Personal liberty of children in Austria revisited: Achieving impact through comprehensive national follow-up to the UN Global Study on Children deprived of Liberty

About the Project

Research Topic & Roadmap

In November 2019, the first global study on the deprivation of liberty of children was published. The UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty examined the extent to which states implement basic human rights and child rights standards to prevent the deprivation of liberty of children. To this end, the study focused in particular on the extent to which alternatives had first been examined on an individual case-by-case basis prior to the imposition of any type of measure restricting freedom.

In August 2020, the programme line “Human Dignity and Public Security” of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR), in cooperation with the Global Campus of Human Rights, launched a project to advance the implementation of the comprehensive recommendations of the UN study at the national level. The project ran until the end of April 2022 and is currently in the finishing process. It will address the question of the extent to which these recommendations have already been implemented in Austria and where further action is needed.

Research Focus

Project activities include an inventory of the legal and factual framework for alternatives to the deprivation of liberty of children and adolescents. On this basis, a national implementation programme for good child rights-based practices and a comprehensive monitoring system will be developed.

A particular focus will be on the following areas:

  • Justice
  • Asylum and Migration
  • Stationary Accommodation
  • Situation of children with disabilities

Research Method

Within the framework of the project, the LBI-GMR will cooperate closely with several partners. In particular this includes the Ombudsman Board, the Children and Youth Advocacy and the residents’ representatives. Furthermore, the project aims at an active participation of children and adolescents in the research process.

Downloads
Studie Kinderrechte – Einsperren ist keine Lösung pdf 3.26 MB Zusammenfassung: Studie Kinderrechte – Einsperren ist keine Lösung pdf 0.70 MB Executive Summary. Study child right personal liberty pdf 0.20 MB Version für Jugendliche: Studie Kinderrechte – Einsperren ist keine Lösung pdf 0.58 MB Informationsblatt: Freiheitsentzug von Kindern in Österreich auf dem Prüfstand pdf 0.51 MB

Project Data

  • Project Title: Personal liberty of children in Austria revisited: Achieving impact through comprehensive national follow-up to the UN Global Study on Children deprived of Liberty
  • Project Consortium: Global Campus of Human Rights, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights
  • Project Team LBI-GMR: Helmut Sax (project leader), Alexandra Hoheisel, Laura Stelzer
  • Project Duration: August 2020 to April 2022
  • Funding Sources: Global Campus, Right Livelihood Foundation (RLF)
  • Programme Line LBI-GMR: Human Dignity and Public Security