Austria Refuses To Sign UN Migration Pact

The Austrian government has publicly stated its refusal to sign a United Nations migration pact set to be adopted in December, citing concerns about national sovereignty.

The country joins others like the United States and Hungary who have also rejected the Global Compact for Migration, which aims to boost cooperation to address the world’s growing number of migrants.

“The government has agreed… not to sign the United Nations pact and thus not to bind Austria,” Conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said in a statement, stressing “the importance of defending Austria’s national sovereignty.”

Kurz’s coalition partner, Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache has been pushing for Vienna to reject the pact, a move the opposition has described as a damage of the international reputation of the country.

“Austria rejects the possibility that the migration pact could establish new customary international law which would be binding on Austria or could be interpreted as such,” Strache said in a press conference.

The European Commission has also expressed its “regret” over Austria’s decision.

Austria currently holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, and Kurz has made curbing unregulated migration a priority since he assumed office.

In December 2017, the US ended its participation in negotiations on the compact. Also in July, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto withdrew from the process, saying it is contrary to Hungary’s interests.

The Global Compact for Safety, Orderly and Regular Migration was finalized under U.N. auspices in July. It is due to be formally approved at a meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, from Dec. 11-12. It was adopted by all 193 U.N. member states in September 2016, after a joint declaration that no country can manage international migration on its own that adoption of a global compact in 2018.