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ince 1997, the Fundamental Rights Report: The State of Civil and Human Rights in Germany has been published around Constitution Day on 23 May . On Tuesday, 2 June 2020, ten German civil and human rights organisations presented the new edition of the „Alternative Constitution Protection Report“ to the public in Berlin and online. The 39 individual articles in the report are dedicated to current threats to fundamental rights and central constitutional principles, as well as individual advances in fundamental rights, based on specific cases from the past year. Decisions made by parliaments, authorities and courts, but also by private companies, are analysed.
The authors of this year’s report analyse topics as diverse as the introduction of extended DNA analysis in criminal procedure law, the threat to the environment and health posed by nitrate contamination of groundwater, the use of stun guns in police patrols, the expansion of detention pending deportation and Germany’s shared responsibility for the US drone war.
The pianist Igor Levit , who is also known for his commitment to human rights, for example against racism and anti-Semitism, presented the Fundamental Rights Report this year. For Levit, society is facing unprecedented challenges: „The defence and expansion of fundamental and civil rights and the creation of a community based on solidarity must therefore be the top priority for all of us. The questions of solidarity, togetherness, for one another – they are more relevant than ever.“
This year’s edition of the Fundamental Rights Report focuses on fundamental rights disputes relating to the basic need for housing, from the „rent freeze“ and Berlin’s „rent cap“ to the inviolability of the home (Article 13 of the Basic Law) in refugee accommodation and the much-discussed socialisation of housing. Ingrid Hoffmann , tenant at Deutsche Wohnen and representative of the Berlin campaign „ Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen and Co. „, explained: „We want to socialise property companies with more than 3,000 flats in accordance with Article 15 of the German Basic Law. Housing is best off as a democratically managed common good, not as a speculative investment property.“
Two articles in the Fundamental Rights Report 2020 are dedicated to the state’s duty to protect under Article 2 (2) sentence 1 of the Basic Law to ensure a sustainable healthcare system. Nurse Ulla Hedemann , who works in a paediatric intensive care unit in Berlin , provided information on this topic. She reported on the devastating effects of the nursing crisis and the current billing system for employees and for the fundamental right to health: „The flat rate per case system is not designed for people, but only for profits. This creates false incentives that jeopardise us and our patients.“ She combined her comments with a call to politicians to „introduce a new patient-centred system“.
The following documents can be found in the appendix and on the Internet
– Appendix 1: Joint press release of the publishers of the Fundamental Rights Report 2020 (pdf )
– Appendix 2: GRR contribution by Rolf Gössner (co-editor/International League for Human Rights): Shared responsibility of the German government for US drone warfare. Lawsuit over deadly combat drone attack in Yemen leads to partial success (pdf )
– Table of contents of the Fundamental Rights Report
– Video recording of the presentation of the „Fundamental Rights Report 2020“ in Berlin
– Media coverage (selection / as of 3 June 2020) in ARD/ Tagesschau , Berliner Zeitung, Deutsche Welle, Frankfurter Rundschau, Heise.online, Islamische Zeitung, Junge Welt, LTO Legal Tribune Online, MiGAZIN, Neues Deutschland, Netzpolitik.org, RBB, Süddeutsche Zeitung, taz-die Tageszeitung, among others …
Fundamental Rights Report 2020 – On the state of civil and human rights in Germany. Edited by Leoni Michal Armbruster, Bellinda Bartolucci, Rolf Gössner, Julia Heesen, Martin Heiming, Hans-Jörg Kreowski, John Philipp Thurn, Rosemarie Will, Michèle Winkler and Christine Zedler. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt/M., May 2020, ISBN 978-3-596-70545-0, 240 pages, 12.00 euros.
The Fundamental Rights Report 2020 is a joint project of:
Humanist Union, united with the Gustav Heinemann Initiative – Federal Working Group of Critical Legal Groups – International League for Human Rights – Committee for Fundamental Rights and Democracy – New Association of Judges – PRO ASYL – Republican Lawyers‘ Association – Association of Democratic Lawyers – Forum of Computer Scientists for Peace and Social Responsibility – Society for Civil Liberties
Review copies (also as pdf) for press/review purposes only can be ordered via the Humanist Union: service@humanistische-union.de. For queries or interview requests, please contact:
How to order: The book is now available in bookshops or on the publisher’s website .
Fundamental Rights Report 2020
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