A/HRC/62/55/Add.1 Annex Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Ashwini K.P., on her visit to Austria I. Introduction 1. The Special Rapporteur visited Austria between 2 and 9 December 2025 at the invitation of the Government. She travelled to Vienna, Graz and Salzburg, meeting with a wide range of federal and Länder-level officials, including from the justice system and equality bodies. She also met with legislators, representatives of regional and international organizations and civil society representatives. 2. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank the Government for the invitation to visit Austria. She appreciates the constructive engagement of all the officials with whom she met and the efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate all elements of the visit. She also expresses her appreciation to all the stakeholders who met with her, including those who shared their lived experiences of racial discrimination. 3. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur summarizes the findings of her visit, including both the positive elements and the issues that she identified. She concludes the report by making a series of recommendations to the Government. II. Background A. General background 4. Austria is a landlocked country in the southern part of Central Europe, with a population of 9.2 million.1 The official language is German. The Federal Constitution defines the Republic of Austria as a representative democracy and federalist State with a clear division of powers between the Federal Executive and the nine Länder: Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Vienna. Federal executive power is vested in the Federal President and the Federal Government. Austria is a parliamentary democracy, and elections are held for the President and the two chambers of Parliament: the National Council and the Federal Council. The nine Länder have their own constitutions, parliaments and governments. 5. Austria recognizes six national minorities: Slovene, Croatian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak and Roma. No disaggregated data are available on the ethnic composition of the population. 6. Austria joined the European Union in 1995 and is a member of several international and regional organizations, including the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. B. Legal framework 7. Austria has a civil law legal system grounded in the Federal Constitution, which establishes equality before the law and prohibits discrimination. Austria has ratified the core international human rights treaties, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Austria is bound by the Convention for the Protection 1 2 Population as of 2025 (HRI/CORE/AUT/2026, para. 7).