A/HRC/17/2 gender identity as a basis for asylum procedures and protecting transgender asylum seekers from refoulement. They inquired about Austria’s intentions to apply the Yogyakarta Principles in their domestic and foreign policy development. They encouraged Austria to share their best practices and to examine where adjustment of policies was needed. 411. Amnesty International welcomed Austria’s support for recommendations on the criminalization of torture in domestic law, and urged Austria to set a precise time frame for this endeavour. With regard to the incorporation of the rights of the child in the Constitution, Amnesty International regretted that the constitutional amendment adopted in January 2011 covered only some provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It was also disappointed that Austria had rejected recommendations calling for the adoption of a national plan of action on racism and xenophobia. It regretted Austria’s rejection of a recommendation to prepare a study on the scale of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system. 412. Rencontre africaine pour la défense des droits de l’homme appreciated Austria’s broad consultations with civil society and other national institutions during the universal periodic review process. It commended the measures taken to improve the rights of children and women and to combat domestic violence. It expressed its concern at reports on racially motivated police misconduct towards foreign nationals, asylum seekers and ethnic minorities, and the absence of strict laws on torture and the high degree of impunity for abuses committed by the police. It also regretted the lack of accessibility to legal advice for asylum seekers. The organization encouraged Austria to work with civil society to eradicate all forms of discrimination. 413. The International Federation for Human Rights Leagues and the Initiative Human Rights Now welcomed Austria’s commitment to harmonizing anti-discrimination laws, but expressed concern about its refusal to adopt a national plan of action on combating racism and xenophobia and the fact that it had not accepted the recommendations made by Brazil and Slovakia to ensure that minors were not held in police custody or detention. It urged Austria to reconsider decisions to reject such recommendations and to ensure that they were fully enforced. 414. The European Disability Forum, on behalf of the Austrian National Council of Persons with Disabilities, noted that, despite Austria’s ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2008, the principles of accessibility and inclusion were not recognized as cross-cutting issues; moreover, measures to realize independent living were lacking. Disability in Austria was still defined through the medical rather than the social model. People with disabilities faced a greater risk of poverty; women of working age were most affected. The main reasons were the lack of, or low quality of education and subsequent effects on job opportunities. 415. The European Disability Forum acknowledged Austria’s commitment to develop a national plan of action on persons with disabilities. A main challenge in creating the plan was ensuring participation in accorde with the obligations envisaged by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Another challenge was addressing the need for changes of perception throughout mainstream society rather than just focusing on persons with disabilities. 416. The Society for Threatened Peoples stated that Austria’s new draft constitutional law on minority rights failed to comply with article 7 of the 1955 State Treaty concerning the rights of the Slovene minority in the provinces of Carinthia and Styria, and the rights of the Croat minority in the province of Burgenland. It urged Austria to comply with its international obligations and to determine bilingual territory for schools and all other minority rights of the Slovene minority in the province of Carinthia. It also called upon Austria to prepare comprehensive legislation for all other recognized minorities; not only 146 GE.12-13630