Austria has announced that it will follow Hungary and the United States' lead in pulling out of a United Nations pact on migration over concerns it will blur the line between legal and illegal migration.
The Austrian government rejects the content of the document, and does not consider it appropriate to regulate migration issues. By agreeing the UN migration pact, the Austrian Government fears it will lose its sovereignty in migration policy.
“The convention blurs the lines between legal and illegal migration,” the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) highlighted.
Sebastian Kurz, Chancellor of Austria and Heinz-Christian Strache, Vice-Chancellor of Austria also made thier position very clear by withdrawing a representative from the World Summit taking place in Marrakech on December 10th and 11th.
Austria decided not to enter into the convention and will be absent from the vote on the package in September 2019 at the UN General Assembly. The Austrian Government will inform the UN about its position in a detailed statement, reported APA.
193 countries already agreed on the adoption of the UN migration pact in September 2016. The 34-page document seeks to better manage refugees and strengthen the rights of those concerned. The draft stressed that the sovereignty of countries and the right to immigration policy should not be violated and the convention would not be internationally and legally binding.