Current Issues

On 23 April 2012 the members of the Austrian Ombudsman Board presented the annual report 2011.

The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has opened an investigation into whether the European Commission has taken appropriate measures to combat increased bee mortality in the EU, which is potentially linked to certain insecticides.

The Austrian Ombudsman Board (AOB) will take up its new function as National Preventive Mechanism within the OPCAT regime as of 1 July 2012 and is currently taking the necessary preparatory steps. In addition to filling staff vacancies the AOB’s new Human Rights Advisory Board recently convened for the first time.

The Austrian Ombudsman Board that will take up its new function as National Preventive Mechanism within the OPCAT regime as of 1 July 2012 recently participated on an expert level in a workshop on the immigration removal process organised by the Council of Europe.

More and more complaints about the duration of citizenship procedures reach the Ombudsman Board: At the end of 2010 a Somali applied for Austrian citizenship. After a year he still hadn’t received a decision concerning his application.

The Austrian public broadcasting company ORF expands its services for deaf and hearing impaired persons. This includes the popular TV-Show “BürgerAnwalt” in which Ombudsman Peter Kostelka and Ombudswomen Gertrude Brinek and Terezija Stoisits present current cases.

The Austrian Ombudsman Board (AOB) has commented on the Draft National Plan of Action for Persons with Disabilities that was recently tabled by the Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection. The AOB welcomes the National Action Plan (NAP) in general but also identifies several deficiencies.

The Lebenese husband of an Austrian applied for a title of residence. Due to missing documents the MA35 stayed inactive for several months, but did not inform the couple.