ANNEX
FURTHER INFORMATION ON FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND PROTECTION MECHANISMS
Although we do not have the power to deal with your individual complaint, below is information on other bodies that may be able to help you or procedures that may be open to you.
In addition to the list of bodies given below you may wish to consult the web pages of the discrimination:
x ͚tŚĂƚ LJŽƵ ƐŚŽƵůĚ ŬŶŽǁ ĂďŽƵƚ ĂŶƚŝ-‐discrimination legislation: Frequently asked ƋƵĞƐƚŝŽŶƐ͛͗
http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=1713&langId=en (English) http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=1713&langId=fr (French) http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=1713&langId=de (German)
x ͚tŚĂƚLJŽƵĐĂŶĚŽŝĨLJŽƵŚĂǀĞƐƵĨĨĞƌĞĚ ĚŝƐĐƌŝŵŝŶĂƚŝŽŶ͗'ƵŝĚĂŶĐĞĨŽƌǀŝĐƚŝŵƐ͛͗ http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=1712&langId=en (English) http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=1712&langId=fr (French) http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=1712&langId=de (German)
Any more general queries about EU matters may be directed to the Europe Direct response service by calling the toll-‐free number 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11, from anywhere in the EU, or through their website: http://europa.eu/europedirect/.
NATIONAL COMPLAINTS MECHANISMS
Where possible you should always begin your complaint at the national level. Your Member State has set up the following bodies specialised to give information on non-‐discrimination and/or fundamental rights issues. It may be possible that this body has the power to decide on individual complaints, but you should check this with the body itself.
OMBUD FOR EQUAL TREATMENT (GLEICHBEHANDLUNGSANWALTSCHAFT) Headquaters
Taubstummengasse 11
1040 Vienna, AUSTRIA
Website: http://www.gleichbehandlungsanwaltschaft.at/DesktopDefault.aspx?alias=gaw
x Equal Treatment and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in Employment
Phone: +43 1 532 02 44, +43 800 206 119
E-‐mail: gaw@bka.gv.at
x Equal Treatment irrespective of Ethnicity, Religion or Belief, Age or Sexual
Orientation in Employment
Phone: +43 1 532 28 68, +43 800 206 119
E-‐mail: gaw@bka.gv.at
x Equal Treatment irrespective of Ethnicity in other Areas and Equal Treatment between Women and Men in the area of Goods and Services
Phone: +43 1 532 28 68, +43 800 206 119
E-‐mail: gaw@bka.gv.at
OMBUD FOR EQUAL TREATMENT (GLEICHBEHANDLUNGSANWALTSCHAFT) Regional offices
Europaplatz 12, 8020 Graz
Phone: +43 316 72 05 90
E-‐mail: graz.gaw@bka.gv.at
Kumpfgasse 25, 9020 Klagenfurt
Phone: +43 463 50 91 10
E-‐mail: klagenfurt.gaw@bka.gv.at
Mozartstraße 5/3, 4020 Linz
Phone: +43 732 78 38 77
E-‐mail: linz.gaw@bka.gv.at
Leipzigerplatz 2, 6020 Innsbruck
Phone:+43 512 34 30 32
E-‐mail: ibk.gaw@bka.gv.at
OMBUDSMAN BOARD (VOLKSANWALTSCHAFT)
Singerstraße 17 (Postfach 20)
1010 Wien, AUSTRIA
Tel: (+43) 1 51505 0
Free phone number: 0800 223 223
Fax: (+43) 1 51505 190
E-‐mail: post@volksanwaltschaft.gv.at
Website: http://www.volksanw.gv.at/
OMBUDSPERSON FOR CHILDREN (KINDER UND JUGENDANWALTSCHAFT) Burgenland
Europaplatz 1, 7000 Eisenstadt
Tel.: 057/600-‐2808 http://www.burgenland.at/kija Kärnten
Adlergasse 18, 9020 Klagenfurt am Wörthersee
Tel.: 050/536-‐14802 kija@ktn.gv.at
http://www.kija.ktn.gv.at/35981_DE
Niederösterreich
Neugebäudeplatz 1, 1. OG -‐ 3100 St. Pölten Tel.: 02742/90811 post.kija@noel.gv.at
http://www.kija-‐noe.at/
Oberösterreich
Kärntnerstraße 10, 4021 Linz Tel.: 0732/7720-‐14001 kija@ooe.gv.at
http://www.kija-‐ooe.at/
Salzburg
Gstättengasse 10, 5020 Salzburg Tel.: 0662/430550 kija@salzburg.gv.at
www.kija.at/sbg
Steiermark
Paulustorgasse 4/III, 8010 Graz
Tel.: 0316/877-‐5500 (Kinder-‐ u. Jugendrechtetelefon)
Tel.: 0316/877-‐4921 kija@stmk.gv.at
http://www.kinderanwalt.at/
Tirol
Meraner Straße 5, 6020 Innsbruck Tel.: 0512/508-‐3792 kija@tirol.gv.at
http://www.kija-‐tirol.at/
Vorarlberg
Schießstätte 12, 6800 Feldkirch Tel.: 05522/84900 kija@vorarlberg.at
http://vorarlberg.kija.at
Wien
Alserbachstraße 18, 1090 Wien
Tel.: 01/70 77 000
post@jugendanwalt.wien.gv.at http://www.kja.at/
Other associations or organisations probably also exist at the national level that can offer you further support and information on making a complaint. Information on these should be available at the national level. In particular you should be aware that the following might exist:
x Local advice or legal support agencies, facilitating access for victims of rights violations to the legal system;
x Trade unions or professional associations, representing the interests and well-‐being of their members;
x ŽŶĨŝĚĞŶƚŝĂů͚ŚĞůƉ-‐ůŝŶĞƐ͕͛ĂĚǀŝƐŝŶŐŝŶĚŝǀŝĚƵĂůƐŚŽǁƚŽƚĂŬĞĂĐƚŝŽŶ͖
x Non-‐Governmental Organisations, giving out information and supporting court cases or complaints on behalf of those alleging violations of their rights.
NON-‐GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS
There are many NGOs operating at the national and European level. While most NGOs do not deal directly with individual complaints they are a valuable source of information and contacts for those experiencing discrimination on different grounds, or other alleged violations of fundamental rights. If you are searching for an NGO working on an area relevant to you a useful starting point is the Commission-‐funded Platform of European Social NGOs (Social Platform). The Social Platform represents NGOs covering a wide range of social issues at the local, regional, national, and EU levels. Below are examples of NGOs dealing with different types of discrimination:
x Issues related to ageism are tackled by AGE ;ƵƌŽƉĞĂŶ KůĚĞƌ WĞŽƉůĞ͛Ɛ WůĂƚĨŽƌŵͿ -‐ website: http://www.age-‐platform.org/;
x Prejudice on the basis of sexual orientation is addressed by ILGA Europe (International Lesbian and Gay Association) ʹ www.ilga-‐europe.org;
x ENAR (European Network Against Racism) deals with racism and xenophobia -‐ www.enar-‐eu.org;
x EDF (European Disability Forum) advocates for the rights of the disabled -‐ http://www.edf-‐feph.org/.
x ƵƌŽƉĞĂŶ tŽŵĞŶ͛Ɛ >ŽďďLJ dealing with discrimination against women -‐ http://www.womenlobby.org/. In addition to the NGOs mentioned above the Social Platform lists NGO members covering other ƚŚĞŵĞƐƐƵĐŚĂƐĐŚŝůĚƌĞŶ͛ƐƌŝŐŚƚƐ͕ĂĐĐĞƐƐƚŽŚĞĂůƚŚĐĂƌĞĂŶĚĞĚƵĐĂƚŝŽŶ͘ůŝƐƚŽĨƚŚĞŝƌŵĞŵďĞƌƐ and the issues they cover can be found on their web page: http://www.socialplatform.org/. If you find an NGO that deals with the issue that relates to your complaint, you may be able to access information on their website that lists who their members are in your Member State.
COMPLAINTS MECHANISMS AT THE E.U.
Where you feel that your rights have been infringed by a Member State or by the E.U. institutions you wish to contact one of the following bodies. Note that these web pages may appear initially in English. However, there is usually an option on the page to choose a different language:
x dŚĞƵƌŽƉĞĂŶWĂƌůŝĂŵĞŶƚ͛ƐŽŵŵŝƚƚĞĞŽŶWĞƚŝƚŝŽŶƐ͗
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public/staticDisplay.do?id=49.
This is available to EU citizens and those people resident in an EU Member State. You may make a complaint that is related to an issue of EU interest or responsibility.
x The Ombudsman of the European Parliament: http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/atyourservice/ataglance.faces.
This is available to EU citizens and those people resident in an EU Member State. You may make a complaint relating to poor or bad administration by a body of the EU.
x The European Commission: http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/your_rights/your_rights_forms_en.htm.
This is available to anyone who wishes to complain to the Commission that a member State has failed to comply with EU law.
EUROPEAN AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS
You may also wish to consult the web pages of the Council of Europe or the United Nations. Some of the bodies listed below have power to deal with individual complaints, while others may be able to offer you with information. More details are available through the web links. Do note that for some of these bodies you will need to satisfy certain requirements before they are able to deal with a complaiŶƚ͕ŝŶƉĂƌƚŝĐƵůĂƌƚŚĞƵƌŽƉĞĂŶŽƵƌƚŽĨ,ƵŵĂŶZŝŐŚƚƐĂŶĚƚŚĞhE͛Ɛ treaty bodies. The most significant of these is the obligation to attempt to resolve your ĐŽŵƉůĂŝŶƚƚŚƌŽƵŐŚŵĞĐŚĂŶŝƐŵƐĂǀĂŝůĂďůĞĂƚƚŚĞŶĂƚŝŽŶĂůůĞǀĞů;ŽƚŚĞƌǁŝƐĞŬŶŽǁŶĂƐ͚ĞdžŚĂƵƐƚŝŶŐ͛ LJŽƵƌ͚ůŽĐĂůƌĞŵĞĚŝĞƐ͛Ϳ͘
Council of Europe bodies ʹ
European Court of Human Rights:
http://www.echr.coe.int/Pages/home.aspx?p=press/factsheets&c (English) http://www.echr.coe.int/Pages/home.aspx?p=press/factsheets&c&c=fra (French)
European Social Charter and the Committee of Social Rights:
http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/socialcharter/default_EN.asp (English) http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/socialcharter/default_FR.asp (French)
Commissioner for Human Rights:
http://www.coe.int/t/commissioner/ (English)
http://www.coe.int/t/commissioner/default_FR.asp (French)
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the Advisory Committee:
http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/minorities/default_en.asp (English) http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/minorities/default_FR.asp (French)
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture:
http://www.cpt.coe.int/en/default.htm (English) http://www.cpt.coe.int/fr/default.htm (French)
http://www.cpt.coe.int/en/other-‐languages.htm (Other languages)
United Nations & international human rights treaty bodies -‐
The United Nations has two distinct avenues for individual complaints. The Human Rights ŽƵŶĐŝů ;ǁŚŝĐŚ ƌĞƉůĂĐĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŽŵŵŝƐƐŝŽŶ ŽŶ ,ƵŵĂŶ ZŝŐŚƚƐ ŝŶ ϮϬϬϲͿ ŽƉĞƌĂƚĞƐ ͚ƐƉĞĐŝĂů procĞĚƵƌĞƐ͛ ĂůůŽǁŝŶŐ ĂŶ ŝŶĚŝǀŝĚƵĂů ƚŽ ŵĂŬĞ Ă ĐŽŵƉůĂŝŶƚ ƚŽ ĂŶ ŝŶĚĞƉĞŶĚĞŶƚ ĞdžƉĞƌƚ ŚŽůĚŝŶŐ Ă ŵĂŶĚĂƚĞĞŝƚŚĞƌŝŶĂƌĞůĞǀĂŶƚƚŚĞŵĞŽƌƌĞůĂƚŝŶŐƚŽĂƉĂƌƚŝĐƵůĂƌ^ƚĂƚĞ͘dŚĞ͚ƐƉĞĐŝĂůƉƌŽĐĞĚƵƌĞƐ͛ĂƌĞ available to individuals anywhere in the world in relation to any State, as long as their complaint falls within an established mandate. Information on how to access this procedure may be found via ʹ
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/chr/special/communications.htm (English) http://www2.ohchr.org/french/bodies/chr/special/index.htm (French)
/ŶĂĚĚŝƚŝŽŶƚŽƚŚĞ͚ƐƉĞĐŝĂůƉƌŽĐĞĚƵƌĞƐ͛Ă^ƚĂƚĞƚŚĂƚŝƐƉĂƌƚLJƚŽĂŐŝǀĞŶhE-‐sponsored human rights treaty is subject to supervision by the relevant monitoring body. Several treaties provide the possibility of making an individual complaint, as long as the State has given its prior consent. Information on making a complaint to the treaty-‐bodies may be found via ʹ
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/petitions/index.htm.