And what do you think?

(As of November 12, 2024)

The AfD says:

"Against the background of the increasing brutality of juvenile criminals and the serious problem of juvenile repeat offenders, we consider it important and appropriate to apply adult criminal law to adult offenders and to lower the age of criminal responsibility to twelve years." (1)

The AfD claims that juvenile delinquency has become more brutal in recent years. (2) In fact, the current research does not support this claim. (3) Nevertheless, the AfD uses this statement to support its claim: It wants children to be held criminally accountable much earlier—at 12 instead of 14.

We believe that children and young people have a right to age-appropriate criminal proceedings. This includes an appropriate minimum age of criminal responsibility, which is internationally recognized at 14 years. We believe that criminal prosecution of children as young as 12 is not child-friendly.

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[1] "Programme for Germany – The Basic Programme of the Alternative for Germany," adopted at the federal party conference in Stuttgart on April 30/May 1, 2016, last accessed on August 14, 2024, p. 25 (hereinafter "Basic Programme").
[2] Basic Programme, p. 25; AfD federal election manifesto 2021, adopted at the 12th AfD federal party conference in Dresden, April 10-11, 2021, last accessed on August 14, 2024, p. 78.
[3] Wolfgang Heinz, "Youth Crime - Figures and Facts," bpb, December 15, 2023, www.bpb.de/themen/recht-justiz/gangsterlaeufer/203562/jugendkriminalitaet-zahlen-und-fakten/, last accessed on August 9, 2024; "Figures - Data - Facts Youth Violence," Child and Youth Crime Prevention Unit of the German Youth Institute, updated June 2023, p. 16.

(As of November 12, 2024)

The AfD website states: “Special needs schools must once again become the norm for students with special educational needs.” (4)

If the AfD were to implement its plans, many children would have to leave regular schools – namely all those with special educational needs.

We believe that special educational needs should not necessarily lead to exclusion from mainstream schools. Inclusion and integration must take place where it is good and sensible for children. A blanket banishment of children with special educational needs from mainstream schools is neither compatible with children's rights nor with the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Democratic and free societies are based on the fundamental right of all people to participate in social life.

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[4] AfD Federal Association website, details of the election manifesto, Education, Science & Research section – "No ideologically motivated inclusion: Maintain special needs and support schools," www.afd.de/wahlprogramm-bildung-wissenschaft-forschung/, last accessed on August 9, 2024; AfD Bundestag election manifesto 2021, adopted at the 12th AfD Federal Party Conference in Dresden, April 10-11, 2021, www.afd.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/20210611_AfD_Programm_2021.pdf, last accessed on August 14, 2024, p. 150 (hereinafter: “BT Election Manifesto 2021”).

(As of November 12, 2024)

Götz Frömming, school policy spokesman and parliamentary manager of the AfD parliamentary group, says:

"Students from conservative Muslim families, in particular, have no use for left-wing, cuddly pedagogy. Therefore, classic secondary virtues such as punctuality, obedience, achievement, and discipline must be reinstated in our schools. This includes teachers supported by the school administration and a school legislator who once again equips them with the necessary authority. At the same time, the influx of further migrants with little or no education must be stopped immediately so that our education system can regenerate." (5)

We believe that this image of schooling pays too little attention to the individual needs of students, as well as to collaborative learning. A purely performance-oriented, authoritarian school system contradicts the educational goals of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children have a right to a quality, child-friendly education, regardless of their background. According to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, child-friendly education means that education is focused on personal development. Furthermore, children should learn to respect human rights and value their own and other cultures. Authoritarian schools, such as those advocated by the AfD, contradict the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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[5] Press release AfD Bundestag parliamentary group, Götz Frömming, school policy spokesman and parliamentary manager of the AfD Bundestag parliamentary group, Berlin, 18 March 2024, on reports of significantly increasing violence in German schools, afdbundestag.de/goetz-froemming-ursachen-zunehmender-gewalt-an-schulen-bekaempfen/, last accessed on 06.08.2024 (hereinafter: “Frömming”).

(As of November 12, 2024)

The AfD in Brandenburg says: “We want to cap the proportion of migrants in publicly run schools at a maximum of ten percent and introduce the principle of German before regular schooling.” (6)

We believe this misses the fundamental problem of our education system. Our school system must be improved for all children, whether with or without a migration background. Educational success in Germany depends heavily on social background and not on the abilities of the individual student. (7) Immigrant children are often disadvantaged in the German education system. Both are unfair. The demand for a migration cap for schools does not solve the problem. Access to education and the promotion of personal development is a fundamental and human right that applies to all children.

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[6] "It is time for a different policy. - AfD government program for Brandenburg for the state elections in Brandenburg 2024«, last accessed on 14 August 2024, p. 44.
[7] Ifo Institute, press release of 18 April 2023, “Opportunity Monitor 2023: Educational opportunities depend heavily on the parents’ home”, www.ifo.de/pressemitteilung/2023-04-18/chancenmonitor-2023-bildungschancen-haengen-stark-vom-elternhaus-ab, last accessed on 08 October 2024; Annette Kuhn, “How much do educational trajectories depend on social background?”, May 19, 2023, updated June 1, 2023, German School Portal of the Robert Bosch Foundation, deutsches-schulportal.de/bildungswesen/infografik-kai-maaz-von-welchen-faktoren-haengen-bildungsverlaeufe-ab/, last accessed October 8, 2024.

(As of November 12, 2024)

"We want to incorporate a child-friendly society into the Basic Law as a national goal. This strengthens families and obliges politicians to be truly family-friendly—in contrast to the inclusion of "children's rights" in the Basic Law, which only aims to ensure the state "air sovereignty over children's beds." Children are already holders of fundamental rights. Separate "children's rights" therefore only weaken parental rights under Article 6 of the Basic Law." (8)

We believe that societies are only child-friendly if they grant children their own rights. It is true that children are already holders of fundamental rights. Nevertheless, they are often disadvantaged and their special needs are overlooked. An explicit enshrinement of children's rights in the Basic Law should ensure that this is no longer the case in the future, because children's rights will then be a visible part of the constitution. The national goal of a child-friendly society proposed by the AfD does not replace the enshrinement of children's rights in the Basic Law.

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[8] AfD 2021 Federal Election Platform, adopted at the 12th AfD Federal Party Conference in Dresden, April 10-11, 2021, last accessed on August 14, 2024, p. 108.

(As of November 12, 2024)

When families are separated during the flight, it can happen that underage refugees arrive in Germany alone. The AfD wants to deny these refugee children and young people the right to live with their parents and siblings in Germany.

The Thuringia AfD states: “Family reunification for unaccompanied foreign minors can take place in safe third countries outside of Germany.” (9)

The federal AfD also suspects abuse, saying: (10)

"Unaccompanied, allegedly minor foreigners (UMA) are abusing immigration and asylum law." (11)

With its statements, the AfD contributes to the formation of prejudices and stigmatization that have a negative impact on the integration of unaccompanied minors here in Germany.

We believe: Families belong together! Unaccompanied minor refugees must have the right to family reunification in Germany. Accordingly, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulates that applications for entry for the purpose of family reunification must be processed benevolently, humanely, and expeditiously.

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[9] "Alles für Thüringen" (Everything for Thuringia), AfD Thuringia's election manifesto for the 2024 Thuringian state election, adopted by the state party conference on April 27, 2024, last accessed on August 14, 2024, p. 70
[10] "Programme for Germany - The Basic Programme of the Alternative for Germany," adopted at the federal party conference in Stuttgart on April 30/May 1, 2016, last accessed on August 14, 2024, p. 63; Website of the AfD Federal Association, Topics & Positions, section “Immigration/Asylum – No further immigration into the social systems”, www.afd.de/zuwanderung-asyl/, last accessed on August 9, 2024.
[11] Website of the AfD Federal Association, Topics & Positions, section “Immigration/Asylum – The costs for unaccompanied minors are exploding”, 2024, www.afd.de/zuwanderung-asyl/, last accessed on August 9, 2024.