VIENNA - The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, Ashwini K.P., today called on Austria to step up efforts to prevent, address and remedy structural forms of racial discrimination in the country.
"During my visit, I was struck by deeply entrenched and pervasive racial hierarchies within Austrian society, leading to high levels of racism in society as a whole, as well as structural forms of discrimination and exclusion," Ashwini K.P. said in a statement at the end of her visit to the country.
The Special Rapporteur commended Austria for having legal protections and for measures taken by the federal Government, Länder and cities to address discrimination. She nevertheless expressed concern about multiple forms of racism and their impact on Africans and people of African descent, Jewish people, Muslims, people of Arab descent, Roma, Palestinians, Asians and people of Asian descent. She stressed that those experiencing racism often face multiple and concurrent forms of discrimination, resulting in structural exclusion. This includes hate speech, hate crimes, racial profiling and discrimination in education, housing and employment.
The Special Rapporteur noted the recent resurgence of right-wing populism in Austria and an increase in its representation at the federal and Länder levels. "These trends could be an accelerant of racism," she warned.
"Austria has relevant equality and non-discrimination laws in place and the Federal and Länder governments have implemented measures to address racism. However, key additional steps must be urgently taken to step up anti-racism efforts in Austria" the expert said.
Ashwini K.P. will present her report to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2026.
