Today (12 May) Markus Löning, Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office, took part in the opening session of a national round table organized in Berlin by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI). The event is being hosted in cooperation with the German Institute for Human Rights.

Commenting on the round table, Markus Löning issued the following statement today (12 May):

“The Council of Europe is indispensable when it comes to protecting human rights in Europe and the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance plays a key role in this work. The German Government heads the Commission’s recommendations for further improving Germany’s efforts to combat racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and intolerance, and is working on implementing them. Germany is also working to ensure that the ECRI can continue to expand the important work it does in the member states of the Council of Europe.”

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) is an independent human rights body of the Council of Europe. It monitors racism and intolerance in COE member states, produces country reports and provides recommendations for the member states. The title of the round table in Germany, organized by the ECRI and the German Institute for Human Rights, is “Fighting racist violence and discrimination”. It will focus on a number of issues, including: How can the behaviour of employers towards people with a migrant background be changed? What can the state do to improve its approach to preventing and responding to racist discrimination and violence? How should the National Integration Plan be assessed? In addition, the round table will address the implementation of the ECRI recommendations contained in ECRI’s 4th report on Germany published in 2009. Representatives of federal and Länder authorities, NGOs, trade unions and academia will take part in the discussion. It is open to the press.