A leaked paper reveals that Germany’s conservative political parties, the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), want to add a clause to Germany’s Nationality Law to allow the country to revoke German nationality from dual nationals if they are deemed “supporters of terrorism, antisemites and extremists.”
The proposal does not define who would be considered an “antisemite,” a “terrorist supporter,” or an “extremist.” None of the terms are defined in any offenses in the criminal law, and it is unclear what, if any, safeguards would exist to prevent arbitrary and discriminatory application, and violations of human rights.
This comes against the backdrop of Germany’s restrictions against pro-Palestine solidarity and a recent, widely-criticized parliamentary resolution on antisemitism that threatens human rights in Germany.
The leaked working group paper on migration stems from negotiations between the CDU/CSU and Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), seeking to form Germany’s next coalition government. The proposal carries serious risks for rights, such as freedom of expression, and risks fomenting discrimination. So far, the SPD has not agreed to this proposal and had previously opposed it.
Critics of the CDU/CSU proposal have rightly criticized it for appearing to instrumentalize German citizenship to pursue a political agenda based on subjective assessments of wrongdoing. The threat of German citizens being stripped of their citizenship for political opinions – for example, for expressing views about the war in Gaza – risks creating a chilling effect to quash views unpopular with the government.
While international law treats citizenship as a state’s prerogative, except where it leads to statelessness, withdrawal should not be arbitrary and only occur in exceptional and narrowly defined cases. Moreover, Germany has clear obligations under international and German constitutional law to protect freedom of expression and to avoid discrimination.
Article 16 of Germany's Constitution, the Basic Law, stipulates that “[n]o German may be deprived of his citizenship,” a clause that was introduced in response to the Nazi’s persecution of Jews and critics of the Nazi regime who were stripped of their German citizenship based on racial, religious, and political grounds. Germany’s reformed Nationality Law provides for very exceptional circumstances where citizenship can be lost, e.g. for joining a terrorist organization.
The SPD and other parties in parliament should reject the CDU/CSU proposal, which would foment division and discrimination. Instead, parties should ensure all German citizens have equal rights under the law.