Investigating human rights
used in transactions in the future. Furthermore, the present problems were
discussed multiple times and individual Federal Ministries also presented
concrete implementation plans.
Major progress is
apparent
The AOB is now pleased to report that substantial progress has been made
across all Federal Ministries and that the correct use of diacritical marks is
possible in almost all applications. Furthermore, it is apparent that great
efforts are being made to be mindful that in the course of current adjustments
in the purchase, updating, upgrading and development of software and
hardware diacritical marks can be processed.
The recommendation by the AOB from December 2007 can finally be seen
as largely implemented after more than seven years. However, it is still not
foreseeable when the recommendation of the AOB will be fully implemented.
3.2 Family and Youth
Caretaking obligations and support of unaccompanied minor refugees
Despite the clear legal situation and the doubtless existing responsibility
of youth welfare organisations vis-à-vis unaccompanied minor refugees,
in practice, these organisations do not assume their obligations as
derived from the law or do so only in part. An ex-officio investigative
proceeding by the AOB is pending.
Thousands of children
and adolescents are
refugees
Every year, thousands of children and adolescents flee without their parents
from crisis regions in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. In 2014, around 2,000
of these unaccompanied minor refugees reached Austria. In February 2015,
around 750 young people under 18 had been waiting – in some cases for
several months – in various federal support facilities to be assigned to facilities
that provide reception conditions under the Basic Provision Agreement in the
respective Land. What is waiting for them there depends on the individual
Land; thus far, the Federal Government and the Laender have not been able
to agree on uniform standards for the care and support of minors.
Neither the Austrian Civil Code nor the Federal Children’s and Youth Service
Act (Bundes-Kinder- und Jugendhilfegesetz) differentiate between Austrian
citizens and aliens in matters of caretaking. Fundamentally, the Laender, as
operators of child and youth welfare facilities, are obligated under the law to
undertake the care of minors if they are unaccompanied, picked up in Austria
and their welfare is threatened. However, there is neither an awareness of
the obligations that result from care nor a consensus between the Laender
regarding the resources that must be made available for the fulfilment of
these responsibilities. Social workers from child and youth welfare authorities
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