A/HRC/20/26/Add.1 24. The 1976 Law on Ethnic Groups, enabling the implementation of the State Treaty, defines ethnic groups as “such groups of Austrian citizens living in parts of the Federal territory and having a language other than German as mother tongue and having traditions of their own”.15 To ensure their recognition, the Act stipulates taking into account “the number of members of the ethnic group, the areas of the territory they live in, the ratio of their number as compared with other citizens of Austria in a particular area as well as their particular needs and interests”,16 and considering “the results of data collected by official statistics”17 for this purpose. The act regulates the use of topographic names in bilingual areas and the use of the minority language in official interactions with public institutions. 18 It restricts the right to bilingual signs and place names to areas where the ethnic minority makes up at least 25 per cent of the population. The Act provides for the establishment of ethnic group advisory boards to advise the Federal Government and Ministers on matters regarding their particular community, and stipulates the provision of financial support to ethnic groups for activities and projects aimed at preserving their cultural communities. 19 25. There is a debate among legal scholars on whether article 19 of the 1867 Basic Law on the General Rights of Nationals has been derogated by the more recent and more restrictive provisions of the 1920 State Treaty of St. Germain and the 1955 State Treaty of Vienna, thus disputing its applicability to minorities living in contemporary Austria. The matter has not been resolved yet; however the doctrine supports applicability. A 2000 government proposal to abolish article 19 was vehemently opposed by the minorities, and eventually withdrawn. 26. The Independent Expert welcomes the legislative framework adopted in Austria to safeguard the cultural rights of ethnic minorities and to ensure the use of their languages in schools, topographic signs, and administrative or judicial procedures. She is concerned, however, that most of these rights are only guaranteed to the minority population as long as they reside in the historical settlement areas. These rights are not guaranteed outside these settlements. Consequently, there is a differentiated treatment of members of the same minority depending on their physical location. Moreover, the prevalent demographic tendencies of urbanization and rural depopulation mean that an increasing number of persons from recognized minorities are losing these cultural rights. In this regard, the Independent Expert is concerned about statistical data collection, the results of which are to be considered for granting rights (see below). Statistical data collection 27. Statistical information related to minority communities is a matter of concern. The 2001 Population Census was the last “traditional” census using enumerators and questionnaires in a survey to collect empirical data. As of 2011, the population census is carried out using existing statistical registers, administrative registers and databases to obtain most of the information typically surveyed in traditional censuses. 20 This marks a turning point in the methodology used to collect statistical information on population, in which the desired information is not collected from citizens and residents, but extracted from pre-existing administrative registers that typically collate information for other purposes. 15 16 17 18 19 20 Sect. 1, art. 1(2). Sect. 1, art. 2. (2) Ibid. Sects. IV and V. Sects. II and III. As decided on the Register-based Census Act of 16th March 2006. 7