Joint statement from 154 organizations
For several weeks now, there have been persistent calls for in-kind benefits and benefit cuts for refugees. Yet, many of those affected already receive only the reduced benefits under the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act. This debate pits groups against each other and openly questions human dignity. We reject any tightening of social welfare laws and demand: The Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act must be abolished and those affected must be integrated into the regular social welfare system.
We are dismayed by the current political debate on asylum seekers, which is increasingly dominated by irrelevant and inhumane demands. The discussions about social benefits are a prime example. As long as refugees are in need, they are entitled to the legally defined minimum subsistence level. Now, the apparent aim is to restrict this fundamental right of asylum seekers, with the justification that this would reduce the number of refugees in Germany. The demands being put forward range from a general switch from cash to in-kind benefits, to discriminatory payment cards and a reduction of the minimum subsistence level, to the demand that sick people be denied basic medical care.
This debate suggests that refugees are the primary cause of the undeniable social problems, such as the lack of housing or school and daycare places. However, these problems have other causes and would persist even if Germany did not accept asylum seekers. Refugees are thus made scapegoats for the failed social policies of recent years, without addressing the actual problems. Those who present superficial solutions, however, erode trust in the political capacity to act.
As early as 2012, the Federal Constitutional Court, in a landmark decision, affirmed every person's right to a dignified minimum standard of living and ensured that benefits under the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act were at least temporarily equivalent to the Hartz IV level (now "citizen's income"). At the same time, Germany's highest court clearly rejected the idea of using social benefits to deter asylum seekers: "The human dignity guaranteed in Article 1, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law cannot be relativized in the context of migration policy." (Decision of July 18, 2012 – 1 BvL 10/10) In other words, social benefits may not be reduced to discourage people from fleeing to Germany. Around ten years later, in 2022, the Federal Constitutional Court condemned a ten percent reduction in basic benefits for single refugees living in communal accommodations as unconstitutional. Furthermore, the claim that improved social conditions would lead to more asylum seekers has long been scientifically refuted. Even today, refugees, especially in initial reception centers, receive drastically reduced sums of money, in addition to a place in a shared room, canteen meals, hygiene kits, and often disastrously delayed healthcare. No one fleeing war or political persecution abandons their escape because they will soon have to live on even more material benefits in Germany. When the Federal Office grants protected status in over 70 percent of all asylum applications decided on their merits by September of this year (2023), it becomes all too clear that people are not coming for social benefits, but rather seeking protection. The claim that significant sums of money from the meager asylum seeker benefits are transferred to countries of origin or subsequently handed over to smugglers is cynical and detached from reality.
Human dignity and the social welfare state principle guarantee a dignified minimum standard of living for everyone. We say: Anyone who pits different groups against each other and openly questions human dignity, enshrined in Article 1 of our constitution, is acting against central achievements of our democracy and the social welfare state. And anyone who disregards the fundamental right to a dignified minimum standard of living, as confirmed by the Federal Constitutional Court, is undermining the rule of law. We therefore renew the appeal, which more than 200 organizations have already joined this year: There can be no double standards when it comes to human dignity. We demand the same right to social benefits for all people living in Germany, without discriminatory differences.
The Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act must be abolished. Those affected must be integrated into the regular social welfare system.
More information here: https://www.proasyl.de/news/30-jahre-asylbewerberleistungsgesetz-30-jahre-diskriminierung-von-amts-wegen/
