According to the Council of Europe, Germany must do much more to combat poverty, housing shortages and the marginalization of people with disabilities.
The high level of poverty and social disadvantage in Germany is disproportionate to the country's wealth, according to a report published by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
Even though Berlin has taken welcome steps towards an accessible social system, further efforts are needed to combat growing inequality. This is because social rights are not always seen as a legally binding obligation in Germany, but are dependent on resources.
Poverty is a major problem, especially for children, senior citizens and people with disabilities. The report states that decisive steps are needed to break the cycle of child poverty.
Children's rights also need to be strengthened and coordinated by a central authority, the report said, because otherwise the needs of children and young people would be overlooked in political decisions - as it happened during the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition, the high poverty rate among senior citizens must be tackled, the report said.
According to the information in the report, the rights of disabled people have made only limited progress in overall terms. Inclusion and participation are still not possible in many areas.
The Council of Europe attributes this to a lack of political commitment and well-funded but marginalizing structures such as sheltered workshops, special schools and residential homes for people with disabilities. This makes it difficult to realize an independent life.
The Council of Europe welcomed the government's commitment to tackling the housing shortage. However, the council's commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, expressed concern about the increasing homelessness in Germany.
The right to housing as a human right for all is unfortunately only recognized to a limited extent. Germany must use all available means, she said, including interventions in the housing market and changes to tenancy law.
Germany's Act on Equal Treatment also needs to be significantly improved in order to limit discrimination. According to the report, particular attention should be paid to growing racism, which has the potential to undermine social cohesion and destabilize democratic institutions.
The Council of Europe was founded in 1949 to protect democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe. It is independent of the European Union. It is made up of 46 European states. The council's experts visited Germany in November last year.