Amnesty International Report 2017/18

80

Amnesty International Report 2017/18

in protecting the rights of Indigenous 

children. However, on 15 December, it 

ratified the Optional Protocol to the 

Convention against Torture (OPCAT), which 

mandates that youth detention centres and 

police lockups are subject to independent 

oversight and monitoring.

REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS

On 9 April, the government announced that 

the Australian-run facility on Manus Island, 

Papua New Guinea (PNG), would be closed 

by 31 October following the PNG Supreme 

Court ruling in 2016 that the centre was 

“illegal” and “unconstitutional”. On 14 April, 

PNG Defence Force personnel fired into the 

centre injuring nine people.

The men in detention were forcibly moved 

into “transit” centres on Manus Island on 24 

November. By the end of the year there was 

no clear plan for the settlement of refugees in 

a safe country.

As of December there were approximately 

800 adult males in detention on Manus 

Island (see Papua New Guinea entry).

The Australian government was forced to 

pay a settlement in June to nearly 2,000 

refugees and asylum-seekers held on Manus 

Island, for illegally detaining them in horrific 

conditions between 2012 and 2016.

As of 30 November, there were 339 people 

living in the offshore processing facility on 

Nauru, including 36 children. They were 

subjected to humiliation, neglect, abuse and 

poor physical and mental health care. At 

least 820 additional refugees lived in the 

community on Nauru; these people faced 

serious security risks and inadequate access 

to health care, education and employment.

Approximately 435 people transferred to 

Australia for medical treatment remained at 

risk of return to either Nauru or Manus 

Island.

Australia continued its “turnback” policy. In 

May the government reported that since 

2013, 30 boats had been returned either to 

Indonesia or to their country of departure. 

During 2017 people were directly returned to 

their country of nationality on three known 

occasions: from a boat containing 25 Sri 

Lankan nationals in March; five Chinese 

nationals who landed in northern Australia in 

August; and a boat containing 29 Sri Lankan 

nationals in December.

Australia continued its policy of mandatory 

indefinite detention of people arriving by 

plane without a visa. As of 30 November, 

there were 1,301 people in immigration 

detention onshore (including on Christmas 

Island). Of these, 19.8% had been detained 

for over 730 days.

Australia’s resettlement and humanitarian 

intake was 16,250 for its financial year 

beginning in June. This decreased from 

almost 22,000 for the previous financial year, 

with an additional intake of Syrian and Iraqi 

refugees ending.

RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, 

TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE

Following an overwhelming vote in favour of 

same-sex marriage, Parliament passed 

legislation to create marriage equality in 

December. The postal survey process chosen 

by the government failed to acknowledge that 

marriage equality is a human right and 

generated divisive and damaging public 

debate.

AUSTRIA

Republic of Austria

Head of state: Alexander Van der Bellen (replaced 

Heinz Fischer in January)

Head of government: Sebastian Kurz (replaced 

Christian Kern in December)

The number of asylum-seekers continued to 

fall. Authorities continued to deport 

rejected asylum-seekers to Afghanistan 

despite the security situation in the country. 

Amendments to the law on public 

assemblies increased the potential for 

restrictions on the right to peaceful 

assembly.

---

Amnesty International Report 2017/18

81

REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS – 

FORCIBLE RETURN

Between January and August, 17,095 people 

requested asylum; the number fell by nearly 

half compared to 32,114 people for the same 

period in 2016.

In October, Parliament amended the asylum 

law to automatically add a return order to any 

decision concerning the revocation of asylum 

or subsidiary protection status, for example 

upon conviction for a criminal offence, 

increasing the risk of refoulement – forcible 

return of an individual to a country where 

they would risk serious human rights 

violations.

The authorities continued to deport rejected 

asylum-seekers and undocumented migrants 

to Afghanistan despite the deterioration of the 

security situation in the country. In the first 

half of the year, 67 people were forcibly 

returned there.

In September, the Minister of the Interior 

announced the non-renewal of the 

Humanitarian Admission Programme 

pointing to the large number of asylum cases 

that were still pending. Since 2013, 1,900 

vulnerable refugees had been successfully 

resettled through the Programme.

During the year, asylum-seekers brought six 

individual complaints before the UN Human 

Rights Committee alleging that their return 

under the Dublin III Regulation (an EU law 

that establishes the criteria and mechanisms 

for determining the EU member state 

responsible for examining an asylum 

application) to Bulgaria and Italy would 

violate their human rights. In March the 

authorities deported a Syrian family to 

Bulgaria and in June a Somalian woman to 

Italy, despite the Human Rights Committee 

requesting Austria to refrain from doing so.

FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY

In June, Parliament amended the law on 

public assemblies, which gave the authorities 

new vaguely formulated grounds to prohibit 

public assemblies, including where an 

assembly is “against a foreign policy 

interest”. Shortly after, the Minister of the 

Interior suggested the introduction of further 

far-reaching amendments to the law, 

including fines and other administrative 

measures against organizers not complying 

with the law, and a cap on the number of 

public assemblies taking place in shopping 

streets. There were no steps to further amend 

the law at the end of the year.

COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY

In July, the government tabled an 

amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code 

that would introduce several new far-reaching 

surveillance methods. The amendment gave 

rise to concern regarding the right to privacy. 

The methods included software to access 

data from smartphones and techniques to 

intercept mobile phone traffic. The authorities 

would be able to use many of those 

techniques without seeking prior judicial 

authorization.

DISCRIMINATION

In October, a new law entered into force 

banning any kind of full-face covering in 

public spaces. Despite its purpose of 

“promoting active participation in society”, 

the law disproportionately restricted the rights 

to freedom of expression and of religion or 

belief.

In June, the Austrian National Council 

rejected a motion that would open a 

discussion on equal marriage irrespective of 

sexual orientation and gender identity. Same-

sex couples could enter a civil partnership 

but were not allowed to marry. In December, 

the Constitutional Court repealed 

discriminatory passages of the Marriage Act 

and the Registered Partnership Act. The 

repeal was to take effect from 1 January 

2019, thus enabling same-sex couples to 

marry and heterosexual couples to enter 

registered partnerships.

---