Legal source(s)

• The appointment of human rights coordinators (Menschenrechts-Koordinatorinnen und -Koordinatoren - Bundeskanzleramt Österreich) in the federal ministries was connected to the human rights activities within the framework of the UN Human Rights Year 1998.

Human rights capacity support

Functions

The human rights coordinators, located in each of the federal ministries, have the following functions:

• being a source of information, documentation and coordination for human rights issues;
• involvement in the handling of national and international human rights issues;
• observation of long-term departmental/authority-relevant human rights developments;
• addressing and raising awareness of human rights issues;
• development of thematic priorities.

Specific mandates

Structured cooperation with partners at national level

• Located in each federal ministry, the human rights coordinators regularly cooperate with actors and mechanisms in the executive and judicial branches of government.
• The human rights coordinators are the federal-level contact points for non-governmental organisations and other civil-society organisations on human rights issues.

Structured cooperation with partners at international and EU level

The human rights coordinators work with actors at the international and EU levels in the following ways:

• cooperation in the areas of information, documentation and coordination;
• involvement in the handling of national and international human rights issues;
• coordination of advice on human-rights-related issues;
• cooperation on human rights issues with other bodies;
• significant participation in the preparation of state reports relevant to human rights.