Muslims of African descent face growing discrimination in Germany due to worrying levels of Islamophobia, a UN monitoring group warned on Monday.

Ricardo Sunga, chairman of the UN's Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, announced results of a fact-finding visit to Germany at a news conference in Berlin.

"Muslims of African descent are facing increasingly difficult times in the enjoyment of their rights due to increased Islamophobia and Afrophobia,” he said.

While praising Germany’s promotion of human rights and diversity, Sunga expressed concern over widespread problems faced by Africans, and said Muslim Africans often become victims of discrimination in the workplace or in schools.

"Muslim women of African descent face further discrimination when it comes to access to the labor market," he said, referring to discrimination against them due their appearance or Muslim dress.

"Many Muslim students of African descent describe their experiences in school as traumatic as they experience not only anti-Black racism but also anti-Muslim racism,” he also added.

The UN’s expert group visited Germany this month to monitor the human rights situation of people of African descent in Germany, whose population estimated at 800,000.

Sunga called on the German authorities to take stronger measures to combat all forms of racial discrimination, xenophobia, Afrophobia and related intolerance.

PHOTO CAPTION

Eritrean migrants walk after arriving by plane from Italy at the first registration camp in Erding near Munich, Germany, November 15, 2016. REUTERS

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