UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
SPECIAL SESSION (UNGASS) on Children 2001
NATIONAL REPORT AUSTRIA
Vienna, 2001
PART I
General Comments
The present report is the result of an extensive procedure which, on the one hand, deals with the legal position, financial situation, social and other status of children in Austria, and on the other hand, contains statements and specific demands of several institutions and non-governmental organisations which act on behalf of children in Austria.
The Status of Children and the Rights of the Child in Austria
The status of children in the Austrian legal system and social order has steadily gained in importance during the last decade with public and political debates and discussions on legal policy explicitly focusing on the realities of the lives of children, their concerns and legitimate interests. It was, however, the systematic implementation of the postulates of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in Austrian law in the 90s that was primarily responsible. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was ratified by Austria through the deposit of the instrument of ratification on 6 August 1992 (promulgated in Federal Gazette No. 1993/7). The Convention formally entered into force on 5 September 1992. Analogous surveys and a children’s rights campaign resulted in a generally high degree of awareness of the independent "interests of children" as defined in the CRC, not only among the general public, but above all among policy-makers.
· End Decade Review
On the basis of parliamentary resolution E-59-NR 18. GP, the Federal Government commissioned an independent group of children’s rights experts to conduct a systematic review from 1992 – 1994 of living conditions in Austrian society, including all legislation relating to children in terms of its compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Not only were all administrative levels of political, legislative and administrative bodies included in the review, but also those NGOs acting in the area of children’s rights.
The children’s rights experts instructed to review the Austrian legal system observed in what is known as the Experts’ Report on the "United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child" that the Austrian legal system is largely consistent with the "United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child". Despite this, they criticized the fact that individual provisions of Austrian law appeared to be quite problematic in the light of the Convention and expressed the advisability of specific amendments to Austrian law against the background of the general objectives of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
After detailed deliberations and consultation on this Experts’ Report in the parliamentary Family Committee a unanimous resolution (E-156-NR-18.GP) – with the votes of all the representatives of the Austrian Nationalrat – was finally adopted, whereby the Federal Government was commissioned with ensuring the implementation of a series of objectives pertaining to children’s rights in the interests of children and young people. This parliamentary resolution proved to be the decisive impetus for significant future systematic developments in children’s rights policy in Austria in terms of social and legal policy, particularly as it enabled the legislator to give a comprehensive mandate to the Austrian Federal Government to draft corresponding amendments to the law and to enforce analogous administrative measures on the one hand, and on the other hand this document also represents a self-binding, substantiated Plan of Action by the Austrian legislature at federal level for the purpose of implementation of the CRC.
Below is an attempt to depict achievements in terms of improving the circumstances of the lives of young people in Austria, the difficulties experienced in these endeavours and an honest presentation of the problems which arose in this undertaking as transparently as possible.
· National Plan of Action
The foregoing parliamentary deliberations on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child itself and the "Experts’ Report on the Convention", coupled with the support of a new, raised level of awareness of the rights of children among those responsible for child-related administrative and policy areas, and the inspiration afforded by a highly sensitised public discussion on the rights of the child were the starting point for prospective measures to improve the position of children. These measures were determined on the basis of recent findings and experiences in terms of young people’s requirements for protection, support and participation, whereby a form of modular development was finally chosen, to be understood both in terms of its all-inclusiveness and quality of contents as a "National Plan of Action" - a programme of measures to implement the rights of the child in Austria:
· Resolution of the Nationalrat, E-156-NR 18. GP
· Resolution of the Council of Ministers against violence in society, domestic violence, sexual abuse of children, violence towards women, violence among juveniles and violence in the media
· Resolution of the Council of Ministers for a "Plan of Action against Child Abuse and against Child Pornography in the Internet".
· "Steering Committee on the Implementation of the Rights of the Child"
The "Steering Committee on the Implementation of the Rights of the Child" was set up in 1999 on the initiative of the department responsible for the rights of the child of the Federal Ministry of Social Security and the Generations, with the general objective of initiating a continuous process of evaluation of the situation in life of children in Austria. This Committee is a body comprising representatives from government departments, non-governmental organizations, the children and the children’s and adolescents’ ombudsman systems of the Bundesl?nder, and children’s rights experts. The aim was to ensure the effective coordination and monitoring of activities concerned with the implementation of the Convention at all legislative and administrative levels. The narrower objective of this coordination group is extensive observation of the terms of reference and presentation of problems relating to children’s rights, attainment of synergies and avoidance of duplication and multiplication, and instead promote cooperation between the various sectors and curb counterproductive procedures in areas of policy which affect children.
The human rights coordinators appointed by Federal Government resolution of 15 July 1999 (recital to the Council of Ministers, No. 670.425/17-V/A/5/99) in all the Federal Ministries and the government departments of all nine Bundesl?nder have a leading role to play. Their general task primarily consists in respecting and asserting fundamental rights and human rights in a society founded on democratic principles. One of their specific tasks is participation in the drafting of National Reports on the subject of human rights. The purpose of the activity of the human rights coordinators is to contribute to improving structured dialogue on human rights in Austria and to voice the willingness on the part of the Austrian Federal Government to establish the requisite priorities in the area of human rights issues.
Since, despite the resolution of the Austrian Nationalrat of 26 June 1992 calling for a systematic review of the legal situation at federal level in terms of its compliance with the CRC, the said review, notwithstanding several attempts, has not been conducted to date, the coordination department in the Federal Ministry of Social Security and the Generations plans to draft the concept for the said review in cooperation with the "Steering Committee on the Implementation of the Rights of the Child".
Statement by the Austrian Committee for UNICEF, supported by non-governmental organizations as well as the by the Salzburg children’s and adolescents’ ombudsman
According to international standards the rights of the child are indivisible and practically applicable worldwide. Implementation of these standards requires States to seek national and international cooperation. In this spirit, UNICEF Austria proposes th at the ratification process be concluded forthwith and that domestic implementation be ensured by Austria of the following agreements:
· Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflicts (May 2000)
· Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (May 2000)
· ILO Convention No. 182 (Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999)
· Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998)
· Moreover it is proposed to adopt measures to strengthen the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, above all with a view to increasing the current number of members from 10 to 18 experts.
National and international monitoring bodies, inter alia, rank among the instruments that are essential for the implementation of the rights of the child. In the light of the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (consideration of the first Austrian State Party report pursuant to Article 44 of the Convention in January 1999) UNICEF Austria proposes the appointment of a statutorily defined independent monitoring body at federal level. This monitoring body should coordinate and monitor measures for the implementation of child rights’ standards in Austria (e.g. independent federal children’s and adolescents’ ombudsman). Additionally, the existing children’s and adolescents’ ombudsman systems of the Bundesl?nder should be strengthened to ensure effective fulfillment of their mandate.
Every evaluation is dependent on the availability of sufficiently detailed information, including statistical data. For this reason, UNICEF Austria recommends that those initiatives and scientific research projects be given increased support which provide the requisite child-centered data and results to enable a full assessment of the factual situation of children.
Statement by the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights on the enactment of children’s rights in the Austrian Constitution, supported by the Austrian Committee for UNICEF, ?sterreichische Kinderfreunde (Austrian Friends of Children), and other non-governmental organizations as well as the children’s and adolescents’ ombudsman systems of the Bundesl?nder
A study prepared by the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Human Rights on the question of the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Austrian Constitutional Law (1998), which was commissioned by the children’s and adolescents’ ombudsman systems and the Federal Ministry of Social Security, proposes a complete draft of a ?Federal Constitutional Law to Protect the Rights of Children and Adolescents“ which is particularly designed to improve protection of the fundamental rights of children and adolescents.
Although the Convention does not prescribe a particular form of domestic implementation, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, in the course of deliberations on the Austrian State Party report in January 1999, explicitly welcomed (para. 9 of the Concluding Observations) the willingness of Austria to conduct a parliamentary debate on the feasibility of embodying the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in the Austrian Constitution.
PART II
I) Participation Rights
If the participation of young people is to make a general contribution to the implementation of their concerns and interests as well as to safeguarding their need of protection, society in general and policy-makers in particular must set themselves the tasks of guaranteeing children and young people the requisite protection in their various situations in life on the one hand, and optimal opportunities for personal development on the other hand – coupled with the virtues of independence, personal courage and taking responsibility for oneself and one’s fellow human beings.
In this connection, it is well to remember the Austrian initiative during its presidency in the European Union which led to the adoption in December 1998 of the resolution of the EU Council and the Ministers for Youth assembled in the Council on 26 November 1998 on co-determination of young people (13688/98 JEUN 61 SOC 472). All the key guiding principles on the participation of young people both at the communal, national and European level are formulated in this resolution. It also represents a political mandate in that every political decision will explicitly take into consideration the interests of young people.
In the course of deliberations on the 3rd Report on the Position of Youth on 18 June 1999, the Nationalrat called for the Federal Government to put youth support and youth representation on a statutory basis (Resolution E 192, 194 NR/XX. GP). The aim was to implement the idea of participation in Austrian policy on children and young people – not least because of the worrying trends in age distribution in the Austrian population, in particular the rapidly decreasing proportion of young people in terms of total population.
The Federal Youth Support Act and the Federal Youth Representation Act were passed in the year 2000 in compliance with this parliamentary mandate. In this connection, it should be mentioned that the 3rd Report commissioned by the Austrian Federal Government on the situation of youth as a whole, but above all the focus – the section on the participation of children youth, represented the basis for the substantive development of the foregoing legislation – the Federal Youth Support Act and the Federal Youth Representation Act.
· Pupil participation
Autonomy in curriculum matters introduced in 1993 – allowing the school forum in general compulsory schools (consisting of equal parent and teacher membership) and the school committee (consisting of three pupils each from the ninth grade onwards, parents and teachers) to make autonomous decisions with regard to the curriculum – was an important step towards partnership in education.
The pupil representatives have - within the framework of the school forum - the ?right to participate in the selection of educational material“, determining which kind of manuals, books etc. will actually be used during instruction.
Since the school year 1997/98 a deputy class speaker has to be elected in grades 5 – 8 who is entitled to participate in the meetings of the school partners with advisory function. Moreover pupil representatives may take part in the process of appointing principals by elaborating for the Bundesland school board together with the other members of the school forum (parents and teachers) a joint written statement concerning the applications handed in for the position.
The further development of the system of pupils representation – which has been viewed positively by the Committee on the Rights of the Child – describes another step towards a strengthening of democracy in education by allowing pupil representatives to participate in each of the working groups of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.