AUSTRIA
Fifth periodic report
submitted 5 October 1999 (CEDAW/C/AUT/5 )
Since
the Second World War the Republic of Austria has never violated
any political, democratic or humanitarian principles.� There
can be no doubt but that we are seriously committed to tolerance,
openness and a respect for human rights. [1] ��
-Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Sch�ssel
BASIC COUNTRY INFORMATION
Government
type: federal republic
Constitution:
1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945)
Population,
1999 estimate:�8,139,299
Ethnicities:
99.4% German, 0.3% Croatian, 0.2% Slovene, 0.1% Other
Religion:
78% Roman Catholic, 5% Protestant, 4.5% Other, 9% No
religious group, 3.5% no response*
GDP,
1998 estimate: US$184.5 billion
GDP,
real growth rate, 1999 estimate: 2.2%
GDP
per capita: US$22,700
Inflation
rate: 0.8%
Unemployment
rate: 3.6%
Major
industries: construction, machinery, vehicles and parts,
food, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and
paperboard, communications equipment and tourism
Population
Growth Rate, 1999 estimate: 0.09%
Infant
mortality rate, 1999: 5.1� (per 1,000 live births)
Net
migration rate, 1999:� 1.32 (per 1,000 population)
Life
expectancy at birth, 1999
�����������
Total: 77.48 years
�����������
Female: 80.82 years
�����������
Male: 74.31 years
Military
expenditures, 1999 estimate: US$1.8 billion
Military
expenditures, 1999 estimate: 0.82% of GDP
Illicit
drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin
and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe.
|
Sources:
World Factbook 1999 [2] , Austria: The Country and its People [3] , Economic
Survey of Europe, No. 2 [4] ,� Economic
Survey of Europe, No. 1 [5] , Labour Market Studies: Austria [6]
Recent
Political Events
As
a result of the October 3, 1999 national elections, the radical
conservative Freedom Party (FP�) won an unprecedented 52 seats
in Parliament, second only to the Social Democrats (SP�), which
won 65 seats.� In early February 2000, amidst demonstrations
in Austria and criticism from around the world, Austrian President
Thomas Klestil swore in a new government coalition that included
the FP�.�
The
charismatic leader and president of the FP�, J�rg Haider, has
been at the center of much of the controversy.� His pro-Nazi
policy comments, for which he has apologized repeatedly, and
anti-immigrant comments (for which he remains stridently unapologetic)
have come to symbolize the perceived threat posed by the FP�.�
Though Haider, current governor of Carinthia in southern Austria,
never was a member of the coalition, world leaders took seriously
his profound influence on the Freedom Party and the potential
human rights violations that could result from FP� inclusion
in a �Black-Blue� Coalition.� Many nations, including the EU
countries, imposed sanctions on Austria.� Due largely to international
pressure, Haider resigned as party president.� His choice for
a successor, Susanne Riess-Passer, became the new head of the
FP� party, though most agree that Haider still wields the most
influence in the party, even without the title of president.�
STATUS
OF WOMEN IN AUSTRIA UNDER SPECIFIC CEDAW ARTICLES:
CONVENTION
ARTICLE 2
�OBLIGATIONS
TO ELIMINATE DISCRIMINATION�
Earlier
this year, the Federal Ministry for Women�s Affairs was abolished.
The Association of Austrian Women Lawyers calls the dismantling
of the Ministry for Women�s Affairs an infringement of rights
according to the EU Council�s 1997 Amsterdam Contract. [7]
CONVENTION
ARTICLE 5
�SEX
ROLES AND STEREOTYPING
Media
Stereotypes and Neutral Language
In
the media, stereotypes of women and men are common.� For example,
a television program recently advertised free breast enlargement
to the winners of a contest. Women�s organizations also criticized
a Tyrolean billboard campaign slogan that read, �The country
needs strong men.� [8] �
The
movement toward gender-neutral language is also resisted.� One
recent example is the refusal of the Austrian journal, Der
�sterreichische Journalist, to change its name in order
to reflect the contributions of women writers and subscribers.
[9] ���
Sex
Roles
Work
in the home is to be shared equally by man and woman, according
to Austrian law.� Federal Minister for Social Security and Generations
Elisabeth Sickl claimed that this equality must be learned by
individual families and �that it will solve itself.� [10] Representatives of the Green party
pointed out that many women are much less optimistic, having
signed a document, das Frauenvolksbegehren, calling for
more institutional support from the government. [11] �
In
the workforce, many women face discrimination based on custom
and the persistence of traditional perceptions of women.� Lore
Weisswasser, a counseling and coaching specialist, claims that
men in many fields still favor working with male colleagues
because they question women�s competence and are uncomfortable
taking counsel from a woman. [12]
CONVENTION
ARTICLE 6
�TRAFFICKING
IN WOMEN AND PROSTITUTION
It
is estimated that about 80 percent of the 6,000 to 8,000 unregistered�
prostitutes in Vienna are not Austrians. [13] � Many of these prostitutes are victims
of trafficking.� Austria is both a transit and destination point
in East/West trafficking.� Though laws are in place to punish
traffickers who bring women into Austria for prostitution or
for other purposes, NGOs report that enforcement is weak. [14] � It
remains difficult to prosecute traffickers, because so few women
are willing to testify to the abuses they have suffered because
they fear retribution or other consequences.� Anna Kowalska
of Latin American Exiled Women of Austria (LEF�) reports that
these women have good reason to fear. [15] � Even though these women have some
access to care and counseling in their native tongue until they
testify against the perpetrator, these rights are generally
cut off abruptly following court proceedings.� After their set
term of residence expires, Kowalska explains:
It is no longer possible to obtain a residence
or work permit for the woman concerned.� She has to return to
her homeland.� No account is taken of possible dangers to the
woman or her family nor of her material and psychological situation.�
That she has been the victim of a human rights violation and
therefore has a right to compensation is regarded as irrelevant. [16]
As
a result, many trafficked women continue to live with abuse
rather than face deportation or losing their jobs.
Approximately
200 minors are believed to be working as prostitutes in Vienna. [17] � The Ministry of the Family reported
its concern with these findings.� Trafficking in foreign wives
is also a problem, according to Kowalska, who sees cases of
abusive Austrian husbands who threaten to notify authorities
of their �fraudulent marriages� or otherwise� incriminate their
wives. LEF� has documented �the disastrous upshot of the combination
of social prejudices, personal dependence and legal stipulations�
that characterize these cases. [18]
�
An
intervention center opened in 1998 in Vienna oriented towards
the protection of trafficked women. [19] � Austria has also hosted
numerous conferences condemning trafficking in women, including
the 1998 East/West Conference on trafficking in women and the
UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime.� It is not clear
why the Austrian interministerial working group on trafficking
in women� disbanded in 1998.�
CONVENTION
ARTICLES 7 & 8
�NATIONAL
AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL AND PUBLIC LIFE
Three
political parties in Austria apply quota systems for female
participation in the European Parliament.� The Greens set their
quota at 50 percent, the Austrian People�s Party (�VP) at 33
percent, and the Social Democratic Party at 25 percent. [20]
� Of Austria�s 21 members, 33 percent are women. [21] � Representatives of the FP� have spoken
out against quotas.
The
abolition of the Ministry of Women�s Affairs has caused quite
a stir in Austria.� The FP� has repeatedly defended the move.
One representative claimed, �No one is concerned that there
will no longer be family policy without an independent Ministry
for the Family.� Why saving a post and therewith, the salary
of a Minister should mean the end of women�s policy is incomprehensible.� [22] � Elisabeth
Sickl (FP�) considers herself the new Minister of Women�s Affairs,
since Women�s Affairs is now a sub-section of the Ministry of
Social Security and Generations, which she heads. [23] �
Many
women�s groups disagree with the FP� assessment of the situation.�
Many also consider the symbolic status of grouping Women�s Affairs
with issues facing children, families and animals as sub-sections
of the Ministry of Social Security and Generations a regressive
stereotype. One report claims that planned austerity measures
threaten the financial survival of 180 women�s projects across
Austria. [24] � Dwora Stein, Central Secretary of
the trade union for the privately employed, has pointed out
discrepancies between FP� claims and� actions that justify the
perception that FP� promises may be unreliable. [25]
Barbara Prammer, former Minister of Women�s Affairs,
also fears that compensatory measures needed to help women overcome
de facto discrimination will be forgotten under the new cabinet
system. [26]
Prammer was able to quadruple the Ministry�s budget
while serving as its head and claims that structures, plans
and achievements that have been made over decades could be destroyed
with no one to speak up in defense of women at the proper times. [27]
The
new government is emphasizing efficiency and carrying out evaluations
of federally funded programs.�� Stein emphasizes that it is
not evaluations themselves that are bad, but depending upon
who establishes the evaluation criteria, �One can evaluate projects
to death.� [28] �� Prammer stresses that evaluations
can be used to force women�s organizations to compete against
each other, thereby destroying any solidarity between them. [29]
According
to Austria�s Fifth Periodic Report to CEDAW, political participation
and representation of woman at the Province level varies widely.�
While 34 percent of Vienna�s Province government officials are
women, representation in the other eight Provinces ranges from
six to 26 percent. [30] � It
is unclear what is being done to encourage participation in
the regions where representation of women in government is particularly
low.� At the local level, the situation is even more inequitable.�
In 1998, for example, only 1.5 percent of Austria�s cities and
towns had women mayors. [31] � Emma
Liendl, mayor of L�dersdorf, explained that whenever a woman
takes on a leadership position, those surrounding her become
uneasy. [32]
CONVENTION
ARTICLE 10
�EDUCATION
The
number of women in Austria now entering the university exceeds
the number of men. [33] � Though the climate at Austria�s universities
is reportedly becoming more friendly toward women [34]
, Women�s Studies is not institutionalized.� There
are no chairs in Women�s Studies at universities or research
institutes and only two or three researchers are engaged as
Women�s Studies experts. [35] ��
CONVENTION
ARTICLE 11
�EMPLOYMENT
Equal
Opportunities and career field segregation
According
to the Directorate-General for Employment, Industrial Relations
and Social Affairs of the European Commission, �Women are under-represented
in the field of new technologies and it is of crucial importance
in the future to avoid segregation and to integrate women in
the new �high tech� sector.� [36] Austria has hosted several conferences
which targeted ways to prepare women for work in information
technologies.� Exemplary among these were �Employment 2002,
the future for women� in Linz, and �IST �98 Information Society
Technologies � Living and Working in the Information Society�
in Vienna.� In accordance with the recommendations of the latter,
the now defunct Office of the Austrian Minister for Women�s
Affairs and Consumer Protection launched a program to promote
women�s participation in these fields of the future. [37] � The current status of this initiative
under the new cabinet system is unknown.
Aside
from high tech careers, many other fields remain dominantly
male.� Whereas the German language has� officially recognized
male and female forms for most careers, there is no official
German word for a woman construction worker. There are only
six women who are currently pursuing an apprenticeship in construction
work.� In 1998, the Wirtschaftskammer (chamber of commerce)
reported 4148 male construction apprentices.� Nadine L�ngle,
one of the six women construction work students, said that she
had do a great deal more than the boys in order to be accepted. [38] � In the sub-sectors of construction,
mining, fishing, and hotels/restaurants, the concentrations
of men are very high, in some cases as high as 90 percent. [39]
Sectoral
(horizontal) segregation is also evident in the generally lower-paying
fields where women comprise more than 60 percent of all employees:
education, health, social work and private household work. [40]
Though 60 percent of Austria�s teachers are women,
only about seven percent of university teaching jobs are held
by women. [41]
� Austria has the fewest women professors of any
European country�only four percent. [42]
Equal
Opportunity
Women
seeking educational apprenticeships are discriminated against.
Forty percent of all apprenticeships are restricted to men. [43]
What statistics are available that detail the effect
gender-neutral apprenticeship subsidies and other programs have
had on the gendered composition of available apprenticeships?�
Employment
quotas
Civil
service areas employing less than 40 percent women currently
have employment quotas that require them to hire women of equivalent
qualifications ahead of men. There are no penalties for the
failure to reach the 40 percent target. [44] � The lack of enforcement is counterintuitive
to the intended goal of the policy.� Many FP� representatives
oppose such quotas and consider them anti-equality. Without
effective and enforceable quotas, the elimination of de facto
discrimination against women is hindered.�
Equal
remuneration
The
average Austrian man earns between 28 and 32 percent more than
the average Austrian woman. [45] � When asked about this
problem, Minister Sickl agreed that it remains a problem, even
though equal pay is guaranteed by Austrian law.� Sickl claims
that sites where women can seek information and counsel are
important, because they will lead women to the equal treatment
commission where more problems can be solved.���
The
right to job security
Earlier
this year, J�rg Haider fired the Carinthian regional women�s
representative (Frauenbeauftragte) after she expressed
regret at the dismantling of the Ministry for Women�s Affairs.�
Minister Sickl distanced herself from Haider�s action and dismissed
it by calling it a party political move. [46] �
Poverty
One
study estimates that as a result of FP� policies, 20,000 more
Austrians will be unemployed� by the year 2003 and that the
income gap between men and women will increase drastically. [47] � Poverty is already disproportionately
feminine, according to a 1999 report on social conditions in
Salzburg.� In 1997 and 1998, 70 percent of women applying for
welfare benefits in Salzburg were primary providers in their�
households. [48]
� Throughout Austria, 6.6 percent of working women
are �marginal� part-time workers�workers who make under a minimal
monthly income.� Two percent of male workers fall in this category.�
Thirty-three percent of �marginal� part-time employees do domestic
labor.� Eighty-three percent of domestic labor employees who
receive no additional insurance coverage are women.� �This group
enjoys no protection from statutory social security provision
and is therefore only entitled to minimal old age and invalid
pensions.� [49]
Support
of the Combination of family and work responsibilities
Austria
has passed progressive laws requiring the sharing of household
and family responsibilities.� The Green party points out, though,
that other policies hinder the realization of this equality.�
For example, if a family�s combined income exceeds a certain
level, the family is ineligible for a number of federal benefits
(Familieneinkommensobergrenzen). [50] � Because the vast majority of men
work and earn more than women for equivalent labor, the policy
is a disincentive for married women to work at all.�
Both
mothers and fathers have the option of receiving maternity/paternity
benefits to stay home and raise a newborn child.� Currently,
only a small percentage of those drawing the benefits are men.�
Retirement
pensions
Proposed
changes to Austria�s retirement policies are expected to pose
problems for women.� If the age for early retirement is raised,
as is currently proposed, women will be disproportionately affected.�
Not only will they earn smaller pensions because of sex-based
income disparity, but older women who cannot find work because
of their age will be forced to live in poverty even longer until
they are eligible for retirement benefits. [51] � The government has stated its intent
to transform pensions so that women who have been without an
independent claim to a pension because of their dependence on
the pension of a wage-earning spouse can be entitled to their
own pension. [52]
� In 1998 and 1999, though, an employed woman who
had previously been the dependent of a spouse received only
58.5 percent of the pension a man received. [53]
Maternity
leave
An
amendment to the Maternity Protection Act of 1995 bans� the
employment of breast-feeding mothers.� Austria considers this
non-discriminatory. [54] � The
justification of this policy is unclear.�
When
determining severance pay, maternity leave time is not factored
in, though other federally approved leaves of absence are. [55]
�
Night
labor
Austria
reserved to Article 11 of CEDAW on the issue of protective laws
and has not yet adopted night work policies that treat men and
women equally. [56] �� Though women are currently able
to attain waivers that allow them to work at night, the course
of action that will allow Austria to remove this reservation
remains unclear.� The EU requires Austria to rectify this situation
by 2001.�
Sexual
harassment
The
first women�s health report� in lower Austria (Nieder�sterreich)�
found that three of five women in the region have experience
with sexual harassment. [57] � Sexual harassment has only been criminalized
as sex-based discrimination since 1993. [58]
� Even so, according to Lawyers for Equal Treatment
(Anwaltschaft f�r Gleichbehandlungsfragen), women have
been much more likely to give in to pressure to keep quiet since
1993.� This means a stark reduction in the number of discriminatory
acts that are made public.� Austrian newspaper, Der Standard,
reported� that employers utilize all available legal means to
take legal action against women who complain about sexual harassment.�
Women are strongly discouraged from lodging official complaints
or seeking compensation for damages. [59] ���
CONVENTION
ARTICLE 12
�HEALTH
CARE AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Mentally
handicapped women may be involuntarily sterilized by family
�executors� while no mention is made of the policy regarding
mentally handicapped men. [60] �
Women�s
health centers seem to be successful in addressing the health
needs of women and girl children in different stages of life.�
In Graz, for example, the women�s health center was visited
by approximately 7000 women and girls in 1999.� This marks an
almost 25 percent increase over the previous year.� Women can
visit the center seeking advice and information or gynecological
care.� The center offers presentations on diverse topics such
as exercise, early detection of cancer and emotional and spiritual
health.� Pregnancy tests are administered for less than US $2. [61]
GENERAL
RECOMMENDATION 19
�VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN
An
estimated 300,000 women are abused annually in Austria.� It
is also estimated that less than 10 percent of the abused women
file complaints. [62]
One report found that violence in the Austrian family
against women and children is highly correlated, with children
being abused in 70 percent of all cases where women are being
abused. [63]
�� Battered women�s shelters in Austria fill past
capacity after only a short time wherever they open. In 1997,
237 endangered women had to be turned away because there was
no space for them in a shelter. [64]
Through
the Austrian Information Center against Violence, an archive
of materials on violence in the family is open to researchers
and students.� It is available on CD-ROM now and will soon be
on the Internet. [65] � In
April 2000, the initiative �Women helping Women� in Innsbruck
introduced its new program, �No to Violence� which broadens
the focus of the women�s group not just to the motives of the
aggressor, but also to the victims of violence. [66] � The
goal is to end the perception that violence in the family is
a taboo topic.� Despite numerous programs and initiatives, violence
against women persists.
The
Struggle for funding��
Renate
Bauer, the Vienna city women�s councilor (Frauenstadtr�tin),
claimed that at least 20 women�s organizations in Vienna alone,
including women�s violence counseling centers, are fighting
for survival. [67] � Because of the threat of budget cuts
to the Information Center against Violence, the secretary position
was terminated and the financial security of the center is uncertain. [68] �� The Ministry of Education and the
Ministry for Social Security and Generations have unofficially
promised some funding, but it remains to be seen whether the
center will receive sufficient funding to continue operation.�
No legislative provisions exist to guarantee funding. [69]
An
anti-violence network run by the Information Center, Women Against
Violence Europe (WAVE), has not received 170.000 Schillings
of the money promised them as federal cofinancing. [70] � WAVE
provides a valuable service by publishing information and listing
resources on their website on developments regarding violence
to women.� Funding for a free crisis line telephone service,
also run by the Information Center, runs out in May 2000.� The
crisis line was funded by the now defunct Ministry of Women�s
Affairs and a funding extension is currently being sought. [71]
�
Austrian
Law and Victims� Rights
Battered
women have the right to be questioned by a female police officer. [72] � Women were first permitted to do
standard police duties in 1991 and now only about eight percent
of the police officers are women. [73] � If all battered women
knew of their� right, the burden on women police officers would
be disproportionate because there are so few.� Data were also
unavailable regarding the distribution of women police officers
by region.� Many victims currently undergo several interrogations.�
This may result in secondary traumatization. [74]
The
Federal Law on Protection from Violence in the Family (Federal
Gazette 759/96) of 1997 provides law enforcement power to expel
a potential perpetrator of violence from his family home if
a dangerous attack is imminent. [75] � Though this allows women and children
victims of domestic abuse the right to stay in their own home,
the guarantee of safety is limited.� Though the police may confiscate
the perpetrator�s keys to the home and even resort to coercive
power to make him leave the premises, failure to comply with
the ban on return results only in an �administrative fine� which
�may be imposed on him.� [76] � Only repeated violations of the ban
may lead to� arrest. [77] ��
While this is a great improvement over previous legislation
which required proof of an act of severe violence as the prerequisite
for the issuance of any legal injunction, there is still concern
that the safety of (potential) victims of violence may not be
ensured.�
Legal
counsel
In
penal� cases, victims of violence are only entitled to legal
aid if they are able to pay lawyer�s fees.� In civil� cases,
the court decides whether a woman should be granted legal aid.�
The criterion is generally low income and if granted, the victim
is assigned a lawyer by the Chamber of Authorities.� Women�s
support services �demand that women who have suffered violence
be granted free legal counsel in every case and that they be
entitled to choose their lawyer themselves.� [78]
FGM
and asylum
The
recent state party report explains that Austria does not recognize
the threat of female genital mutilation as a ground for granting
asylum, but is �currently considering the adoption of this approach.� [79]
�
Migrant
women and violence
Migrant women who suffer violence are often
in a particularly difficult predicament.� The applicable laws
state that residence in Austria will be granted only on proof
of a secure source of income and standard housing.� The authorities
repeatedly monitor compliance with these requirements.� However,
women in particular often have no independent income and are
dependent on their husbands. [80] � Rosa
Logar, Austrian Women�s Shelter Network, Vienna
Migrant
women are even more reluctant than Austrian women to call the
police to report violence. [81] � Many migrant women
who suffer domestic violence have no choice but to keep quiet
about the abuse if they wish to stay in Austria. Migrant women
who are married to Austrian citizens are expatriated if they
divorce within four years of their marriage and cannot prove
that they make a sufficient independent livelihood. [82]
� Working migrant women often receive extremely low
wages and have no job security.� A migrant woman who is in Austria
with a family visa cannot separate from her husband and expect
to stay in Austria.� She is not permitted to work with the family
visa and it is extremely unlikely that she will be granted a
work permit of her own after separating from her husband.� In
both cases, even if the victim does not consider separation
or divorce, bringing charges against her husband affects her,
since she is dependent upon him for her livelihood, housing
and social insurance.� Restrictions on a new law of 1998 passed
to help victims of violence find work have limited its effectiveness.�
To date, only a few dozen women have qualified to benefit from
the law. [83]
ACTIONS
BY OTHER UN HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS PERTAINING TO WOMEN�S HUMAN
RIGHTS
Concluding
observations of the� Human Rights Committee: Austria. 19/11/98.
CCPR/C/79/Add.103. (Concluding Observations/Comments)
Main
Subject of Concern:
�
The
persistence of violence against women is a problem in Austria
Suggestions
and Recommendations:
�
The
State party should provide further information about measures
that counter all forms of violence against women.�
Concluding
observations of the Committee against Torture: Austria. 12/11/99.
CAT/C/23/2.(Concluding Observations/Comments)
Main
Subjects of Concern:
�
Police
are allowed to accuse a person who lodges a complaint against
them of defamation.� This discourages potential complaints that
make visible police brutality or other forms of abuse.
Suggestions
and Recommendations:
�
Competent
authorities should give the police clear instruction on avoidance
of abusive behavior, emphasizing that violations will be investigated
and punished.�
Concluding
observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination:
Austria. 07/04/99. CERD/C/304/Add.64. (Concluding Observations/Comments)
Main
subjects of concern:
�
Although
the Convention is part of domestic law, there is unwelcome subjectivity
exercised in the interpretation of the rule that �decisions
refusing an alien equal treatment may only be admissible if
and when there is a reasonable justification�.
�
There
appears to be uneven concern and lack of legal protection for
the protection of certain minority groups.� While protection
of Slovenian, Croatian and Hungarian minorities is commendable,
corresponding protective measures are lacking for Czechs, Slovaks,
Roma and the �new minorities from other parts of the world.�
Suggestions
and Recommendations:
�
Continue
to explore ways to provide equal and comprehensive protection
to all ethnic groups living in Austria.
Concluding
observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights: Austria.14/12/94. E/C.12/1994/16. (Concluding Observations/Comments)
Main
Subjects of Concern:
�
The
new law on residence and residence permits may be incompatible
with the Covenant provisions concerning non-discrimination.�
The law limits the number of foreigners authorized to work in
Austria and establishes restrictive conditions for the acquisition
of an Austrian residence permit.�
�
�ILO
figures indicate inequalities in the remuneration of women as
compared with men, especially in the private sector.�
Suggestions
and Recommendations:
�
Continue
work to ensure de facto equality of men and women in employment
matters.
�
Take
measures to ensure that non-nationals� rights are not hindered
by the implementation of recent immigration and residence legislation.
�
Monitor
the effects of unemployment and reduced social welfare services
on the enjoyment of the rights defined by the Covenant, especially
the effects on the most vulnerable groups in society.
Concluding
observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Austria.
07/05/99. CRC/C/15/Add.98. (Concluding Observations/Comments)
Main
Subjects of Concern:
�
There
are inconsistencies between domestic law and the provisions
of the Convention with regard to the right to family reunification
and some rights of immigrant, asylum-seeking and refugee children.
�
Sex
discrimination persists in issues affecting children.
�
Existing
legislation protecting children from sexual exploitation only
helps children up to the age of 14.�
Suggestions
and Recommendations:
�
Undertake
a study of the ages of sexual consent and sexual relations,
taking into account the implications of current legislation
and its effect on the realization of the rights of girl and
boy children.�
[1] Wolfgang Sch�ssel, �Inaugural Statement:
We are Confronted with Real Challenges,� 9 February 2000,
accessed at <http://www.austria.gv.at/e/>, accessed
28 April 2000.
[2] The World Factbook 1999, online, available
at <http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/au.html>,
accessed 29 April 2000.
[3] �Republic of Austria: The Country and its
People,� online, available at <http://www.austria.gv.at/e/oesterreich/index.htm>,
accessed 17 March, 2000.
[4] Secretariat of the Economic Commission
for Europe, Economic Survey of Europe (New York, UN
Publications, 1999 No. 2), 32.
[5] Secretariat of the Economic Commission
for Europe, Economic Survey of Europe (New York, UN
Publications, 1999 No. 1), 42.
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