Karoline Edtstadler, Austrian Minister for the EU and the Constitution, has said she wants to adapt the Geneva Convention to the Status of Refugees of 1951 to fight rising migration to Europe from poorer parts of the world. Austria is facing a migration crisis that is heavily influencing public sentiment ahead of general elections in September.
In a July 27 interview with Austrian media outlet Der Standard, Edtstadler advocated for moving asylum procedures out of the European Union and into third countries.
To this end, the Geneva Convention of 1951– which, she said, dated from “pre-globalised times” without “transcontinental migration movements”, should be “further developed” to meet the demands of current times.
Edtstadler told Brussels Signal she wanted to see change in two areas.
First, it should be easier to withdraw refugee status from people who commit serious non-political offences. According to Edtstadler this currently only encompasses crimes such as murder and rape, while it should also include participation in knife fights and burglaries.
Austria, especially the capital of Vienna, has recently seen a surge in deadly stabbings perpretrated by Syrian and Chechen migrants.
Secondly, Edtstadler said she wanted to ensure that refugees be taken in by the first safe nation they set foot in after leaving their country of origin, “as originally intended” by the Convention. Currently, refugees could just choose to end their “escape” in whichever country the choose, she said.
Edtstadtler did not explain how she planned to go about implementing the envisioned changes effectively. Christian Ebner, leader of the minor libertarian Ja zu Österreich party, said on X that rather than try to renegotiate the 1951 Convention, Austria should cancel the 1967 supplementary Protocol as the true source of asylum-seekers “shopping”. That is defined as migrants seeking to reach whatever Western European country offers them the most generous social benefits, regardless of what nation they first land in.
The 1967 Protocol was the last time the 1951 Geneva Convention was amended.
Es braucht keine Neufassung der Genfer #Flüchtlingskonvention @k_edtstadler, sondern eine Aufkündigung des Zusatzartikels von 1967, dem wir "verdanken", dass Migranten, die um die halbe Welt gereist sind, ausgerechnet in #Österreich einen #Asyl-Antrag stellen können. https://t.co/HHF5RwHJ3L
— Christian Ebner 🇦🇹 (@ChrisEbner_FM) July 27, 2024
Edtstadler’s comments formed part of a larger exercise by the ÖVP designed to portray itself as “tough on migration” ahead of the national elections on September 29, 2024. Migration, especially the surge in Muslim migrants, is a top concern for voters, according to surveys.
The ÖVP has governed Austria in a coalition with the leftist Green Party since 2019. During this time the numbers of migrants from underdeveloped regions of Africa and Asia have reached new heights.
That is in part because Austria makes it relatively easy for refugees to bring in family members directly from the countries they have left, putting great strain on Vienna’s public kindergartens and schools. According to latest numbers, 35 per cent of elementary school children are of Muslim backgrounds.
