A/HRC/62/55/Add.1 34. The Special Rapporteur also received deeply concerning reports detailing forms of Islamophobia and anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism perpetrated by the State, including the surveillance and overpolicing of communities by law enforcement agencies. For example, Operation Luxor in Austria in 2020 was a massive operation targeting suspected “Islamist extremists” and organizations, including civil society organizations, in Vienna, Styria and Carinthia. The large-scale operation involved 70 locations and significant resources, yet resulted in no arrests, investigations or charges. This raises significant questions about the lawfulness of such operations and the extent to which Operation Luxor was based upon objective criteria and reasonable suspicion, as opposed to racial profiling and/or hostility to Muslims. It was reported that other raids against Muslim communities, Arabs and Palestinians have taken place since Operation Luxor. In addition, the Special Rapporteur received reports that public protests, particularly those in support of Palestinians, have been a setting for surveillance and overpolicing of Arabs, Muslims and Palestinians. 35. The Special Rapporteur is deeply concerned by the pervasive and systemic nature of Islamophobia and related forms of racism. She welcomes the steps taken by the Government to address Islamophobia, including the implementation of inter-faith projects and the development of some teaching and training initiatives on anti-Muslim racism. Given reports of racial profiling affecting Muslims, Arabs, people of Arab descent and Palestinians, she also welcomes the establishment of both the Investigation and Complaints Office for Allegations of Police Ill-treatment and the Ministry of the Interior working group to develop recommendations to put a stop to racial profiling. The Special Rapporteur further welcomes the fact that the mandate and work of different equality bodies encompass the equal treatment of Muslims, Arabs, people of Arab descent and Palestinians. 36. The Special Rapporteur is nevertheless concerned by the lack of data about the situation of Muslims, Arabs and people of Arab descent and Palestinians. Furthermore, it was not clear to her that the Government has adopted a whole-of-government and whole-ofsociety approach to preventing, addressing and remedying Islamophobia. She is concerned by the absence of both a specific strategy on Islamophobia and an overarching national action plan against racism that includes consideration of the needs of those groups. The Special Rapporteur urges Austria to urgently address these significant gaps. 37. In addition, the Special Rapporteur has serious concerns about the headscarf ban for girls under 14. Amendments to the School Act mandating this ban were adopted by Parliament shortly after her visit. It is planned for the updated legislation to be implemented during the 2026/27 school year, although challenges to the constitutionality of the amendments are expected. As was acknowledged by many officials, a similar, more limited ban was annulled by the Constitutional Court in 2020 on the grounds that it was discriminatory. 38. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that the ban targets only one religious symbol. The State educational system is not secular and other religious symbols are permitted within schools. Moreover, if implemented, the ban will impact only one gender, of a particular age and religion. The Special Rapporteur listened carefully to the information provided by different stakeholders about the rationale for the ban being put in place to provide opportunities and protection. She perceived there to be a lack of accurate data demonstrating the rationale and how the requirement of proportionality has been met. Moreover, she identified a concerning tendency to rely on harmful stereotypes to justify the ban. These stereotypes included Muslim girls as inherently needing protection and Muslim boys as dangerous, the headscarf as having a one-dimensional and oppressive symbolism and the notion that Muslim girls who wear headscarves may be limited to “traditional” life paths. The Special Rapporteur did not see substantial evidence of sufficient reflection on whether high levels of societal Islamophobia, including intersectional forms of discrimination leading to hostility to women who wear headscarves, have played into public debates on this issue. Moreover, the Special Rapporteur is concerned by the risk that a headscarf ban and/or the debates about such measures will fuel already high levels of Islamophobia and intersecting forms of gender-based discrimination. There is also a risk that a ban on headscarves may negatively impact the education of girls and increase their marginalization. 39. While the Special Rapporteur notes that a progressive system of enforcement of the legislation is envisaged, she is nevertheless shocked that the Government has introduced a 10