COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD EXAMINES REPORT OF AUSTRIA ON SALE OF CHILDREN, CHILD PROSTITUTION AND CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon reviewed the initial report of Austria on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
Christian Manquet, Head the Criminal Law Department in the Federal Ministry of Justice of Austria, introducing the report, noted that the legal standard in Austria concerning the combat against sexual and other exploitation of children, as well as victims' rights in criminal and civil proceedings, had already been rather high at the time Austria had become a party to the Protocol in September 2000. The obligations stemming from the Protocol constituted an important contribution to further improving the situation, and the Government had transposed the provisions of the Protocol into domestic law, in some instances going beyond the requirements prescribed by the Protocol. One important instrument of assessment of how things were working, of course, were statistics. The Government was not in a position to collect all the data the Committee had requested at this time. The question on the improvement of the quality of statistics in all criminal matters had been included in the Government's programme of work for the years 2007 to 2010. National elections had been held two years earlier than scheduled, in September. Despite that, the efforts undertaken would continue and the question of statistics remained of significant importance for the newly elected Government.
In preliminary concluding remarks, Moushira Khattab, the Committee Expert said it was evident that Austria was making a concerted effort towards ensuring rights for children. The dialogue today had given the Committee a much clearer picture of what was happening on the ground in Austria. The Committees concluding observations would provide the Government with recommendations, underscore positive steps taken by Austria, and highlight concerns of the Committee that persisted in spite of all the efforts made.
Questions raised by Committee Experts included the role of the Children's Ombudsman in the implementation of the Optional Protocol; psycho-social assistance training programmes for staff involved with child victims; the criminalization of the sale of children and penalties imposed; special treatment or training for offenders; a unified approach for victims of child trafficking; a lack of complaints received on prostitution involving minors; and the right to reparations for victims.
The Committee will release its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Austria on the Optional Protocol towards the end of its three-week session, which will conclude on Friday, 3 October.
Austria's delegation, which presented the report, included representatives from the Federal Ministry of Justice; the Ministry of European and International Affairs; the Ministry of the Interior; the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Family and Youth; and the Austrian Mission to the United Nations Office in Geneva.
As one of the States parties to the Convention and its Optional Protocols, Austria is obliged to present reports to the Committee on its efforts to comply with the provisions of those instruments. The delegation was on hand to present the report and to answer questions raised by Committee Experts.
When the Committee reconvenes Tomorrow, 16 September, at 10 a.m., it will begin consideration of the initial reports of Uganda under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (CRC/C/OPSC/UGA/1 and CRC/C/OPAC/UGA/1).
Report of Austria
The initial report of Austria on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (CRC/C/OPSC/AUT/1) notes that, under the Austrian Criminal Code, anyone who recruits, harbours or otherwise accommodates, transports or offers or passes a minor on to another person with the intention to exploit the minor sexually or by removing his organs or by exploiting his labour, is to be punished by imprisonment for up to three years. Also punishable is anyone who induces the enslavement of another person or causes him or her to be brought into a slavery-like situation or causes this person to submit to slavery or to a slavery-like situation. The concept "slavery-like situation" also includes debt bondage, serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for their involvement in armed conflict.
In addition to legal measures adopted directly in the process of implementing the Optional Protocol, a National Action Plan for the Rights of Children and Adolescents was discussed by an Inter-Ministerial Working Group. This Programme, adopted by the Federal Government on 22 November 2004, provides for a package of measures to prevent offences referred to in the Optional Protocol. Furthermore, on 28 March 2007, the Austrian Government adopted the National Action Plan against Human Trafficking, which draws attention to child-specific aspects. This Plan has been worked out by the Task Force “Human Trafficking”, which was founded in 2004. Subsequently, in May 2007, the Task Force decided to set up an operative “sub-Task Force” to identify concrete demand-oriented measures for victims of child trafficking. There are no specific regulations contained in the Broadcasting Acts which explicitly prohibit the dissemination of child pornography. However, Federal Law on the Austrian Public Service Broadcaster, as well as the Law on Private Television stipulate that broadcasted programmes may not contain pornography. In addition, under the Federal Law, any broadcasts which are harmful to the physical, mental or moral development of minors are prohibited.
Presentation of Report
CHRISTIAN MANQUET, Head of the Criminal Law Department in the Federal Ministry of Justice of Austria, introducing the report, said Austria believed that there was no country, including Austria, that could rightfully claim to have achieved all the goals of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. In addition to the Optional Protocol, as a member of both the European Union and the Council of Europe, Austria was also bound by relevant legal instruments of those organisations, in particular the Framework Directives on the position and rights of victims in criminal proceedings of 2001; on combating trafficking in human beings of 2002; and on combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography of 2003; as well as the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings of 2005; and, most recently, the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse of 2007 (although the latter had so far not been signed by Austria). The Optional Protocol, however, had not only been the first binding legal instrument in this field, but — together with the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children supplementing the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, also of 2000 — had also set the standards in this area on a worldwide basis.
Austria had signed the Optional Protocol on 6 September 2000 and ratified it on 6 May 2004 without any reservations. The legal standard in Austria concerning the combat against sexual and other exploitation of children, as well as victims' rights in criminal and civil proceedings, had already been rather high at the time Austria had become a party to the Protocol. The obligations stemming from the Protocol constituted an important contribution to further improving the situation. Most of the implementing legislation had been done using the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 2004, and as the person responsible for drafting that legislation, Mr. Manquet assured the Committee that the it had been done with a view to full compliance with the Protocol's obligations.
Being aware of the opportunities, as well as of the limits, of making use of criminal law measures in combating not only undesirable, but totally intolerable, behaviour such as the sexual exploitation of children, the Austrian Government had transposed the provisions of the Protocol into domestic law, Mr. Manquet continued. In some instances more had been done than required by the literal text of the Protocol but — fully in line with its spirit – for instance, when it came to the punishment of consumers of child prostitution, where Austrian law went beyond the requirement to criminalize the offering, obtaining, procuring or providing of a child for child prostitution as prescribed by the Protocol.
One important instrument of assessment of how things were working, of course, was statistics, said Mr. Manquet. While noting that some statistics had been provided in the written responses, the delegation was fully aware that some data was missing. The Government was not in a position to collect all the data the Committee had requested at this time. Despite that, it remained a priority for the Government, and an area in which it intended to improve. The question on the improvement of the quality of statistics in all criminal matters had been included in the Government's programme of work for the years 2007 to 2010. Working groups dealing with the issue had already been established and had already shown results. One important aspect in the ongoing considerations was the availability of data, particularly in fields where international monitoring was taking place. National elections had been held two years earlier than scheduled, in September. Despite that, the efforts undertaken would continue and the question of statistics remained of significant importance for the newly elected Government.
Another issue that had surfaced as a result of the early elections was the project of enshrining children's rights into the Austrian Constitution, which had been part of the Government's agreed work programme to 2010. Despite that, the Government was convinced that endeavours in that direction had continued, no matter what the political landscape looked after elections in September. Furthermore, a package for the further improvement of the protection of children against violence, in particular sexual violence, had been drafted and could be adopted despite the breaking up of the Government, Mr. Manquet observed.
Mr. Manquet proudly announced that the voting age for national elections had been lowered to 16 years. As previously the voting age had been 18 years at the national level and 16 only very recently at some regional levels, there had not been much experience to draw upon about the voting behaviour of the 16-to-18-year-old age group. However, there was general consensus that it was a major step in improving children's opportunities to participate in political and everyday life matters, by having the right to vote.
Oral Questions Raised by the Rapporteur and Committee Experts
MOUSHIRA KHATTAB, the Committee Expert serving as country Rapporteur for the report of Austria, noted that it was gratifying to see the progress that had been achieved in Austria in the areas of education; health care; and social insurance, which included medical coverage. The Austrian educational system was traditionally the main source of its competitive advantage. In that connection, the Committee had some questions regarding the Hauptschule (secondary school) and performance of foreign students, who resided mostly in urban areas. The Committee attached great importance to the right to education as defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It was considered the first line of defence against all forms of violence and exploitation faced by the child; including matters covered by the Optional Protocol.
The Committee was confident that the obligation of Austria under the European instruments mentioned was a great asset to the implementation of Austria's commitment under Convention on the Rights of the Child and its two Optional Protocols, Ms. Khattab said. However, this dialogue stemmed from the many positive steps and measures taken by the Government to ensure closer harmony and full implementation of the Protocol. One example was the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 2004. The Committee had questions on how it really worked on the ground.
Among concerns, Ms. Khattab noted that the report had not been written in accordance with the Committee's reporting guidelines, reporting on the Optional Protocol article by article, instead of clustering rights as emphasized by the Committee. The purpose was to ensure complementarities and interdependence. In this regard, what process was used to prepare the current report, and what had been the participation of the civil society and children in this process?
On data, the Committee had observed that all sexual offences against minors had been grouped together, and had not been disaggregated by age or sex. Also, was data available on asylum-seeking and refugee children, Ms. Khattab asked?
A number of important policy documents including the National Programme of Action on the Rights of Children and Adolescents in 2004 had been adopted, Ms. Khattab said. However, they did not cover all areas covered by the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Also, regarding national programmes of action against human trafficking, given violence in society and among juveniles, were adequate follow-up measures in place? Furthermore, what resources had been allocated to those programmes and to what degree had they been implemented, Ms. Khattab asked?
The Committee's was also concerned regarding the lack of a mechanism to coordinate the implementation of the Optional Protocol. Ms. Khattab therefore asked what mechanism was currently in place to coordinate efforts and how it was financed.
Austria had taken a number of measures and initiatives to prohibit trafficking in children; including the National Action Plan and the establishment of the Sub-Task Force on Trafficking, Ms. Khattab said, but trafficking of children remained a serious concern for the Committee. The Committee felt that the absence of a comprehensive strategy to address the issue in a comprehensive manner that encompassed the various aspects of prevention, recovery and reintegration. For instance, what was Austria doing to combat sex tourism by Austrian nationals that continued to be a problem in spite of efforts taken, including having a Code of Conduct and strengthening legislation?
Adoption for the purpose of sale and the legal aspects of adoption would be discussed in length by Committee Experts; however, Mrs. Khattab requested more information about the rehabilitation of the victims and efficiency of the Austrian referral system in that regard.
Committee Experts then posed a number of questions to the delegation, including whether the Children's Ombudsman had a particular role in the implementation of the Optional Protocol; what age-assessment mechanisms existed in Austria and how they had been applied; whether their were psycho-social assistance training programmes for staff working with child victims; and how effective were the psycho-social services provided.
An Expert asked if the sale of children was criminalized under the Austrian Criminal Code, and if so what the penalties were? Among questions on preventive measures, what measures were in place to prevent the abduction of children; was special treatment or training provided for offenders to prevent recidivism; and was there a free children's helpline available for all child victims?
Committee Experts were concerned that there was no unified approach for victims of child trafficking in line with the many international instruments to which Austria was a party. Concerns were expressed on the fact that very few complaints had been received on the charge of promoting prostitution of minors, and more information was requested.
Response by Delegation to Oral Questions
Responding to questions and concerns raised by Experts, concerning the question of rehabilitation programmes for offenders, the delegation said that there were in fact programmes for offenders who had been involved in cases of sexual violence. Those programmes were available during the proceedings, the term of imprisonment and might continue after the offender's conditional release.
On reporting guidelines, it was hoped that the substantive parts of the answers had been included in the written report, and the delegation reaffirmed their commitment to adhere to the guidelines as much as possible in its next report. Concerning the involvement of children and civil society in the process, the delegation said that the Austrian report was considered to be on behalf of the Government and relevant institutions. The Federal Government was indeed ready and open to providing information to non-governmental organizations and to engaging in consultations with them, as had been done with regard to the implementation of the National Action Plans. However, in this case, many non-governmental organizations had not been present during the drafting of the present report.
Concerning the situation in the sphere of data and statistics, the delegation acknowledged that some data was missing. However, the Government was hoping to improve this situation in the future, in particular concerning the number of victims and where they came from.
Regarding a follow mechanism for the national action plans, the delegation said that a report was submitted in 2002 and over a hundred measures had been implemented thus far. €70,000 a year had been allocated to establish such programmes, including a children's human rights website. Raising awareness throughout the Government was also under way.
On the role of the children's ombudsman, the delegation noted that there was a total of nine ombudsman's offices in the country, which included one at the federal level. They each had different competences, however. They were engaged in awareness-raising and received all children's rights complaints, but were not considered legal entities. Each ombudsman submitted a follow-up report to a Government committee on the findings of each Office, but did not have jurisdiction on the direct implementation of the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
With regard to training of staff, the delegation a number of training programmes had been implemented within various institutions within the Government and Police enforcement officials, the delegation said. In terms of the effectiveness of the measures, in 2007, over 9,000 reports had been received from Internet users and police authorities on child pornography activity. That was a significant increase from previous years, and was attributed to the various awareness-raising activities and training programmes in place.
Concerning the question on jurisdiction for sexual offences, the delegation said that in the Criminal Code a couple of offences were included where people could be held accountable for criminal conduct abroad involving trafficking in children. In cases involving the abuse of children, and abuse of minors for remuneration, committed abroad, for the offender to be tried in under Austrian law where the activity was not illegal in the country where it was committed, the perpetrator had to be either an Austrian or a permanent resident of Austria.
Regarding the sale of children, all of provisions of article 3 of the Optional Protocol (setting out the acts that had to be criminalized by States parties) had been criminalized under Austrian law. In terms of the consequences, all counts carried terms of imprisonment. Concerning the follow-up of convictions, there was a draft bill up for adoption which contained a provision for the collection of data regarding sexual offenders for use used by law enforcement agents when investigating related matters.
Concerning awareness campaigns, the delegation noted that the Austrian Foreign Ministry was very active in that regard, and had been engaged with countries in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe in a number of preventive projects that were already under way. Human and child trafficking round-table discussions had also been organized with the cooperation of a number of other European States.
With respect to the questions raised on psycho-social assistance, the delegation said that it was granted to children from the age of 16 years old. It was provided by specialized non-governmental organizations.
With regard to the low child trafficking complaints received, the delegation said that in response to such low numbers, a brochure had been distributed to police enforcement officials and other relevant officers and agencies to build awareness of the mechanisms and resources in place to assist victims.
Preliminary Concluding Observations
MOUSHIRA KHATTAB, the Committee Expert serving as country Rapporteur for the report of Austria, thanked the delegation for the answers to the Committees questions. It was evident that Austria was making a concerted effort towards the dialogue on the rights for children. Austria really cared about the rights of their children. It was hoped that the spirit and dedication in which Austria had engaged in this endeavour would continue after the Federal elections had concluded. The dialogue today had given the Committee a much clearer picture of what was happening on the ground in Austria. The Committee's concluding observations would provide the Austrian Government with recommendations, outlining positive steps taken by Austria, and highlighting concerns of the Committee that persisted in spite of all the efforts made.
For use of the information media; not an official record
CRC08022E