Overview
- After a week of meetings in Vienna, Graz and Salzburg, Ashwini K. P. concluded that racist superiority beliefs are widespread in Austria.
- She recommends a comprehensive national anti-discrimination plan to overcome split federal and state responsibilities that create protection gaps.
- She raises serious concerns about a planned headscarf ban for girls under 14, warning it could reinforce stereotypes, harm schooling and push families toward segregated education.
- Her findings cite the rise of right-wing populism and acceptance of ethnonationalist ideas linking Austrian identity to whiteness as drivers of exclusion.
- The assessment flags hate speech and crimes, racial profiling and discrimination in education, housing and employment affecting Black people, Roma and Sinti, Jews and Muslims, with a formal report due to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2026.