National Ethnic Minority Groups

Austrian legal basis and international conventions for the protection of national minorities:

Austria is home to 6 autochthonous ethnic groups:

  • Burgenland Croats
  • Slovenes
  • Hungarians
  • Czechs
  • Slovaks
  • Roma

Legal basis

Under Section 1 Paragraph 2 of the National Minorities Act, national minorities are understood as "such groups of Austrian citizens living in parts of the Federal territory and having a language other than German as mother tongue as well as traditions of their own."

As Austrian citizens, members of national minorities have the same rights as any other Austrian citizen. However, there are a number of regulations and provisions that contain special regulations for "(autochthonous) national ethnic minorities" and "linguistic minorities".

International conventions

Convention for the Protection of National Minorities

The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities entered into force for Austria on 1 July 1998. It contains binding principles under international law for the protection of national minorities and requires the states to take measures to protect and promote these minorities. This framework agreement was designed to create a pan-European standard for the rights of nationalethnic groups.

European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is a multilateral agreement adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe. The aim of the agreement is to protect regional or minority languages as a common European heritage and to promote Europe's cultural richness.

Contact

Federal Chancellery
Unit for National Minorities Issues
Ballhausplatz 2, 1010 Vienna
Phone: +43 1 531 15-20 23 76
Email: volksgruppen@bka.gv.at

Further information

Links