• Human Rights Advisory Council

    The Human Rights Advisory Council supports the Austrian Ombudsman Board as an advisory body. It consists of representatives of the Federal Ministries, the province and civil society. It supports the AOB in determining the focal points for monitoring procedures, issuing maladministration statements, developing recommendations and ensuring consistent procedures and inspection standards.

    The Human Rights Advisory Council consists of an independent chairperson and vice chairperson as well as 16 members and substitute members. The chair must have specific skills and specialist knowledge in the field of human rights. The members and substitute members and the chair are appointed by the AOB on the basis of proposals from non-governmental organizations and ministries.

  • Responsibilities

    The Human Rights Advisory Council advises the members of the AOB in the human rights sector and makes recommendations regarding the definition of monitoring priorities and monitoring standards.

    Since 1 July 2012, the Human Rights Advisory Council advises the members of the AOB with respect to their responsibilities in the human rights sector. It is the responsibility of the Advisory Council to advise the AOB with respect to its new competences, including but not limited to the determination of maladministration and recommendations and the definition of monitoring priorities to be applied during preventive monitoring visits.

    Furthermore, it makes suggestions on how to ensure unity of action. The Advisory Council has the right to be heard prior to the appointment of the members of the Commissions.

    As a forum for dialogue for representatives of human rights organisations and the relevant Ministries, the Human Rights Advisory Council has the potential of adapting international human rights standards and incorporating them into national monitoring priorities.

    The uniform monitoring priorities then become the benchmark for the Human Rights Advisory Council when it advises the AOB in the determination of maladministration and a guideline for the assessment of whether the provided recommendations can attain the predefined human rights standards.

    The Chairperson, the members and the substitute members of the Human Rights Advisory Council are appointed by the AOB.

  • Chair

    The Chairpersons of the Human Rights Advisory Council are appointed by the AOB. In the execution of their activities, they are not bound by any instructions; they must have specific capabilities and expert knowledge in the field of human rights.

    The members of the Ombudsman board have appointed Dr. Renate Kicker as chairperson of the new Human Rights Council with effect from 1 July 2012. Prof. Andreas Hauer has been vice chairman since 13 January 2014. Dr. Gabriele Kucsko-Stadlmayer was vice chairperson until 31 December 2013.

    Ass.-Prof. Renate Kicker teaches at the Institute for International Law and International Relations at the University of Graz and was a member of the European Commission on the Prevention of Torture (CPT) for several years. Prof. Andreas Hauer is a Professor of Public Law and vice chairman of the Institute for Administrative Law and Public Administration of Johannes Kepler University (JKU) Linz.

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  • Members and substitute members

    The members and substitute members of the Advisory Council are nominated on the basis of parity by non-governmental organisations and certain federal ministries. The Laender are also represented in the Human Rights Advisory Council. The members and the substitute members are appointed by the AOB. 

    The chart below lists all members and substitute members of the Human Rights Advisory Council. By clicking on the name, you get to the curriculum vitae of each member or substitute member.

     

    Institution Name Position
    Federal Ministry of the Interior Mathias VOGL member
    Federal Ministry of the Interior Johanna ETEME substitute member
    Federal Chancellery Brigitte OHMS member
    Federal Chancellery Susanne PFANNER substitute member
    Federal Ministry of Health Meinhild HAUSREITHER member
    Federal Ministry of Health Claudia STEINBÖCK substitute member
    Federal Ministry of Justice Brigitte ROM member
    Federal Ministry of Justice Andrea MOSER-RIEBNIGER substitute member
    Federal Ministry of Defence and Sports Karl SATZINGER member
    Federal Ministry of Defence and Sports Sonja SCHITTENHELM substitute member
    Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs Konrad BÜHLER member
    Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs Mourad MAHIDI substitute member
    Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection Manfred PALLINGER
    		 member
    Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection Predag RADIC substitute member
    Representation of the Laender Shams ASADI
    Office of the Independent Representative for the Protection of Employees, municipality of Vienna    		 member
    Representation of the Laender Wolfgang STEINER
    Office of the Government of Upper Austria    		 substitute member
    Amnesty International Austria in collaboration with SOS Kinderdorf (SOS Children’s Villages) Moritz BIRK member
    Amnesty International Austria in collaboration with SOS Kinderdorf Philipp SONDEREGGER substitute member
    Caritas Austria in collaboration with VertretungsNetz Angela BRANDSTÄTTER member
    Caritas Austria in collaboration with VertretungsNetz Susanne JAQUEMAR substitute member
    Diakonie Österreich in collaboration with Volkshilfe Martin SCHENK member
    Diakonie Österreich in collaboration with Integrationshaus Yasmin DE SILVA substitute member
    Pro Mente Austria in collaboration with HPE Gernot KOREN member
    Pro Mente Austria in collaboration with HPE Ulrike RAUSCHER-GÖTZINGER substitute member
    Selbstbestimmt Leben Initiative Österreich Monika SCHMEROLD member
    Selbstbestimmt Leben Initiative Österreich Martin LADSTÄTTER substitute member
    SOS Mitmensch in collaboration with Integrationshaus and Asyl in Not Walter SUNTINGER member
    SOS Mitmensch in collaboration with Integrationshaus and Asyl in Not Tanja KRAUSHOFER substitute member
    Gewaltschutzzentrum Steiermark in collaboration with Bundesverband der Gewaltschutzzentren Barbara JAUK member
    Gewaltschutzzentrum Steiermark in collaboration with Bundesverband der Gewaltschutzzentren Renate HOJAS substitute member
    ZARA (Civil Courage and Anti-Racism Work)
    in collaboration with Neustart    		 Franz GALLA member
    ZARA in collaboration with Neustart Klaus PRIECHENFRIED substitute member

     

  • focal points for monitoring

    The Human Rights Advisory Council presented the AOB with a catalogue of focal points for the monitoring procedure at the start of 2013. This catalogue contains topics on which the commissions should particularly focus when it comes to their visiting and reporting activities. The Human Rights Advisory Council develops criteria on each monitoring focal point according to which the human rights standards should be assessed.

    The AOB stipulated the process of conducting urine and drug tests for individuals in the justice system as its first monitoring focal point. According to this focal point, the commissions ascertain when urine and drug tests are being arranged at prisons and when and how they are conducted. Commission reports show that there is room for improvement when it comes to adherence to human rights. The AOB has initiated numerous investigative proceedings.