Austrian Ombudsman Board submits Report on the Prevention of Torture to the UN Subcommittee (SPT)

Since July 2012 the Austrian Ombudsman Board, together with its six expert commissions, has a legal constitutional mandate for protecting human rights as a “National Preventive Mechanism” (NPM). This mandate is based on two significant legal instruments of the United Nations: The first instrument is the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) and the second instrument is the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

The AOB is obliged to annually report and inform the SPT about its work under the OPCAT mandate. The report on the prevention of torture 2015 gives an account of the activities of the Austrian National Preventive Mechanism. Only in this year the AOB and its commissions carried out 501 missions, out of which 445 institutions and 56 police operations were monitored. In total, the NPM has visited 1575 Institutions between 2012 and 2015. The Human Rights Advisory Council, who supports the Austrian Ombudsman Board as an advisory body, provided valuable assistance in this context.