GERMANY PRESENTS REPORT TO COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS

CESCR
26th session
24 August 2001
Morning



Abhorrent Expressions of Xenophobia and Racially Motivated Violence
Are a Matter of Particular Concern, Delegation Says


A German Government delegation this morning told the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that the abhorrent expressions of xenophobia and racially motivated violence that had occurred in various parts of Germany were a matter of particular concern.

The remark was made as Germany presented its fourth periodic report to the Committee on how it was implementing the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Introducing the report, Walter Lewalter, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that ten years after Germany's reunification, the Government was still struggling with the task of ensuring equal levels of social welfare and opportunities in the "old" and in the "new" Federal states, and with the enormous financial burden this involved.

He said that the abhorrent expressions of xenophobia and racially motivated violence that had occurred in various parts of Germany were a matter of particular concern to his Government. He hoped that the recently publicized bipartisan findings of the Commission on Immigration and the outcome of the Durban World Conference against Racism would send strong signals to shape Germany's society in such a way that persons of all nationalities would find Germany a pleasant place to live in.

Over the course of their consideration of the German report, Committee members queried the delegation on such issues as the fate of the former diplomats from East Germany; the range of knowledge on Lander level about immigration; the problems relating to German Sinti and Roma; salary discrimination between foreign and German teachers; the situation of immigrants without identity papers; the percentage of Germany's Gross National Product (GNP) devoted to international cooperation and if the tendency was increasing or decreasing; and the situation of about 1,100,000 refugees and the "bad" interpretation of the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, among other things.

Also included in the German delegation were Dietrich Willers, of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs; Almut Wittling-Vogel, Permanent Deputy Agent for Human Rights, Federal Ministry of Justice; Jurgen Haberland, of the Federal Ministry of the Interior; Renate Augusein, of the Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth; Walter Lindner, of the Federal Foreign Ministry; Peter Rothen and Robert Dieter, from the Permanent Mission of Germany in Geneva; and Daniela Kuck-Schneemelcher, of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

Germany is among the 145 States parties to the International Covenant and as such it is obligated to presented periodic reports to the Committee on how it was giving effect to the provisions of the treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will continue its consideration of the report of Germany.

Summary of German Report

The fourth periodic report of German is contained in document E/C.12/4/Add.3, and enumerates the administrative and legislative measures undertaken in order to implement the provisions of the International Covenant on an article-by-article basis. The report says that Germany continues to attach great importance to the protection of minorities in order to maintain peace and to encourage fruitful living together at the national level. There are no signs of discrimination against the German Sinti and Roma in terms of housing, education and employment; and no specific legal or administrative measures have been taken concerning them.

The report notes that the Federal Government had difficulties in following the considerations and recommendations with regard to the right to strike of civil servants expressed in the Committee's previous concluding observations. The fact that civil servants in Germany are not allowed to strike is in compliance with article 8 of the Covenant that explicitly permits restrictions on the right to strike for the public service. If the provision of article 8 had not been part of the Covenant, the Federal Government would have ratified the Covenant with a reservation to the effect that the right to strike does not apply to civil servants.

The report further says that housing in Germany was generally good, both quantitatively and qualitatively; however, in the first half of the 1990s there was a considerable housing shortage; between 1988 and 1998, 2.5 million persons of German origin had arrived from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The resulting difficulties in the housing market have to a great extent been overcome. Housing construction has risen considerably as the public authorities have supported it with incentives. The number of newly constructed housing units rose from 313,000 in 1988 to 603,000 in 1995.

Presentation of Report

WALTER LEWALTER, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that ten years after Germany's reunification, the Government was still struggling with the task of ensuring equal levels of social welfare and opportunities in the "old" and in the "new" Federal states, and with the enormous financial burden this involved.

Mr. Lewalter said that the political and financial management of such a huge and unprecedented endeavour remained a formidable challenge -- a challenge that implied both the need for massive social expenditures, for painful budgetary discipline and the need to build a socio-political environment conducive to social and economic progress. In that context, the abhorrent expressions of xenophobia and racially motivated violence that had occurred in various parts of Germany were a matter of particular concern.

Mr. Lewalter hoped that the recently publicized bipartisan findings of the Commission on Immigration and the outcome of the Durban World Conference against Racism would send strong signals to shape Germany's society in such a way that persons of all nationalities would find Germany a pleasant place to live in. But barriers should also be overcome between Germans in the East and West, a process that could and should build on a common sense of purpose, and a sense of common responsibility for the good and the bad moments of past history.

Mr. Lewalter continued to say that at the national level, Germany had given a fresh and more substantial look at economic, social and cultural rights. In September 1999, the German Parliament's newly created Human Rights Committee had organized a hearing on the impact of policies on economic, social and cultural rights, with experts from the academic world and non-governmental organizations overwhelmingly testifying in favour of giving more prominence to those rights. In May 2000, the Federal Government had published a report on child labour in the country; and in May 2001, it had published its first-ever report on poverty and wealth in Germany.

DIETRICH WILLERS, of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Germany, said that the Government had been making efforts to fight any form of xenophobic phenomenon in the country. Already, measures had been put in place to protect foreigners living in the country from prejudices coming from irresponsible individuals. It was also trying to resolve the unacceptable situation of unemployment which affected millions of German citizens.

Discussion of Report

Following the introduction of the German report, Committee Experts raised a number of questions. They asked if the rights in the International Covenant could be invoked in courts; why the national human rights commission was called an "institute" and if it was fully independent; if the "institute" received complaints; and if the Government was prepared to accede to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant.

In response, the members of the German delegation said that after the War, the newly democratic society in Germany had slowly moved towards human rights, and for that purpose, mechanisms had been put in place, such as the human rights institute. In addition, the Constitutional Court played a role in the promotion and protection of human rights. Other human rights commissioners were also made available in various institutions. However, there was a need for the creation of an organization which overlooked the whole human-rights situation concerning economic, social and cultural rights.

Asked if the human rights institute had a complaints process, the delegation said it did not have one. The members of the institute were free to conduct inquiries on human rights violations by fixing their own agenda. Their object of inquiries, however, could not be similar to that of the parliamentary human rights committee.

The delegation said that Germany believed in the indivisibility of the economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights. Germany had never cast doubt on their indivisibility and had advocated for it.

Employees of the public sector were prohibited from striking although they were part of the national trade union, the delegation said. There were also special provisions for professionals of the justice department not to strike. By experience, not all civil servants joined any strikes although they were members of the trade union, which organized the strike.

In addition, the delegation said that civil servants were entrusted with safeguarding and maintaining the functions of the public administration; and a strike would be incompatible with that duty of loyalty and would run counter to the purpose of a professional civil service. The prohibition of the civil servants to strike would guarantee the continuous fulfilment of important public tasks in the interest of the citizens.

International treaties prevailed over domestic law and in the event of conflict between them, the international instrument would override domestic legislation. With regard to the teaching of human rights in educational institutions, the delegation said that in university faculties, such teaching was provided; however, regarding the training of judges, it was difficult to retrain them once they were on their professional jobs where they accumulated experience.

Committee members continued querying the delegation on further issues: about the fate of the former diplomats from East Germany; why Germany did not ratify International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 169 on the rights of indigenous peoples; if there was a wide range of knowledge on Lander level about immigration; the problems relating to German Sinti and Roma; salary discrimination between foreign and German teachers; the situation of immigrants without identity papers; the percentage of Germany's Gross National Product (GNP) devoted to international cooperation and if the tendency was increasing or decreasing; and the situation of about 1,100,000 refugees and the "bad" interpretation of the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, among other things.

Responding to the numerous questions raised by Committee Experts, the members of the German delegation said that only insignificant numbers of the former East German diplomats were taken into the foreign service in accordance with the agreement of the two Governments. Only those diplomates under the age of 32 years were taken into the foreign service. The Federal regulation required that only diplomates below that age-limit were admitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Federal Government had implemented a number of measures to mainstream women into the various governmental functions, the delegation said. Although efforts were made to increase the number of women in higher public functions, still the number of women holding higher positions was inferior to men. The Government should scrutinize why only men were appointed to high positions; and for that reason, a study was being carried out to find the cause with the view to improve the situation of women.

A bill was under discussion in the country's parliament concerning domestic violence, the delegation said. The new bill would see that police preventively detained the perpetrator for twenty-four hours and in the case of court proceedings, the author could be prevented from seeing his victim for one year, the delegation added.

The law on naturalization had been up-dated in 1991 and it had also been reformed in 2000 to allow children of foreigners born in Germany to obtain German nationality, the delegation said. The naturalization process for adults had also been improved. The debate regarding foreigners had positively changed in recent years; their integration had been a priority issue; and further, the Chancellor had taken an initiative to allow foreigners with qualified skills to boost the economy. An immigration bill had already been presented on 4 August, which would see a number of improvements in opening the door to skilled immigration. The bill would be approved within a year. It was estimated that there were 4.8 million foreigners in Germany.

With regard to German Sinti and Roma, the delegation said that their language was among the protected languages in the country. In addition, the languages of immigrants were protected and encouraged to be used. The fact that immigrants learned German to better integrate into the society did not mean that they should abandon their mother tongue. Immigrants had access to medical services and educational facilities, whether they had papers or not.

Persons who applied for refugee status could stay in Germany until the time that their cases were processed by the authorities, the delegation said. The Government did not expel such persons, particularly if they had been persecuted in their countries of origin on the grounds of their religion, ethnicity or political activities.

The Government did not ratify ILO Convention 169 because of the fact that there was no situation corresponding to the provisions of that instrument in the country, the delegation said.

The German Government had been endeavouring to increase its assistance to international cooperation, however, it was impeded by a heavy public debt due to the German unity, the delegation said. The Government had intensified its financial and technical assistance on a bilateral basis.



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