A report by the US State Department released on Tuesday attests to a deterioration in the human rights situation in Germany in 2024, reported dpa.
"The human rights situation in Germany worsened during the year," said an executive summary of the report's Germany entry.
"Significant human rights issues included restrictions on freedom of expression and credible reports of crimes, violence, or threats of violence motivated by antisemitism."
According to the annually published report, the German government "took some credible steps to investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who committed human rights abuses."
In February, US Vice President JD Vance accused Germany and other European allies of restricting free speech and marginalizing far-right parties, including the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose conservatives won February's elections ahead of the AfD, has repeatedly said he opposes US interference in domestic politics and called Vance's statements "intrusive."
The report on Germany relating to 2023 had not highlighted any significant changes regarding the human rights situation but did flag some crimes against members of ethnic and religious groups, including Muslims.
Anti-Semitism was also mentioned, as were crimes involving violence or the threat of violence against members of the LGBTQI+ community.
Rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch criticized the US State Department's country reports, accusing the Trump administration of mischaracterizing some records of abuses and omitting others to fit its political aims.
US broadcaster CNN cited sources as saying that the report, which had been drafted before US President Donald Trump took office in January, was significantly pared down by the new administration.
- Germany
- Human Rights
- Deteriorated
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
