In many of its functions, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community works to uphold human rights:

• as a federal ministry responsible for issues of constitutional law
• in connection with foreigners’ and asylum affairs
• in connection with police issues, internal security and counter-terrorism
• when dealing with extremism, racism and discrimination
• in data protection
• in protecting national minorities as well as regional and minority languages in the context of international humanitarian law with regard to civil protection and civil protection organisations

In all of its areas of responsibility, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community first checks to make sure that its actions comply with European and international human rights law. This task is first of all the responsibility of the specific directorates-general concerned, but the Federal Ministry’s directorate-general responsible for constitutional law is also involved.

The Federal Ministry works with many civil-society organisations and interest groups, in some cases bilaterally at working level and sometimes in established forums for consultation. One example is the Forum against Racism (FgR), in which the Federal Government and non-governmental organisations meet regularly to discuss questions of fighting racism and xenophobia. The Forum against Racism was founded as a dialogue format in 1998 following the European Year Against Racism. The chair of the forum and its secretariat are based at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community.

Reporting requirements and complaints procedures

The Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community works with the United Nations, with Germany’s National Agency for the Prevention of Torture and with the Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI). The latter two are authorised to collect information and conduct country monitoring. They produce many reports on subjects for which the Federal Ministry is responsible.

The Federal Ministry is involved in compiling the state reports of the Federal Republic of Germany on the national implementation of international human rights conventions. To do so, the Federal Ministry participates in the hearings of United Nations member states in the relevant UN bodies. This applies in particular to the following:

• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)
• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)
• International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1966)
• UN Convention against Torture
• International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
• Universal Periodic Review mechanism
• UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979)
• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
• European Social Charter (1961) and numerous conventions of the International Labour Organization
• Council of Europe conventions

In addition, the Federal Ministry participates, within the scope of its responsibilities, in procedures for complaints from individuals when all domestic legal remedies have been exhausted. This applies in particular to complaints submitted on the basis of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 4 November 1950, also in conjunction with a protocol to this convention.

The United Nations treaty bodies too have the authority to decide on individual complaints relating to certain human rights conventions, for example the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. If complaints relate to areas for which the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community is responsible, including in its capacity as federal ministry responsible for constitutional law issues, the Federal Ministry is involved in the complaints procedure and in implementing the decisions of the UN treaty bodies.

The police and human rights

The training and study curricula for every level of the police service focus on the human rights conventions and the protection of human rights. In addition, training includes extensive theory and practice to prepare officers for the duty of upholding the free and democratic constitutional order. A key aspect of this is respecting and protecting human rights and treating German and non-German members of the public with tolerance and without discrimination.

Training also includes intensive instruction on principles concerning the lawfulness of the public administration and the protection of fundamental rights. Intercultural skills are another firmly established and required element of the training curriculum. Intercultural skills are also strengthened through the following:

• a wide range of Federal Police tasks which are related to other countries
• regional and interregional projects and collaborations with an intercultural dimension
• campaigns to recruit new staff with an immigrant background

The Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community helps police and security authorities in countries outside of the European Union by providing assistance with training, advising and equipment, especially in the following regions:

• North, East and West Africa
• Middle East
• Eastern and South-Eastern Europe
• Central Asia
• Central and South America

This assistance is intended not only to increase the effectiveness of the police and border authorities in fighting crime and managing borders; it also seeks to improve the protection of human rights and to anchor law enforcement activity more firmly in democracy and the rule of law.