flights as an “independent human rights observer”. Furthermore, the Association of Human Rights Austria is active in providing legal advice, in the assistance of persons being detained pending their forced return and in repatriation counselling of aliens. The Human Rights Advisory Council that was active within the Federal Ministry of the Interior until the end of June 2012 criticised that solely the Association of Human Rights Austria that has been entrusted with the observation of forced returns by air. Furthermore, it was alleged that the concurrent exercise of different tasks within the scope of the same official act leads to a conflict between the tasks. The former Human Rights Advisory Council recommended that other institutions and persons be assigned as human rights observers. Role conflicts, such as the concurrent use as interpreter and human rights observer should, in any case, be avoided. The Federal Ministry of the Interior did react to these recommendations; however, some questions have remained unresolved. Prompted by the observations of the Commissions and the criticism by the former Human Rights Advisory Council, the AOB initiated an ex-officio investigative proceeding about the role of the Association of Human Rights Austria in forced returns. During the observation of a forced return from Vienna to Lagos, the question of the scope of the Commissions’ rights arose. The case invol- Access to the airplanes by the Commissions ved a charter flight by Air Italia which was being carried out within the scope of FRONTEX with the participation of seven other European countries. At the Vienna International Airport, the AOB’s delegation wanted to enter the passenger area for the flight, which was not yet ready for boarding, because it had observed an altercation – apparently with police involvement. The members of the delegation were prevented from doing so by a member of the deportation team. Therefore, the delegation could not fulfil its duty of observing the exercise of direct administrative power and compulsion by police. It should be clarified – for future cases as well – whether the Commissions may accompany persons being deported during the flight. After all, the reason for the establishment of the former Human Rights Advisory Council was the death of Marcus Omofuma, whom a police officer had „restrained“ on the airplane. In this case, the AOB contacted the Federal Ministry of the Interior in order to come to a common understanding of the scope of the rights of the NPM as quickly as possible. 55