Berlin -- Germany needs more ethnic minorities in its political system, the police and its courts, and has to do more to tackle racism in daily life, the UN special rapporteur said on Wednesday.

"My visit has convinced me that much remains to be done," Githu Muigai, UN special rapporteur for racism, said after a 10-day fact-finding trip across the country.

People with a migrant background "are under-represented in important institutions, including the political system, the police and the courts," Muigai said.

He also said that due to the historical experience of Germany with Nazism, there is a "tendency to equate racism with extremist politics."

"I think that this great country needs to turn its attention to the problems of daily racism and discrimination, that is the racism and discrimination to be found in daily life in schools, public places, in housing, in employment etcetera," he said.

Keynan-born Muigai, special rapporteur since August, also said that far-right groups "demand constant vigilance", and that Germany needs to do more to speed up the processing of asylum-seekers.

AFP/Expatica