A/HRC/42/42/Add.2 about the indefinite duration of their stay in the facility. Some had been in the centre for a few days, some for several weeks and others for months. Some of the detainees were clearly in need of psychosocial care and, although the centre had been heralded as a good model of an open regime, with better conditions and treatment than other centres of the same kind, the use of sanctions against detainees, the lack of contact with family and lawyers and the possible use of solitary confinement were concerning. The Working Group understood that a non-governmental organization was providing legal advice to the detainees, but noted that some of them had complained that the legal support was inadequate. Many detainees stated that Austria was not their destination, but merely a place of transit in which they had been arrested and detained and were awaiting deportation, with their ultimate destinations of choice being elsewhere in the region. Their main concern – and source of anxiety – was to be freed from what they referred to as “prison” and to be reunited with family members. 76. The Working Group was concerned about the apparent age of some of the detainees, as one particular individual appeared to be less than 18 years old. The delegation was informed that the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum was the responsible agency that held information about the detainee, so it was difficult to confirm his age at the time of the visit. Some of the detainees were young and were clearly seeking better opportunities to make a living or were trying to get to relatives residing in other parts of Europe. Their impending return to their country of origin or departure was causing some of them significant distress, as they had escaped from severely impoverished situations and countries that were destabilized by armed conflict. Some of the detainees who notified the delegation of their countries of origin had come from the Gambia, Morocco, Nigeria and Pakistan. 77. While no significant complaints were expressed against G4S in Vordernberg, the Working Group cautions against the expanded outsourcing of government functions to private security companies and recommends that careful consideration be given to the human rights implications of such practices. 2. European Union regulations 78. The European Union has played a critical role in promoting national and regional controls over the provision and export of various military and security services. The application of such controls to private military and security companies remains limited, however. So far, there are no common regulations on private security or military companies that are registered in the European Union or on the export of their services. At best, current controls within the European Union can serve to illustrate the various mechanisms that could be used to improve the regulation of the private security industry. 79. The regulation of private security companies and the export of military and security services remains very much a matter for individual European Union member States. So far, no member State has passed specific laws controlling the provision of security services abroad. Most member States have extensive regulations for the provision of private security services within their borders. The prime mechanisms in this regard are the national registration and licensing of private security companies and their personnel. The conditions for obtaining licences – which, on average, need to be renewed every five years – vary among member States. However, all member States require private security company management and personnel to have a clear criminal record. Additional conditions include the holding of sufficient liability insurance, the use of identification cards with the staff member’s name and photograph and the wearing of approved uniforms that are not easily confused with those of the police or armed forces. About 60 per cent of European Union member States provide for the specific training of private security personnel and require them to pass an examination. 14