UN expert warns of surging anti-Muslim hatred in Germany

The UN's special rapporteur on freedom of expression said hate speech and anti-Muslim hatred were rising in Germany while warning that the government response had at times been heavy-handed.

Germany had seen a “rise of hate speech, anti-Muslim hatred, anti-migrant and gendered hate speech,” Irene Khan told a press conference in Berlin on Friday.

Germany is at a critical juncture for freedom of expression and must prioritise the expansion of safe, inclusive spaces to discuss diverse opinions, Khan said at the end of an official visit to the country.

“Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and anti-migrant vitriol have surged, as some political forces rooted in racist, xenophobic and authoritarian ideologies have weaponised freedom of expression to marginalise, intimidate and abuse minorities,” said Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

Khan said many individuals she spoke to, including pro-Palestinian solidarity activists, students and members of minority communities, told her that hateful attacks, often amplified by social media, were making them afraid to speak online or offline.

While the government was right to take these threats seriously, Khan said countermeasures had sometimes been “inconsistent with international human rights standards”.

“They have generated uncertainty as to the line between protected and prohibited speech and have encouraged stigmatisation and self-censorship,” she said.

‘Lawful but awful’

A primary concern in Germany remains the use of anti-terrorism laws to restrict advocacy for Palestinian rights, chilling public participation and shrinking discourse in academia and the arts, the Special Rapporteur said.

Asked about pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Germany, where some states have outlawed the slogan “from the river to the sea”, Khan said some regions had “got the balance wrong”.

“We have complained about restrictions on speech,” she said.

“We have complained about the overuse of police force. We have complained about charges that have been brought.”

“To be clear, advocacy of hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence is and must be prohibited under international law,” Khan said, adding that offensive speech that is “lawful but awful” should be addressed through education, awareness, debate and discussion, not censorship or criminalisation.

Khan said a security-based approach had often made people feel less secure and uncertain about the limits of protected and prohibited speech, warning that it risks narrowing democratic debate and accelerating social polarisation.