The German Anti-Discrimination Law of 2006 - A small step? (ePub)

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Public International Law and Human Rights, grade: A-, Ryerson University, course: Diversity and Equity in the Public Sector, language: English, abstract: The German Anti-Discrimination Law of 2006
-A small Step?-

ABSTRACT

German parliament has passed a General Equal Treatment Act in 2006, and the implementation, ensued by controversial discussion, was mainly settled on because of pressure from the European Court of Justice. Generally, the law is intended to largely circumvent or abolish discrimination in most areas of public life. This paper is assessing the Act in the national, and international - mainly EU - context, as well as the main arguments of both proponents and opponents. It finds that most reasons against the Act can be refuted by arguments brought forward by proponents. In addition, the functionality of the Act is discussed, and some problems and backlashes are discovered, while the law itself is found to reveal gaps in terms of the scope of the legislation as well as the characteristics of discrimination.
The Act is criticized as it mainly offers correctional measures against discrimination with hindsight, while being less likely to avert discrimination in the first place. The legislation is found to have potential to shift the common consciousness to acknowledging diversity as a motor for societal and economic progress, and, as it recognizes that discrimination is a systemic rather than an individual problem in Germany, it might render as a building block to fight discrimination and exclusion. However, despite the fact that the German legislation is more concise than the EU guideline, it is shown that the legal framework is only a first small step toward equal and fair treatment in Germany. The paper argues that protection against discrimination is a structural principle of human rights beyond formal equality, that cannot be secured by the Act alone, but which can only be reached through a broader supportive structure. It is argued that those supportive structures are still missing in Germany as the country lacks an anti-discrimination-culture as well as societal awareness, and is missing a comprehensive network of NGOs and government agencies to support discriminated people.