A UN report criticizes Austria's treatment of asylum seekers who are identified as victims of torture or as having a psychological condition. The detention of people with mental health problems in so-called security cells in deportation facilities must stop immediately, the UN Committee against Torture demanded in its regular report in Geneva on Friday (May 10).

The Committee also voiced its concern about "the absence of a formal national mechanism to identify vulnerable asylum-seekers". It called on Austria to ensure that asylum seekers in need of protection, such as victims of torture, human trafficking and gender-based violence, are given priority in asylum procedures and receive medical care. The report expressed concern about poor conditions in deportation centers, particularly the lack of healthcare.

UN experts also criticized the fact that under Austrian law, people with psychosocial or mental disabilities can be detained or subjected to forced medical treatment. The Committee called on Austria to "immediately stop detaining individuals with mental health issues in so-called security cells in detention deportation facilities". This includes solitary confinement, solitary confinement, physical and chemical restraint in forensic medical facilities, even for children. The government should urgently review the relevant laws.

It was also concerned by reports of poor conditions and lack of access to adequate health services, including mental health services, due to chronic understaffing in some detention deportation facilities.

The Committee urged neighboring Liechtenstein to review its agreement on the transfer of offenders to the Austrian prison system. Prior to this, there must be fundamental legal guarantees against torture and ill-treatment for prisoners from Liechtenstein. 

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Missing children

Human rights organizations in Austria have repeatedly criticized the treatment of asylum seekers by Austrian authorities, especially regarding the treatment of minors. According to the 2023 asylum statistics, over 95 percent of refugee children who applied for asylum in Austria last year have since disappeared. The number of missing children highlights the failure of the Austrian authorities to protect refugee minors, according to Amnesty International and Asylkoordination Österreich, an organization coordinating migrant aid groups in Austria.

Overcrowded initial reception centers and long waiting times for admission procedures are increasingly exacerbating the situation, states Asylkoordination Österreich. Although a rapid custody measure for unaccompanied refugee children was agreed under the current government program, implementation is still pending.

Refugee children spend an average of three months in the initial reception centers without appropriate care, in some cases even years. The long waiting time not only affects the mental health of a child, but also undermines their right to education and adequate care, the organization points out.

"The situation in the initial reception centers is precarious, and fundamental problems such as inappropriate accommodation for children in large camps and lack of custody continue unabated. A fundamental reform of the system is needed to protect refugee children,” says Lisa Wolfsegger, child refugee expert at Asylkoordination Österreich.

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Insufficient child protection measures

In 2023, 4,946 minors applied for protection in Austria. In the same period, 4,715 (95.33 percent) asylum applications were discontinued, because the children and young people concerned could no longer be found. The Austrian authorities assume that most of the children and young people travel on to other EU countries. However, the exact fate of the majority of the missing children remains unknown.

"The lack of custody for refugee children in Austria is an untenable situation that systematically disregards children's rights. The statistics do nothing to change the inadequate custody that refugee children in Austria have to contend with," said Aimée Stuflesser, expert on asylum and migration at Amnesty International Austria.

Currently, no one takes custody of the children as long as they are in camps which lack adequate care. In many cases the initial reception centers, which should only offer unaccompanied minors temporary accommodation when they arrive in Austria, become permanent accommodation.

Stuflesser explains that inadequate care, a lack of educational opportunities and a lack of prospects "characterize the everyday lives of these children".

Although federal accommodation is trying to compensate for this, Asylkoordination Österreich warns it is reaching its limits. The centers are often overcrowded and there is a lack of staff and resources to adequately meet the needs of the children and young people, the group notes.

The majority of unaccompanied refugee children in basic federal care have reportedly completed the admission procedure but are not transferred because the federal provinces tend to refuse to take over custody and place the children in better facilities in other parts of the country, according to Asylkoordination Österreich.

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