While examining admissions to psychiatric hospital wards in accordance with the Hospitalisation of Mentally Ill Persons Act (Unterbringungsgesetz) the commissions have found that a surprisingly high percentage of these admissions occur without the confirmation by a public health officer, i.e. in accordance with Section 9 (2) of the Hospitalisation Act (in case of imminent danger – without an examination). This exception provision is probably used even more frequently in rural areas. Therefore, one can assume that the statutory primary method (in accordance with para. 1) is very frequently not complied with. This raises concerns in respect of human rights. Psychiatry As the (former) Human Rights Advisory Board of the Federal Ministry of the Interior criticised over the period of many years the inadequate availability of doctors in public medical service in rural areas for examinations to determine if a person’s physical conditions allow imprisonment and to perform screenings for admission to psychiatric wards, now, due to Ebola, 24/7 on-call availability of the public health officer outside of regular service operations has been introduced. The commissions expect that this availability will be maintained after the fear of Ebola has receded. On-call availability for public health officers The deficits surrounding the clarification of allegations of abuse against police authorities identified some years ago by the (former) Human Rights Advisory Board still exist. The publicly discussed possible reopening of the proceeding in the “Bakary J.” torture case shows how important it would be to apply international recommendations. As the (former) Human Rights Advisory Board long demanded, the system of abuse proceedings in Austria needs to be fundamentally reformed so that allegations are investigated quickly and independently. Allegations of abuse At the beginning of 2014, Commissions 4 and 5 dealt with a large number of family returns in accordance with the Dublin III Regulation: there were 27 cases during the period from 1 October 2013 to 19 April 2014. Returns were to various European countries that were already well-known to many families due to their experiences with flight and migration. These experiences are often negative and trigger feelings of fear. What children experience in the course of (forced) returns leaves deep psychological wounds, especially when children see violence being used against their parents. Therefore, the commissions repeatedly criticised – referring specifically to the welfare of children – the circumstances surrounding the (forced) returns of families with small children and/or pregnant mothers (see also p. 137 et seq.). Forced returns Another problem that became manifest during (forced) returns is the question of responsibility for cross-border health care for chronically ill persons. While provision of medication by the police during transport is guaranteed, seamless further treatment at the destination is not ensured. It should be guaranteed that a drug-addicted patient who was integrated into a substitute drug programme in Austria or a 18