Index
Once a year, during the Berlinale film festival, the world of the silver screen focuses its attention on Berlin. And the city’s inhabitants are used to global interest. After all, the people of Berlin have lived in a capital city since 1458. However, there is also a shady side to the city’s history: the rule of the National Socialists and the East German regime, which built a wall right through the heart of the city. Since German unification in 1990, Berlin has once again been the undivided capital city. The Museum Island, the Berlin Philharmonic and more than 50 theaters ensure the city is unique in terms of cultural life. The “academic capital” boasts 39 universities and institutes of higher education, while also being home to businesses such as Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, while ITB, the worlds leading travel trade show, accentuates the slogan “Berlin is worth seeing”.
Capital: Berlin
Population: 3,866,385
Surface area: 892 km2
In Germany, equal rights are enshrined in the Basic Law, it is legally impermissible to discriminate by gender as regards working conditions and pay, and there are numerous laws guaranteeing the rights of women. Moreover, Germany is firmly committed to equal rights for both genders – relying on a wide- ranging network of state and private institutions in this regard. The state plays an active role in ensuring equal living conditions for men and women. These measures are proving successful: in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index, which measures the gap in gender equality, Germany was placed 6th in 2023, making it one of the best-ranked countries in the world.
The Federal Government and cabinet is made up of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers. While the Chancellor holds the power to issue directives, the ministers have departmental powers, meaning that they independently run their respective ministries in the framework of those directives. Moreover, the cabinet abides by the collegial principle, in disputes the Federal Government decides by majority. The affairs of state are managed by the Chancellor.
The respect and strengthening of human rights worldwide are a cornerstone of German Federal Government policy. Together with its EU partners it is committed to protecting and continually advancing human rights standards throughout the world. This occurs in close collaboration with the institutions of the United Nations, in particular the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. German human rights policy adheres to a concrete commitment: Protecting people from the violation of their rights and basic freedoms and creating viable conditions for suppression, arbitrariness, and exploitation no longer have a chance. A claim that is derived from the Basic Law: Article 1 names human rights as the basis of every community, of peace and of justice in the world.
With its 57 member states, the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) is a comprehensive forum for cooperation at the pan-European level. OSCE missions are active above all in conflict prevention and management. Germany makes a substantial contribution to finance and man-power. The Secretary General of the OSCE is based in the Austrian capital Vienna.
→ osce.org