Bundes Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, a member of the CDU, rejected criticism over the release of a report on racism in federal agencies.
He told the broadcasters RTL and ntv on Wednesday that the findings have already been shared with the relevant authorities. “Both the Federal Police and BAMF have already issued statements that have been made public and are available to view, so there is a fully transparent handling of this study – which is not a government study” Dobrindt said.
The study, titled “Institutions and Racism” (InRa), was commissioned in the penultimate legislative period and has now been published. “The Office of the Interior released it; there is no withholding here, or a reason to withhold it” he added. “You must handle studies even if you didn’t commission them yourself”.
According to the researchers, the InRa report was the first extensive investigation into the presence of racism in state institutions. Over three years the team examined job centers, youth offices, and immigration authorities. The final report shows that racial discrimination is detectable across all examined settings. It manifests in the individual attitudes of staff, in routine administrative practices and discretionary powers, and in the handling of complaints. Racism in German government offices rarely shows itself through overt hostility; rather it is embedded in everyday routines, decision‑making leeway, and the organisational culture.
On a structural level, the study points to legal gaps that facilitate discrimination. At present the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) does not cover the relationship between authorities and citizens. Therefore, a person who experiences discrimination by a state institution cannot rely on that core anti‑discrimination law.
