UN blasts Austria over immigrant reception centers

Violation of UN human rights conditions says report

With scenes of thousands of illegal immigrants and refugees flooding the Greek islands of Kos, Lesbos and Leros making the news headlines all around the globe, it is interesting to see what the conditions are for refugees in other EU countries. Amnesty International released a report Friday, according to which there are serious human rights violations in Austria’s main immigrant reception centers. The report says overcrowding is a big problem in the centers with over 1,000 people forced to live crammed under inhumane conditions. The findings of the report were presented Friday by Amnesty Austria head Heinz Patzelt, who said he is ‘unspeakably angry, adding that conditions represented a failure to care for refugees fleeing wars and violate UN conventions on the rights of children and women. Specifically, at the Traiskirchen center, to the south of Vienna there were women with unaccompanied children. The Austrian Interior Ministry simply responded by saying it acknowledged a ‘precarious situation’.