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  • Human rights
    • Civil liberties
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    • Disability
    • Labor, Health and Social Rights
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    • Human rights and the 2030 Agenda
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  • De En

53 Recommendations for the improvement of human rights

In 2024, the VMR makes the following recommendations to the state to improve human rights.

Liechtenstein should ...

Implementation of international recommendations

1

Take the lead in following up and prioritizing recommendations from international human rights bodies. Create a transparent implementation process that involves all stakeholders, including civil society.

1

Introduce a more efficient, transparent, and participatory process for prioritizing recommendations. Additionally, assume greater leadership responsibility and allocate more operational resources to the implementation of international recommendations.

Civil liberties and the rule of law

2

Adopt a law on religious communities that comprehensively protects religious freedom and the ban on discrimination.

2

Enact a binding code of ethics for journalists that enshrines the principles of truth, freedom of expression, and protection against discrimination.

3

Enact a law on religious communities that guarantees freedom of religion and equal treatment for all religions.

3

Urgently resume efforts to create faith-compliant burial sites for Muslims.

4

Urgently resume efforts to establish burial sites for Muslims that comply with their religious beliefs.

4

Urgently create a comprehensive anti-discrimination law.

5

Take stronger preventive measures against racism, extremism and radicalization tendencies on the Internet.

5

Urgently enact a comprehensive equal treatment law (anti-discrimination law).

6

Establish additional rules for MEPs to deal with conflicts of interest, confidential information, secondary employment, contacts with third parties and the acceptance of gifts.

6

Adopt a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy for the public sector, a code of conduct against corruption for the state police, and binding rules for state legislators on how to handle conflicts of interest, confidential information, outside employment, contacts with third parties, and the acceptance of gifts.

7

Urgently take concrete measures to remedy the fundamental rights violations of persons under US sanctions in Liechtenstein.

7

Take concrete steps to address human rights violations committed by individuals subject to U.S. sanctions in Liechtenstein.

8

Develop an action plan against human trafficking and raise awareness of the national human trafficking hotline. Train judges, police officers, immigration authorities, and specialized human trafficking agencies.

8

Develop an action plan against human trafficking that focuses on protecting victims and raising awareness among vulnerable groups. Train judges, migration authorities and the police on human trafficking.

9

Establish an independent body to investigate torture and handle complaints against the actions of police and correctional officers.

9

Make the national reporting office for human trafficking at the state police better known and firmly institutionalize the exchange between the Round Table on Human Trafficking and non-governmental specialist agencies.

10

To establish the framework that will enable Liechtenstein authorities and the Liechtenstein National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) to visit persons detained abroad.

10

Abolish the statute of limitations for torture in the Criminal Code and introduce appropriate penalties.

11

Require audio or video recordings of all police interrogations. In all cases, automatically provide minors with a trusted person and legal counsel during interrogations.

11

Make audio or video recordings of all police interrogations. Minors should always and automatically be provided with a trusted person and legal counsel during questioning.

12

Create an independent body to investigate torture.

12

Abolish the statute of limitations for torture in the Criminal Code and introduce appropriate penalties.

13

Establish the framework for a medical evaluation and a determination of fitness for detention within 24 hours of incarceration, and provide the necessary medical and psychiatric staff for the state prison.

13

Start a strategic process to expand the state prison to address infrastructure, education and employment deficiencies.

14

Introduce rules on the right of children to have contact with parents in custody or on remand.

14

Implement separate housing for people in deportation detention.

15

Urgently establish a standard procedure for the detention and supervision of minors, as well as rules governing children’s right to visit parents who are in prison or in pretrial detention.

15

Check whether the guidelines for movement-restricting measures are implemented in all social facilities.

16

Create a legal basis for an independent complaints office for residents of care homes and social institutions and their relatives.

16

Initiate a strategic process to expand the state prison in order to address deficiencies in infrastructure, as well as in educational and occupational programs.

17

Überprüfen, ob die Richtlinien für bewegungseinschränkende Massnahmen in allen sozialen Einrichtungen umgesetzt werden.

17

Establish a psychological emergency service or introduce a qualification, advice or support system for doctors in psychological emergencies.

18

Establish a legal framework for residential care and create an independent ombudsman’s office for residents of nursing homes and social care facilities, as well as their relatives.

18
19

Establish a psychological emergency response service or implement a training, counseling, or support system for physicians in the event of psychological emergencies.

19

Revise the legal regulations on victim protection so that victims do not have to pay back legal aid.

20

Enforce the treaty with Switzerland regarding the involuntary commitment of persons from Liechtenstein.

20

Introduce a right of appeal for recognized organizations and associations in the area of human rights.

21

When implementing the new AI laws, place particular emphasis on the protection of human rights and develop a national regulation that extends European laws to the private sector and national security.

21

Revise the legal provisions on victim protection so that victims of crimes are not required to repay legal aid.

22

Introduce a right of association to file complaints in the area of human rights for recognized organizations and associations.

23

Rapidly ratify the Council of Europe’s Framework Law on AI and defend the EU’s AI Regulation and General Data Protection Regulation against attempts to weaken them.

Asylum and refugee affairs

22

Quickly conclude a new service agreement between the government and Refugee Aid, which also clarifies the issue of independent representation of the association's interests.

23

Replace aid organization representation in asylum proceedings with free legal representation for asylum seekers.

24

Create a positive protection status instead of provisional admission for persons in need of protection who are not recognized as refugees.

24

Review the elimination of wage garnishment for asylum seekers.

25

Adapt the age limit in Art. 9 of the Asylum Ordinance to the requirements of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

25

Quickly conclude a new service agreement between the government and the refugee aid organization that also clarifies the issue of the organization’s independent representation of interests.

26

Examine alternatives to having laypeople represent asylum seekers in asylum proceedings and, if necessary, replace this with pro bono legal representation.

27

Establish a formal protection status in place of temporary admission for persons in need of protection who are not recognized as refugees.

28

Raise the age limit in Article 9 of the Asylum Ordinance for the accommodation and care of unaccompanied minor asylum seekers (UMAs) from 16 to 18 years of age, thereby bringing it into line with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Migration and integration

26

Provide more resources for the implementation of the government's integration strategy.

27

Extend the range of interpreting services in doctors' surgeries to all healthcare services and other areas of society. Standardize funding and make the service better known.

28

Introduce a hardship provision for family reunification in the Foreign Nationals Act and withdraw the reservation to Art. 10 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

29

Urgently introduce a standard employment contract for 24-hour care in private households.

29

Allocate more resources for the implementation of the integration strategy.

30

Expand the availability of interpretation services in doctors’ offices to cover all health care services and other areas of society. Standardize funding and raise awareness of these services.

31

Introduce a hardship provision for family reunification in the Aliens Act and withdraw the reservation to Article 10 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

32

Urgently introduce a standard employment contract for 24-hour care in private households.

33

Revise the standard employment contract for agricultural interns regarding working hours, minimum wage, meals, and housing.

Health and social justice

30

Revise the Ordinance to the Health Insurance Act (KVV) so that emergency treatments are defined and benefits not available during the deferral period are not counted as debts through full premiums.

31

Create a Reproductive Medicine Act and consider ratifying the Council of Europe's Biomedicine Convention.

32

Examine the causes, risk factors and consequences of poverty in greater depth in order to develop a national action plan against it.

33

When implementing the ageing strategy, pay particular attention to the challenges faced by vulnerable groups, such as older people with a migration background. In addition, provide sufficient financial and human resources for implementation.

34

Revise the implementing regulation on the deferral of health insurance payments so that emergency treatment is clearly defined and services not utilized during the deferral period are not counted as debt.

35

Conduct an in-depth analysis of the causes, risk factors, and consequences of poverty in order to develop a national action plan to address it. Allocate the necessary resources to implement this plan.

36

When implementing the aging strategy, pay particular attention to the challenges faced by vulnerable groups, such as older adults with a migrant background. In addition, allocate sufficient financial resources for its implementation.

Children's rights

34

Implement the urgent recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child in a coordinated manner, in particular the creation of strategies for the prevention of violence and the inclusion of children with disabilities.

35

Implement the recommendations of the 2023 custody working group on the revision of child custody law. In particular, the introduction of mandatory and ordered parental counseling and greater consideration of the best interests and will of the child in proceedings relating to divorce, custody and visitation rights.

36

Take immediate measures to ensure the protection of children and young people in the unaccompanied use of digital school devices.

37

Coordinate and fully implement the urgent recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in particular by developing a strategy for the inclusion of children with disabilities.

37

Take targeted measures to increase the number of BA apprenticeships. In doing so, the state administration, municipalities and state-affiliated companies should lead the way.

38

Implement the recommendations of the Obsorge Working Group on child custody law and ensure a child-friendly justice system in accordance with international standards.

38

Develop prevention programs to strengthen the mental health of children and young people, with a focus on disadvantaged children and young people.

39

Take immediate steps to ensure the protection of children and young people when they use digital school devices unsupervised.

39

Swiftly complete work on a concept for the implementation of a juvenile penal system in Switzerland and abolish detention under immigration law for persons under the age of 18.

40

Undertake targeted government initiatives to ensure that state and local governments take a leading role in providing vocational training programs.

41

Develop and implement a prevention program to promote the mental health of children and adolescents, with a focus on disadvantaged children and adolescents.

42

Develop a national action plan to prevent and combat all forms of violence against children, based on the GREVIO recommendations and the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

43

Rapidly finalize and implement a plan for the domestic juvenile justice system and abolish immigration detention for persons under the age of 18.

People with disabilities

40

Rapidly draw up an action plan to implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

41

Quickly tackle the collection and publication of internationally comparable data and make it accessible to all.

42

Consistently drive forward the implementation of accessible websites and mobile applications.

43

Quickly introduce a silent and barrier-free emergency call for people at risk.

44

Provide the resources needed to develop an action plan for implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and establish the framework for collecting the necessary statistical data.

44

Make voting documents and electoral processes accessible and inclusive. Adapt the procedures for exclusion from voting and electoral rights to the requirements of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

45

Consistently promote the development of accessible websites and mobile applications, while publishing key content in plain language.

46

Make election materials and processes accessible and inclusive. Bring procedures for disqualifying individuals from voting rights into line with the requirements of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

47

Ensure that existing public and private victim assistance and counseling centers are designed to be inclusive and receive training so that they are accessible to people with disabilities.

48

Quickly implement a silent, accessible emergency call system for people at risk.

Equality between women and men

45

Provide more resources and a national violence protection strategy to implement the Istanbul Convention. Revise the procedure for removal and prohibition of entry in cases of domestic violence. Carry out broad-based further training on the Istanbul Convention for the judiciary, police and governmental and non-governmental specialist agencies.

46

Carry out a statistical survey of care work and its distribution.

47

Integrate the successful measures of the "Diversity in politics" project for the balanced representation of women and men in political bodies into the national gender equality strategy.

48

Decriminalize abortion and provide access to safe abortion and aftercare services for women and girls. Abolish the information ban on abortion.

49

Finalize the gender equality strategy that has been consulted on as soon as possible and launch a coordinated implementation process with the necessary resources and the involvement of civil society.

50

Conduct a broad-based training program on the Istanbul Convention for the judiciary, the police, and government and nongovernmental agencies.

51

Implement a standardized data system for recording domestic violence in accordance with the Istanbul Convention.

52

Provide more resources and a national strategy to prevent violence in order to implement the Istanbul Convention.

53

Decriminalize abortion and cover it through health insurance. Ensure access to information and safe abortion and post-abortion care services for women and girls.

Sexual orientation and gender identity (LGBTIQA+)

49

Implement the ECRI recommendation on the scientific survey of the situation of LGBTIQA+ in Liechtenstein.

50

Introduce a modern civil status law that makes it possible to enter a third gender category in the civil register and other official documents.

51

Prohibit sex reassignment surgery for children born intersex without medical necessity and without an informed decision and investigate the medical counseling and treatment practice of children born intersex as part of the planned study on the situation of LGBTIQA+.

52

Examine rehabilitation and compensation for persons who were prosecuted in Liechtenstein in the past on account of their sexual orientation.

54

Prohibit gender-assigning surgeries on intersex children without medical necessity and without informed consent, and investigate medical counseling and treatment practices for intersex children.

55

Implement the ECRI’s 2018 urgent recommendation regarding the collection of data on the situation of LGBTIQA+ individuals in Liechtenstein.

56

Enact a modern civil status law that allows for the inclusion of a third gender category in the civil registry and other official documents, and establishes a human rights-compliant framework for gender reassignment.

57

Establish a legal framework for the rehabilitation and redress of individuals who were prosecuted in Liechtenstein in the past on the basis of their sexual orientation.

Human rights and sustainability

53

Align sustainability indicators with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and set concrete targets for 2030 and show greater determination and commitment to implementing the goals. Involve civil society in the development of implementation plans and through funding programs for sustainability projects.

58

Demonstrate greater determination and commitment in implementing sustainability goals, and involve civil society in the development of implementation plans as well as through funding programs for sustainability projects.

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Verein für Menschenrechte

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+423 230 22 40

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