Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/mac/TEXT/HUMANrts/AUSTRIA.TXT

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TITLE:  AUSTRIA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995


                            AUSTRIA


Austria is a constitutional democracy with a federal structure,
a bicameral parliament, a directly elected head of state, and
an independent judiciary.

The police and security organs are subordinated to the
executive and judicial authorities.

Austria's highly developed market-based economy, with its mix
of technologically advanced industry and modern agriculture,
affords its citizens a high standard of living.

Human rights are highly respected in Austria; individual rights
and political freedoms are provided for in the Constitution and
generally protected.  However, there continued to be occasional
reports of abuse by police.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1  Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
           Freedom from:

     a.  Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

There were no reports of political or other extrajudicial
killings.

     b.  Disappearance

There were no reports of politically motivated abductions.

     c.  Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
         Treatment or Punishment

Torture is banned by the European Convention for the Protection
of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which is incorporated
into the Constitution.

There were occasional allegations of police brutality in 1994,
as in previous years.  Amnesty International accused the
Government of inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment of
foreigners in 1992 and 1993 while they were in detention
pending deportation.  The Interior Minister rejected the
accusations as "referring to cases that occurred years ago
(sic) and have since been invalidated."  In one of these cases
the accused police officer was charged, found guilty, and fined
under the Penal Code, which prohibits tormenting or neglecting
a detainee.  Authorities could not verify other accusations or
were unable to determine culpability.  Amnesty International
continues to look into judicial investigations of the
complaints.

     d.  Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

The Constitution prohibits arbitrary detention or exile.

In criminal cases the law provides for investigative or
pretrial detention for up to 48 hours, except that in cases of
charges of "aggressive behavior" an investigative judge may
within that period decide to grant a prosecution request (if
any) for detention up to 2 years pending completion of an
investigation.  The grounds required for such investigative
detention are specified in the law, as are conditions for
bail.  A January 1994 reform of the law requires the
investigative judge to evaluate an investigative detention at 2
weeks, 1 month, and every 2 months after the arrest.  In the
first quarter of 1994, the reform led to a 30-percent decrease
of persons held in detention pending investigation, compared
with the same period in 1993.

     e.  Denial of Fair Public Trial

The judiciary is independent of the executive and legislative
branches.  Judges are appointed for life, and may not (in
principle) be removed from office.  Jury trials are prescribed
for major offenses, and convicted persons have the right of
appeal.  Written charges must be presented to the accused, who
has the right to be represented by a lawyer.  Accused persons
are presumed innocent, and trials are public.

     f.  Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
         Correspondence

The law provides for the protection of personal data collected,
processed, or transmitted by government agencies, public
institutions, or private entities.  The Constitution protects
the secrecy of mail and telephone communications.  A 1991 law
introduced permanent parliamentary control over the state
police and the military secret service.  Parliamentary
subcommittees to oversee these organs were established in
September 1993.

Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

These freedoms are provided for by the Constitution, and are
generally respected, although stringent slander laws tend to
discourage reports of police brutality.  Austria has a free and
independent press, ranging from conservative to Communist.
Publications may be removed from circulation if they violate legal
provisions concerning morality or public security, but
such cases are extremely rare.  A 1992 law that lowered the
minimum sentences for public denial, belittlement, approval, or
justification of Nazi crimes has had the desired effect of
increasing the conviction rate of accused neo-Nazis.

Austrian radio and television are government monopolies but
they present diverse points of view.  There have been no known
complaints of either direct or subtle censorship.  A law passed
in July 1993 allowed for establishment of private radio
stations.  Austrians have wide access to international
broadcasts via radio and cable television.

Freedom of academic expression is respected.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly and
association, except for Nazi organizations and activities (an
exception stipulated also in the Austrian State Treaty of
1955).  Public demonstrations require a permit from the police
authorities, who are limited to considering only the
public-safety aspect of the proposed demonstration, not its
political purpose.  Permits are routinely issued.  The Law on
the Formation of Associations stipulates that permission to
form an organization may be denied if it is apparent that the
organization will pursue the illegal activities of a prohibited
organization.

     c.  Freedom of Religion

While the Constitution incorporates the Treaty of St. Germain,
which restricts this freedom to religions deemed compatible
with public safety and morality, no religions have been banned
or hampered, and practitioners of all faiths worship free of
governmental interference.  To qualify as a recognized
religious organization under Austrian law, a religious group
must register with the Government.

     d.  Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
         Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

The Government does not restrict movement within or out of
Austria (including emigration).  Citizens who leave the country
have the right to return at any time.

As a result of a tightening of asylum regulations, applications
continued to drop in 1994.  A report by the Office of the U.N.
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) designates Austria as
one of only two Western European nations that are "not a safe
third country," on the grounds that the Austrian Government
denied asylum to persons charged with crimes carrying the death
penalty, and that it incorrectly interpreted the 1951
Convention on Refugees with regard to victims of civil wars.

Human rights organizations continue to criticize a 1993 law
establishing a quota system for foreign residents, because it
makes no distinction between new immigrants and those already
resident as guest-workers, and it limits and delays family
reunification.

Section 3  Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of Citizens
           to Change Their Government

The Constitution requires that national elections be held at
least every 4 years.  Suffrage is universal for citizens over
age 19, and balloting is secret.  The 183 members of
Parliament's lower house, the National Council, are directly
elected for 4-year terms, while the 63 members of the upper
house, the Federal Council (whose powers are mainly advisory),
are elected by the legislatures of the nation's nine provinces
for terms of 4 to 6 years.  The president (head of state) is
elected by direct popular balloting.  The chancellor (prime
minister and head of government) is usually the leader of the
strongest party in Parliament.  The two are usually from
different parties and are not necessarily elected
simultaneously.  The Government is a coalition.

Women candidates did not fare as well in the 1994 elections as
previously, and the number of women in the National Council
decreased from 46 to 40.  In the Cabinet, women occupy 4 of the
16 ministerial positions.

Section 4  Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
           Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
           of Human Rights

The Government does not interfere with discussions or
investigations by the media, public groups, or private
individuals regarding allegations of improper activities on the
part of the authorities.  International and local human rights
groups operate freely.  Austria recognizes the competence of
the European Human Rights Commission in Strasbourg to implement
the European Convention on Human Rights.

Section 5  Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

The law provides for comprehensive protection against any of
these kinds of discrimination in employment, provision of
welfare benefits, and other matters.

In October four letter-bombs were mailed to widespread targets
in Austria, three of which have foreign connections:  a
German/Slovene publishing company; a church-run home for
refugees; and an advisory board that assists foreigners.  It is
generally assumed that rightwing extremists were the
perpetrators.  Police have been investigating intensively, but
at year's end had made no identifications of suspects.

     Women

Most legal restrictions on women's rights have been abolished.
Women are still prohibited by law from night work in most
occupations, and this ban is sometimes used as a pretext for
not hiring women.  (Nurses, taxi drivers, and a few other occupations
are exempted from this ban.)  Austria will enter
the European Union (EU) in 1995, and is to harmonize its law
with relevant EU guidelines by 2002, beginning in 1997.

Sixty percent of women between ages 15 and 60 are in the labor
force, and their numbers are continuing to grow.  Despite
substantial gains in women's incomes in private industry, these
average 20 percent lower than those of men.

Women are not allowed in the Austrian military; suggestions by
politicians that women do mandatory civilian service, as do
men, were rejected by the Women's Affairs Ministry and women's
organizations.

Although labor laws providing for equal treatment extend to
women in the civil service, they remain underrepresented
there.  To remedy this, the Women's Omnibus Law which went into
effect in January 1993 requires hiring women of equivalent
qualifications ahead of men in civil service areas in which
less than 40 percent of the employees are women; but there are
no penalties for failure to attain the 40-percent target.

Women may be awarded compensation of up to 4 months' salary if
discriminated against in promotions because of their gender.
The Labor Court can also award compensation from employers to
victims of sexual harassment.

Laws prohibit violence against women, but enforcement is often
difficult.  In cases of domestic dispute in which a woman has
been physically abused, police may arrest the perpetrator only
if he is caught in the act or the woman files a complaint.  A
court order forcing a man to stay away from his wife or from
any specified woman generally takes 3 to 6 weeks to obtain.
Official data for 1993 show 12,377 reported cases of male
violence against women, 529 of which were rape cases, and 142
prison sentences for rape.  Rape is punishable by 1 to 10
years' imprisonment.

Women's organizations estimate between 3 and 10 percent of
women become victims of male violence each year.  The
Government has committed itself to combating family violence,
under a campaign publicly supported by the Chancellor.

     Children

The Government has also declared itself committed to protecting
children's rights and welfare.  Austrian laws protect the vast
majority of children's rights established in international
conventions, and in some respects go beyond them.

Each provincial government, and the federal Ministry for Youth
and Family Affairs, has an "Ombudsperson for Children and
Adolescents" whose main function is to resolve complaints about
violations of rights of children.

     People with Disabilities

Disabled individuals are protected by law from discrimination
in housing, education, and employment.  Austrian law requires
all private enterprises and state and federal government
offices to employ 1 disabled person for every 25 to 45
employees, depending on the type of work.  Employers who do not
meet this requirement must pay a fee to the Government, and the
proceeds help finance services for the disabled such as
training programs, wage subsidies, and workplace adaptations.
No federal law mandates access for the physically disabled;
some public buildings are virtually inaccessible for those
unable to climb stairs.

Section 6  Worker Rights

     a.  The Right of Association

Workers have the right to form and join unions without prior
authorization, under general constitutional guarantees of
freedom of association.  In practice, Austrian trade unions
have an important and independent voice in the political,
social, and economic life of the country.  In 1994, 53 percent
of the work force was organized in 14 national unions, all
belonging to the Austrian Trade Union Federation (OGB), which
has a highly centralized leadership structure.  Individual
unions and the OGB are independent of government or
political-party control, although formal factions within these
organizations are closely allied with political parties.

Although the right to strike is not explicitly provided for in
the Constitution or in national legislation, it is universally
recognized.  Strikes have been comparatively few and usually of
short duration.  A major reason for Austria's record of labor
peace is the unofficial system of "social partnership" among
labor, management, and government.  At the center of the system
is the Joint Parity Commission for Wages and Prices, which has
an important voice on major economic questions.

     b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

Unions have the right to organize and bargain collectively.
Almost all large companies, private or state-owned, are
organized.  Worker councils operate at the enterprise level,
and workers are entitled by law to elect one-third of the
members of the supervisory boards of major companies.
Collective agreements covering wages, benefits, and working
conditions are negotiated by the OGB with the National Chamber
of Commerce and its associations, which represent the
employers.  Wage-price policy guidelines are set by the Joint
Parity Commission.  A 1973 law obliges employers in enterprises
with more than five employees to prove that job dismissals are
not motivated by antiunion discrimination.  Employers found
guilty of this are required to reinstate workers fired for
union activities.  Austrian labor and business representatives
remain in disagreement over how to comply with the obligation
under the International Labor Organization's Convention 98 to
provide legal protection to employees against arbitrary
dismissals in firms with five employees or fewer.

Typically, legal disputes between employer and employees
regarding job-related matters are handled by a special
arbitration court for social affairs.  The OGB is exclusively
responsible for collective bargaining.  The leadership of the
Chambers and the OGB are elected democratically.

Austria has no export processing zones.

     c.  Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

Forced labor is prohibited by law and is not practiced.

     d.  Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The minimum legal working age is 15.  The law is effectively
enforced by the Labor Inspectorate of the Ministry of Social
Affairs.

     e.  Acceptable Conditions of Work

There is no legislated national minimum wage.  Instead,
nationwide collective bargaining agreements set minimums by job
classification for each industry.  A worker whose annual income
falls below a poverty line (approximately $900 a month for a
married couple) is eligible for social security benefits.  The
average Austrian has a high standard of living, and even the
minimum wages are sufficient to permit a decent living for
workers and their families.

Although the legal workweek has been established at 40 hours
since 1975, more than 50 percent of the labor force is covered
by collective bargaining agreements that set the workweek at 38
or 38.5 hours.

Extensive legislation, strictly enforced by the Labor
Inspectorate of the Ministry of Social Affairs, provides for
mandatory occupational health and safety standards.  A law
effective January 1, 1995, extends such protection to all
workers.  Workers may file complaints anonymously with the
Labor Inspectorate, which may bring suit against the employer
on behalf of the employee; but this option is rarely exercised,
as workers normally rely instead on the Chambers of Labor,
which file suits on their behalf.