May 05, 2015

Germany neglects anti-racism policy

located:	Germany
editor:	Murat Suner

The UN Anti-Racism Commission in Geneva is regularly examining how governments are putting the UN Anti-Racism Convention from 1969 into practice.

According to Amnesty International Germany's current government is showing too little effort to fight racism and discrimination.

Already in 2013 the problem of structural racism was depicted by the parliamentarian investigative committee of the Bundestag, which inspected the extreme right-wing Nationalsozialistischer Untergrund (NSU). The report documents numerous failures of German security authorities at their investigations on a series of assassinations of people of minority origin. Investigators excluded racial motives and instead suspected victims' family members as potential perpetrators. A fatal misjudgment as we know today.

So far German government also denies that police is practicing racial profiling. However, it is a fact that regular and border police conducts checks based on visual appearance. This practice is humiliating and burdening for affected persons when they are picked in public. It also destroys trust of ethnic minorities in authorities, and further fosters prejudices of people who witness these controls. As resentment against minorities is increasing Germany should rethink this discriminating approach.

Amnesty therefore demands that the German government should finally recognize that racism is a political and societal problem that cannot be narrowed to right-wing extremism. Actually, racism has pervaded the mainstream of society.

Politicians often avoid to distance themselves from racial discrimination, stereotypes and prejudices, which contribute to further stigmatize minorities.

Amnesty International's statement by Selmin Çalışkan, Secretary General on Germany's report can be read in full length here. (only available in German)