provided to prison staff through programs that are developed with an aim to allow them to
deal more adequately with people from different backgrounds.
Mr. President,
Diversity and pluralism pose no risk to our societies, but are a source of development,
progress and peace. There may be many different ways in addressing the challenges that
minorities face within their criminal justice systems, but irrespectively of national contexts
they all should share a common objective: the promotion and protection of persons
belonging to minorities and their integration into society. Austria will continue its strong
engagement in this direction and we are confident that the ideas and recommendations
voiced at this Forum will form a good basis for further progress.
Thank you very much.