The 2026 Civil Rights Report, presented on Thursday in Karlsruhe, documents on 240 pages how fundamental rights in Germany are coming under pressure. The main trigger is Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, but also wars in the Gaza Strip and Iran, said former Federal Minister of Justice Herta Däubler-Gmelin (SPD) at the press conference. She emphasized: ‘What are wars of aggression if not the worst violations of fundamental and human rights?’
Specifically, the authors criticize the approval of 500 billion euros in new debt for the Bundeswehr, passed with broad consensus among the governing parties. The report speaks of a ‘sudden militarization of Germany’ unprecedented since the end of World War II. At the same time, state development aid is being cut – the budget of the Development Ministry fell by 910 million euros in 2025 to 10.31 billion euros.
Däubler-Gmelin warned that health systems in other countries could no longer be maintained and that people in Africa are dying because they have no way to escape conflicts. The conservative Seeheimer Kreis of the SPD parliamentary group, which includes 50 of the 120 SPD members of parliament, also criticized in a paper published on Thursday that the value of development aid is being ‘questioned more strongly than ever before.’
EuroPulse reported on May 22, 2026, about the planned drone competence center at Kassel Airport, which is intended to strengthen military infrastructure in Hesse (link).
Source: www.dw.com
