• • • • • • • • • • • • formity with international standards in order to perform security policy tasks. Strengthening the European area of freedom, security and justice and reinforcing partnerships with countries from security-relevant areas surrounding the EU. Making a contribution to security and the freedom to travel within the Schengen area. Promoting stability and comprehensive security throughout the area surrounding Austria and preventing the rise and the escalation of conflicts. Combating international terrorism, organised crime and corruption. Curbing illegal migration and combating the trafficking of human beings. Supporting international efforts to ensure early crisis detection, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-crisis rehabilitation. Supporting measures to protect the civilian population, especially women and children, in armed conflicts. Strengthening the capability of international organisations to act. Regional and global disarmament and arms control, security sector reform and preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Instrumentality in development cooperation. Ensuring the provision of consular assistance to Austrian citizens abroad. Promoting a broad awareness of security amongst the population. 3.2 Security policy at national level 3.2.1 Comprehensive Security Provision Austria implements its security policy within the framework of the “Comprehensive Security Provision”, which aims to bring about systematic cooperation between different policy areas, based on an overall strategy and the relevant partial strategies. Security decisions at both national and international level must be based on a comprehensive assessment of the situation by all of the stakeholders and a common understanding of the situation derived from this information. In doing so, efforts must be made to establish security synergies within the context of a collective national “security cluster”. 3.2.2 Internal security The objective of Austria’s security policy is to make Austria the safest country with the highest quality of life. Social peace is to be strengthened and people in Austria are to be enabled to live a life in security and freedom. This is why the country is pursuing the following goals, which are also to be taken into account when shaping policies both at the European and the international level: • • • • 10 Effectively tackling crime: the face of crime is constantly changing, hence the need for flexible counter-strategies. Alongside the traditional challenges of volume crime, physical violence and property offences, other forms, such as network and computer crime and economic crime have to be combated persistently. New preventive measures: in view of the increasing challenges, there is a greater need for prevention, which has to be collectively approached by society as a whole. This means innovative partnerships with the civil society and the involvement of citizens in combating and preventing crimes. Ensuring asylum: granting human beings protection against persecution is a humanitarian obligation in accordance with Austria’s tradition. Combating illegal migration: effectively combating asylum abuse, illegal migration and the trafficking of human beings facilitates the process of granting refugees asylum.