OMBUDSWOMAN STOISITS PARTICIPATES IN PANEL DISCUSSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN AUSTRIA
On December 7th, 2011, Ombudswoman Stoisits participated in the panel discussion “The Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights and Human Rights Policy in Europe” which took place at the Top cinema.
The discussion was chaired by Corinna Milborn (News); further participants were Barbara Kussbach (Initiative Menschenrechte Jetzt!), Manfred Nowak (Ludwig Boltzmann for Human Rights), Heinz Patzelt (Amnesty International) and Irene Brickner (Der Standard).
The debaters critically examined the human rights situation in Austria six months after the acceptation of the 131 recommendations by the Human Rights Council to Austria. The meaning of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) as a furtherer of human rights in Austria and its weak points among others belonged to the frame topics of the lively discussion in which also the audience participated. The willingness to communicate between civil society and state institutions which became visible during the UPR procedures was positively mentioned by the Ombudswoman. Heinz Patzelt appealed to civil society to keep up the good work. The Ombudswoman being also the vice-president of the Human Rights League Austria discussed the current state as well as the future of the League. The integration of the Human Rights Council into the Ombudsman Board was also discussed. All debaters agreed on the fact that the human rights situation in Austria is developing into a positive direction. However, they also criticized flaws which become visible when making international comparisons. Among others, the fact was emphasized that the fighting of discrimination of LGBT-persons was only possible with the help of the International Court of Justice.
The event was part of the Human Rights Talks which make part the program of the annual film festival “This Human World”. The festival was founded in 2008 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the declaration of human rights. It is one of the first festivals of this kind in Austria and belongs to the international Human Rights Film Network (HRFN). The festival focusses on the mediation, discussion and presentation of movies which deal with important social topics.
For more information read also: www.thishumanworld.com and www.liga.or.at