Social exclusion in the area of ethnic or racist discrimination often occurs based on the assumption that a person belongs to a different ethnic group or is from a different country. Whether the assumption aligns with reality is generally not verified prior to the discrimination. For this reason, it is especially important to also enshrine the supposed ethnic affiliation in the law, as has already been suggested elsewhere.

The category “ethnic origin” combines many different attributes such as color of skin, origin, ethnic affiliation, cultural practices, appearance, language, phenotypical characteristics etc. Whether a solidified ethnic group really exists is not relevant for the presence of discrimination.

Both, real and alleged groups are given negative attributions, which possibly leads to a disadvantageous treatment. This should find attention in § 1 AGG by clarifying that every disadvantageous treatment based on specific characteristics in connection to the “ethnic origin” fall under the AGG’s scope of protection.