background in the media is poor. On December 6th, 2010, the Austrian Public Broadcasting Company release a study which revealed that migrants wish a better substantial and quantitative representation in the television programmes. The reporting is perceived to be passing on stereotypes and the representation of migrants is unbalanced.
The Austrian Broadcasting Agency by § 5 Federal Law on Austrian Broadcasting (ORF Gesetz) is obliged to ensure that a reasonable percentage of programmes is provided in minority rights languages. The programme “Home – foreign home” (Heimat fremde Heimat) is telecasting in the languages of the autochthon minorities. There is no broadcasting provided in minority languages of immigrants.
Immigrant representation in the media is limited to independent media initiatives. In 1997 an independent radio station called Radio Africa has been founded, aiming at providing a platform of communication for migrants with a focus on African immigrants, representing the interest of African migrants in Austria and contributing to awareness raising and intercultural dialogue. Since 2005 Radio Africa operates TV programmes on the Vienna Community TV channel Okto. Concerning print media there are three online newspapers which dedicate a special section to migrant issues: dastandard.at, M-Media and Wiener Zeitung.
There are some initiatives in regard to the Slovenian minority in Carinthia. Regarding other national minorities programmes are very marginal and do not fulfil the obligations adequately.
Legislation on the Austrian Broadcasting Agency establishes an obligation for the Austrian Broadcasting Agency to provide for an adequate amount programmes in national minority languages. For Carinthia the Austrian Broadcasting Agency has contracted a cooperation agreement with two private broadcasting agencies using their transmission capacities for 8 hours daily radio programme in Slovene. Additionally 1 more hour Slovene and 1 hour bi-lingual radio programmes per week are sent via the ORF owned Radio Kärnten. A daily 55 minute magazine on Radio Kärnten has been cancelled in 2003.
Regarding other national minorities programmes are very marginal and do not fulfil the obligations adequately. The programmes provided in particular do not meet the requirements imposed by the European Council Conventions. In their recommendations for Austria the Committee of Ministers of the EC in 2005 recommended to “increase radio broadcasting in Burgenland-Croatian and Hungarian and television broadcasting in Burgenland-Croatian, Slovene and Hungarian”. Reacting to an audience complaint in summer 2008 the Austrian Broadcasting Agency was tasked to introduce mother-tongue programmes in Vienna and Styria. Furthermore the ORF is reported to plan radio and television broadcasting in Czech and Slovak from the Burgenland. This only just might fulfil the specific legal obligations but would not constitute a functional and forward-looking mother-tongue media supply. The Roma national minority with only 15 minutes of weekly regional radio programme and the Hungarian minority with 5 minutes a day plus 30 minutes a week regional radio programme and 6 yearly 25 minutes television regional magazines are the most disadvantaged groups in terms of mother-tongue broadcasting programmes. Plans to suspend media-wave senders and to reduce transmitting time of the inter-cultural TV programme “Home – foreign home” (Heimat fremde Heimat)” are signals that will contribute more to a deterioration in the near future than to improvements.
Although there are many sports club organised for and by migrants, a study ("Integration und soziale Inklusion im organisierten Sport") carried out on behalf of the Ministry of Sports found out that migrants are underrepresented in sports clubs. The reasons are manifold: risk of poverty, precarious jobs, long and irregular work times, long distances to sport facilities as well as an above average number of children. These financial and time-related barriers are hampering the participation of migrants in sports clubs. They affect adults as well as children. Additionally, there are cultural as well as language barriers.
The study further discovered that positive measures in order to include migrants so far mainly concentrated on children and adolescents and to a limited extent also on women, girls and asylum seekers. Two important target groups were neglected so far: parents with migration background and self-organised migrant groups.
Nevertheless there are many migrant sports associations comprising a wide range of sports clubs from different national origins and diverse kinds of sports. Especially for the first generation of migrants it was important to build up sports associations because they didn't have access to other sports clubs. Sports clubs are contributing to a positive self-image of migrants. In order to promote this kind of self-organisation the Austrian Integration Funds has introduced the "Integrationspreis für Sport" (Sports Integration Award) to distinguish migrant sports projects which are especially sustainable and innovative concerning the integration of migrants in the field of sports.

References: Art. 8
 Art. 8
 Art. 8
 Art. 8
 Art. 8
 § 5