A/HRC/42/42/Add.2 an influx of individuals seeking asylum or passing through Austria to other countries in the region for the same purpose. In 2016, some 1.9 million people with a foreign background (with both parents born abroad) were living in Austria. A large majority of these individuals were born abroad, while around 480,000, who were born in Austria and are descendants of foreign-born parents, have often been referred to as “second generation” immigrants. Vienna remains the prime destination for international migration to Austria, and most migrants have settled in the eastern part of the country in close proximity to the capital. 15. From 2011 to 2016, an increasing number of nationals of European countries travelled to conflicts such as those in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic. During this period, an estimated 42,000 foreign fighters from over 120 countries joined armed conflicts. Of those, around 5,000 were estimated to come from Europe. 2 16. From 2014 and 2015, Austria was reported as having one of the highest per capita rates in the European Union of foreign fighters travelling to major conflict zones. An estimated 317 individuals attempted to join groups such as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as Daesh, and the group known at that time as the Nusrah Front. Around 60 individuals were intercepted while attempting to travel to the conflict zones, and many of them were tried and convicted under anti-terrorism legislation. About 93 persons were known to have returned from the conflict zones, but there are no definitive statistics on the numbers of persons killed in conflict. 3 C. Legal and institutional framework 17. Austria has ratified many international human rights conventions, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Protocols additional thereto, in which “mercenary” is defined. 4 Austria has yet to ratify the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. 18. The Working Group notes that most individuals who were reported to be travelling to participate in armed conflicts abroad were charged and convicted under section 278 of the Penal Code, which covers anti-terrorist legislation. Participation in a criminal organization, as defined in article 278a of the Code, constitutes a criminal offence, while leading or participating in a terrorist group is criminalized in article 278b. In further defining such participation, the law stipulates that this applies to anybody who, inter alia, supports a criminal group by providing information or assets or in any other way that promotes the group or its criminal acts. The recruitment of members of armed associations and the financing of such associations are criminalized under article 279, and these offences are punishable by imprisonment of up to three years. 19. The Working Group also notes that offences relating to persons who have travelled to engage in conflict because of financial incentives, or to those who may be deemed mercenary-related actors, could also fall under section 278 of the Penal Code. Furthermore, support for criminal organizations acting outside the country is punishable if a supportive act has been carried out in Austrian territory. The recruitment of members of a criminal organization can be considered as a supportive act. 20. Austrian law contains specific regulations to prohibit the use and distribution of symbols attributable to ISIL or Al-Qaida. Border authorities are permitted, by regulations, to prevent minors from leaving Austria upon suspicion that they will participate in fighting 2 3 4 4 Radicalisation Awareness Network, RAN Manual: Responses to returnees: Foreign terrorist fighters and their families (Amsterdam, 2017). As ascertained in discussions with interlocutors during the visit. Protocol I, art. 47.