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Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Austria (RATIFICATION: 1960)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Austria (RATIFICATION: 2019)

The Committee notes that the first report of the Government on the application of the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, has not been received. The Committee requests the Government to provide the first report on the Protocol of 2014 along with its next report on the Convention due in 2024.

The Committee notes the observations made by the Federal Chamber of Labour (BAK) communicated with the Government’s report.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. 1. Programme of Action. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the implementation report for the National Action Plan (NAP) to combat Trafficking in Human Beings 2018–2020 attached to the Government’s report. According to this report several projects, initiatives and measures were carried out for strengthening national and international cooperation against trafficking in persons, for sensitization and awareness raising of various occupational groups as well as for improving victim protection and support. The Government also refers to the adoption of a new NAP for 2021–2023, which brings together a total of 109 measures under various topics namely: (i) national and international coordination and collaboration; (ii) prevention; (iii) victim protection; (iv) law enforcement; and (v) monitoring and research. The Action plan also determines who is responsible for, and the time frames for its implementation and identifies indicators of whether and how the measures have been implemented. The Committee encourages the Government to continue taking effective measures to combat trafficking in persons, within the framework of the NAP 2021-23. It requests the Government to transmit information providing an overview of the measures taken in this context as well as on the assessment of the implementation of the NAP, indicating the results achieved, the challenges faced and the measures envisaged to overcome them.

2. Prosecution and penalties. The Committee notes the Government’s information that training courses and other awareness-raising programmes to help identify victims of human trafficking are regularly offered to monitoring authorities such as the police and labour inspectors, judicial officers or youth protection authorities. With regard to the application of section 104(a) of the Penal Code, which criminalizes trafficking in persons with imprisonment for up to five years, the Committee notes that according to the report of the Working Group against Human Trafficking for the Purpose of Labour Exploitation 2018–2020, in 2019 the police carried out a total of 42 preliminary investigations against 62 suspects of human trafficking. A total of 66 victims (including 14 underaged victims) were identified. Most of the cases concerned the offense of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Furthermore, according to the report of the Federal Criminal Police Office’s entitled Situation Report, Smuggling and Trafficking in Human Beings 2019, a total of 17 victims were identified in eight investigations into suspected human trafficking for labour exploitation in 2019. According to the evaluation of judicial proceedings from the prosecutor’s office, from 2017 to 2020, there were 318 cases under section 104(a) and 218 cases under section 217 of the Criminal Code relating to cross-border trafficking for prostitution, with 1,002 recorded victims. These included 61 cases under section 104(a) and 41 cases under section 217 in 2020. A total of 25 convictions were secured between 2017 and 2020. The Committee observes that the number of convictions is low compared to the number of cases recorded.

The Committee notes the observations made by the BAK that the strict implementation of effective sanctions, more frequent monitoring and greater cooperation between labour inspectors and agriculture and forestry inspectors on the one hand, and the financial police and the Austrian Healthcare Insurance Fund on the other are required in order to combat trafficking in persons. The Committee further notes that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in its concluding observations of 2019, while welcoming the increased number of investigations and prosecutions of traffickers, expressed concern at the lenient sentences imposed on traffickers (CEDAW/C/AUT/CO/9, paragraph 24). The Committee requests the Government to continue to take measures to ensure that investigations and prosecutions of cases of trafficking of persons are carried out and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the application in practice of sections 104(a) and 217 of the Penal Code criminalizing trafficking in persons and cross-border trafficking for prostitution, including the number of convictions and penalties applied.

3. Identification and protection of victims. The Committee previously noted the Government’s information on the victim protection institutions, which provide psycho-social counselling, accommodation, medical care and legal assistance to victims of trafficking. It further noted that foreign victims of trafficking are granted a period of 30 days to recover and reflect prior to taking any stay-related steps after which they may receive a “special protection” residence permit, if criminal proceedings have been commenced or other claims have been raised.

The Committee notes from the NAP implementation report that a new shelter for male victims of trafficking was opened in 2018, which is fully operational throughout the year with a capacity of over 60 people which will be further extended in 2020. This shelter offers safe accommodation, medical, legal and psychosocial support, crisis intervention as well as litigation support. Furthermore, the red-white-red cards (settlement permit issued pursuant to section 41a of the Settlement and Residence Act, which grants unlimited access to the labour market) were issued for 28 victims of trafficking in 2018, for 45 victims in 2019 and for 33 victims in 2020. The Committee observes that in its observations, the BAK refers to the need to facilitate the acquisition and extension of the right of residence of victims and to improve their access to employment. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken to improve the identification of victims of trafficking and on services provided to victims of trafficking through different institutions to support their rehabilitation and social reintegration.