Online petition: Protect People from Racist Violence in Germany!

Protect People from Racist Violence in Germany!

Arson attacks, assaults, threats of violence, intimidation: Germany is experiencing a dramatic increase in racist violence. People are being attacked on a daily basis – be it for their appearance, their perceived religion or other assumed characteristics. In 2015, official figures put the number of criminal offences committed against refugee shelters at 1,031 – five times the figure for 2014.

Only very rarely are those responsible for racist violence held to account. German law enforcement agencies are often unable to identify racist crimes and investigate them effectively. In many cases, racist motives are ignored and racist crimes recorded as simple violent crimes by the police.

One extreme case is the series of murders committed by the so-called National Socialist Underground (Nationalsozialistischer Untergrund – NSU). For years, racist motives were persistently discounted by investigators, and the victims’ family members were treated as suspects in the case. Amnesty International views this as a clear indication of the existence of institutional racism.

We need to put a stop to racist violence and discrimination! Because each and every racist attack is an attack on the core principle of human rights: the equality of all persons. Everyone in Germany needs to be able to feel safe – no matter where they come from, what religion they practise or how they look.

Take action! Sign our online petition to the Federal Minister of the Interior and the State Ministers and Senators of the Interior, calling on them to protect people in Germany from racist violence.

You can read the complete petition here:

Dear State Ministers and Senators of the Interior, dear Federal Minister of the Interior,
We are currently experiencing a dramatic increase in racist violence in Germany. People are being attacked on a daily basis. Last year alone, official figures put the number of criminal offences committed against refugee shelters at 1,031 – five times the figure for 2014.

One reason lies in the decades-long failure of politicians and authorities to both identify racist crimes and investigate them effectively. To give an example, following the NSU murders, racist motives were persistently discounted and the victims’ family members were treated as suspects in the case – a clear indication of the existence of institutional racism within the German security agencies.

Racist crimes are often recorded as simple violent crimes. This happens for many reasons, including the failure to record the victim’s account. The tragic consequence is that the sheer scale of racist violence is not recognised and not enough is being done to better protect people who are at risk of racist attacks.

This is why we call on you to:

• agree a Germany-wide framework strategy to protect refugee shelters from racist attacks;
• launch an independent investigation to establish the extent to which institutional racism within the German police force hampers the effective investigation of racist criminal offences;
• obligate the authorities when investigating criminal offences to investigate racist motives and to record the victim’s account.

To sign the online petition (in German), please click here

You can find key information on the Amnesty campaign to stop racist violence in Germany here

Further information on the topic in English can be found here