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Amnesty International welcomes the fact that the long-promised plan to set up an investigative unit to investigate police violence is finally being implemented. At the same time, the human rights organization does not hold back with criticism: Independent and therefore effective investigations are not guaranteed due to the integration of the position in the Ministry of the Interior.
(Vienna, March 6, 2023) After years of waiting, the government has finally presented its plan to set up an investigation center to investigate police violence. "As gratifying as it is that a law is finally being passed, it is obviously flawed and does not comply with international law standards, especially with regard to independence," explains Annemarie Schlack, Managing Director of Amnesty International Austria. In recent years, Austria has been repeatedly criticized by the UN and the Council of Europe for not having an effective mechanism for investigating police violence. The investigative agency has long been a central demand of the human rights organization, but Amnesty sees major weaknesses in the current proposal and criticizes it:
1. Independence not guaranteed: Located in the Ministry of the Interior, lack of transparency in the appointment process for the head of the office
“The independence of such a body is central to the question of how effectively it can really work and investigate allegations of violence. Therefore, it must not have any hierarchical or institutional connection to the police itself, in other words: It must absolutely be located outside the Ministry of the Interior and not be subject to the authority of the Minister of the Interior," says Teresa Exenberger, Advocacy & Research Officer at Amnesty International Austria analyzed the project in detail. However, the current plan does not provide for that and places the position in the Federal Office for Combating and Preventing Corruption (BAK), an institution of the Ministry of the Interior. "This makes it clear that the investigative agency can by no means act independently," criticizes Annemarie Schlack. And further: "If no independent and thus effective investigations are ensured, this project runs the risk that the trust of those affected is lacking and they do not turn to the agency if they are accused of abuse."
The planned appointment process for the management of this position, which is to be filled by the Minister of the Interior, is also questionable. It is essential for independence, in particular, that the leader has no close ties to politics or the police in order to rule out conflicts of interest as far as possible. A transparent process and criteria that ensure the independence of management should definitely be anchored in law, Amnesty demands.
2. Not comprehensive: Does not include all police officers or prison guards
The human rights organization also criticizes the fact that the investigative body is not responsible for allegations of mistreatment against prison guards, and that even some police officers do not fall within the competence of the investigative body - namely the community security guards or community guards established in many communities. "All of these involve government officials with the power to exercise coercive force, and an effective investigation into allegations of ill-treatment against them would be just as warranted under international law," Schlack, Amnesty's executive director, said.
3. Civil Society Advisory Board: No selection of members by ministries
Amnesty International is positive about the planned establishment of a so-called advisory board, which is intended to ensure that the investigative body can fulfill its tasks. However, the members would have to be elected independently; Amnesty strictly rejects a selection by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice – as is currently planned.
4. Reform of the public prosecutor's office necessary
The problem of the potential bias of public prosecutors is also not clarified in the current draft: Because the risk of conflicts of interest is particularly high when investigations against police officers are conducted under their leadership, with whom they are collaborating in other investigations. Therefore, Amnesty calls for a concentration of the competence of the public prosecutor's office in the case of allegations of mistreatment against police officers: One could either make the WKStA responsible for all such proceedings throughout Austria; or corresponding competence centers could be set up at the four senior public prosecutor's offices. This would also ensure a specialization of the responsible public prosecutors, who would then have the specific know-how required for such proceedings.
Civil society was not involved in the draft law
"Even if it is positive that the long-awaited investigative body is finally here, it would have been important to involve civil society and international organizations," says Schlack, also criticizing the way the law came about. “We have repeatedly warned against not using the existing expertise and drafting a law on your own. Rightly so. But it is not too late and now is the time to consult civil society broadly and to remedy the shortcomings.”
Read more: Amnesty Campaign “Protect the Protest”
Amnesty International has been calling for one for years Complaints and investigation office for police violence, which focuses on independence and impartiality. Almost 9.000 people have joined the demand so far and the Petition unterschrieben
The demand is part of the worldwide campaign Protect the protest, where Amnesty International calls for the protection of our right to protest. Protest is a powerful tool to protect human rights and reduce inequalities. It gives us all the opportunity to raise our voices, make our voices heard and demand that we be treated as equals. However, the right to protest has never been threatened by governments around the world as it is today. Dealing with police violence - especially during peaceful protests - is also a massive problem in Austria.
Photo / Video: Amnesty.
