The coalition agreement provides numerous measures that affect the rights and well -being of children in our projects. In this article we present the plans of the new federal government in the areas of development cooperation, child labor in supply chains and the protection of refugees.
The projects from the coalition agreement still have to be implemented, but it is already clear: he is not a manifesto for children's rights. In all relevant policy areas, we will be even more committed to protecting children's rights.
Our concrete help worldwide is also more important than ever so that children are protected and have fair starting opportunities. Thanks to everyone who supports their donation and their commitment!
Development cooperation and humanitarian aid
The good news first: The Ministry of Development is preserved, so Germany's global responsibility will continue to vote at the cabinet table in the future. The new federal government also promises to strengthen humanitarian aid. In addition, the federal government wants to continue to carry out development projects in close partnership with local, civil society organizations in order to be able to react flexibly and quickly to emergency situations and developmental challenges. This is particularly important for Terre des Hommes because we pursue the approach to work exclusively with local partners.
The bad news: With the coalition agreement, there is a risk of massive cuts in development cooperation. At a time when other people like the USA withdraw and millions of lives are in danger, there is a risk that Germany will also come from Germany less support for children worldwide. In addition, development cooperation is intended to serve primarily German interests in the future and thus runs the risk of neglecting the protection of children and their rights.
Right now it is more important than ever that we are committed to children and their rights. We do this with our projects for children worldwide and with our expertise. We will work even more than before for strong development cooperation that focuses on children and their rights instead of national self -interests and ensures that partner organizations in the global south are strengthened and promoted.
The coalition agreement provides for an "appropriate lowering of the ODA quota". The ODA quota (Official Development Assistance) describes the proportion of gross national income that a country provides for public development cooperation.
It is therefore unclear how much money will actually be available in the future for the core areas of development cooperation, especially for fragile and particularly little developed states and vulnerable population groups such as children whose “benefits” are not directly visible to national interests.
Capping current and future challenges in the current partner countries of development cooperation depends crucially on whether it is possible to open up prospects such as educational opportunities and social participation because they put the majority of the population there. Of course, children also benefit if the Federal Government “continues” in the areas of education, health, poverty and hunger fighting, promoting (girls') women's rights and strengthening civil society.
Conceptively, but also practical, the coalition agreement offers little indications of how this should be achieved with the new orientation towards self -interests and how, in particular, the multiple crises of the present, in which, for example, poverty, armed conflicts and climate change can be particularly fatal and sustainable.
It is not reprehensible per se if the federal government represents “self -interest” in international cooperation. The Federal Government should deal openly and pragmatically with its positions in public. However, the use of the concept of interest must offer orientation and must not only serve rhetorical purposes. Many topics of development cooperation also affect the very own interests of the German population. This applies, for example, to the securing of global goods such as health, e.g. containing pandemics, as well as to secure peace, democracy and human rights.
In addition, developmental and humanitarian challenges that affect children are difficult to reconcile with a close definition of self -interest. It is therefore consequently and regrettable that children's rights are not one of the focus of international politics mentioned in the coalition agreement. Development policy and humanitarian aid are based on long -term goals and principles that are often developed in international forums. If you are subordinate to other political fields, conflicts of interest can arise. In this respect, the guiding principle contained in the coalition agreement that development policy is "at the same time leading value and interest", the clarification.
Whether the use for democracy, the rule of law and human rights with external, security and economic policy interests, as the coalitioners formulate, depends on whether and how they are designed and implemented. For example, securing raw materials in partnership with countries in the global south only makes sense when it protects the climate, preserves children from exploitation and serves peacekeeping.
The coalition agreement provides the prospect of strengthening humanitarian aid, which is to be ensured by “adequate” financing, and the Federal Government wants to - which should be evaluated positively - whether it can compensate for the failure of other donor countries. However, it remains open how this statement is on the intention of reducing the ODA quota. Reasons at the expense of development cooperation would be a wrong signal, because humanitarian aid cannot be the only answer to the increasing multiple crises in the world.
Also to be evaluated positively is the maintenance of civil society orientation of German development cooperation, which relates to both the financing of non -state actors in the south and to those in Germany. Civil society can react quickly in emergency situations, help unbureaucratically and is closer to the local population. It jumps in where state actors fail and strengthens democracy. Especially against the background of the reductions in the funds for private carriers planned by the previous government, it remains to be seen whether the political confession to civil society development cooperation will also be reflected in the future budget.
Child labor in supply chains
The coalition agreement provides for the abolition of the National Supplier Act (LKSG). This is intended to reduce bureaucracy. A “law on international corporate responsibility” is to take its place, which implements the existing European supply chain directive (CSDDD).
This threatens considerable resignation in child and environmental protection in the supply chains of German companies. Consumption without child labor moves far away. Competitive disadvantages threaten sustainably and fairly economy companies.
Together with partners, we will work for a strong law to implement the European supply chain directive. In addition, with our projects we continue to be at the side of working children and will take children's rights violations along global supply chains into public and politics as soon as we get knowledge of it.
The announced abolition of the supply chain law cannot be carried out procedural by accepting a coalition agreement, but requires a decision of the Bundestag. The decision about the future of the Lief chain law is still pending. At the same time, the coalition agreement announces a replacement by a law on international corporate responsibility for the implementation of the European supply chain directive (CSDDD).
This step was already planned before the coalition agreement was accepted and is an opportunity to continue to take responsibility in the form of a German law to implement the CSDDD. It is particularly important to us that the law contains extensive regulations for the protection of children and adolescents from exploitation and violence in global supply chains and provides for their participation.
The coalition agreement stipulates that the reporting obligation from the delivery of the delivery law duty law is immediately abolished and can be omitted completely. This means that companies no longer have to report on human rights and environmental -related risks and measures in their supply chains. This means a significant weakening of the effectiveness of the national supply chain law. Without transparency, compliance with the diligent duties can be severely checked. In addition, this contradicts the assessment of many companies that have established a functioning reporting system and, in addition to improving the protection of child and human rights, also see efficiency gains for their work ( see study of the HRI ).
With the exception of “massive human rights violations”, existing sanctions will be exposed to the entry into force of the CSDDD directive. However, it is completely unclear what this concept should mean, because every form of child and human rights violation is unacceptable. It is also unclear how exactly the sanctions should be suspended, since it is currently legally anchored and valid. In addition, the sanction-free transition period endangers those who work for the realization of child and human rights and acts like a free ticket for companies.
Basically, nothing speaks against a bureaucratic and enforcement -friendly implementation of the CSDDD, as the coalition agreement provides, especially for small and medium -sized companies. However, this must not be at the expense of children and the environment. Among other things, there must be civil liability for damage and violations of the law due to violations of the CSDDD. Because these violations are often serious children's rights violations for which responsibility must be taken over.
The supply chain law is still in force in previous form and protects children along global supply chains from exploitation - every change requires a decision in the Bundestag. We therefore ask the members of the Bundestag not to carry the procedure planned in the coalition agreement in this form. In addition, together with our civil society partners and supporting commercial companies, we will stand up for creating a strong law to implement the European supply chain directive and accompanying the implementation. It is important here that children are effectively protected from exploitation, can report violations in a safe environment and that companies can be liable for violations.
Protection of refugees
The coalition agreement provides significant tightening in the area of migration and integration. The list of measures that also meet refugee children and adolescents is long: entrance programs should be almost completely discontinued and family reunification should be further restricted. Returns to the limits, the massive expansion of deportations and the restriction of procedural and performance rights endanger the well-being and the right children and adolescents.
For us it is clear: we are now firmly on the side of refugee children and adolescents. We are not tired of raising our voice towards the public and politics so that their rights are protected. Together with our partner organizations, we also provide help in emergency situations, offer legal support and are committed to protection against violence and the participation of refugee children and adolescents.
The coalition agreement provides for the family reunification to be subjected to subsidiary protection for two years. That means: more children who have to grow up separately from their parents or siblings, a very difficult integration and another factor that urges people on life -threatening escape routes because they have no other way to get to their families. The separation from their families is dramatic and can have an impact on their health and development.
According to the coalition agreement, voluntary entrance programs should be terminated "as far as possible". If this actually affects all existing recording programs, this would be the end of some of the few existing legal escape routes to Germany. This also affects the life -saving “Federal Recording Program Afghanistan”. The plans of the new government are particularly hard for those in need of protection such as women and children. For them, the targeted humanitarian admission, which is now to be abolished, is often the only way to find security.
“In coordination with European neighbors”, rejections are to be made at the German state borders. Flat -rate rejections would also affect children and families and would be one thing above all: illegal. According to the currently applicable Dublin III regulation, in the event of an asylum application, it must first be checked which Member State is responsible, followed by a procedure. Unaccompanied minores represent a particularly needy group and must be handed over directly to the youth welfare office when crossing the border.
With our partner organizations, we have long seen in the European external borders that rejections and pushbacks for those affected are accompanied by force. There is obviously also not an emergency within the meaning of Art. 72 TFEU in Germany.
The announcement of a so -called "return offensive" is already ensuring that refugee children and their families are frightened and their arrival and integration are hindered. What the increasingly tougher deportation practice, which also affects families and children, means in individual cases, for example, is shown in this article.
More detention and departure custody, which, according to the coalition agreement, are also to be requested by the federal police, lead to more children that could be separated from their parents. We say: Children themselves must never be put into deportation and must basically be excluded from deportations.
In addition, the coalition agreement provides for deportations to Afghanistan and Syria again - two countries in which serious violations of human rights threaten. The explanation of countries such as Morocco, Algeria or Tunisia on safe countries of origin ignores the human rights situation in these countries.
Children and their families could also be affected by rejections and deportations based on this assessment without having received a fair procedure.
The "accommodation principle" is to become asylum law from the "principle of investigation". This simple sentence in the coalition agreement contains the potential to weaken the procedural guarantees for refugees as a whole - and thus also for children and their families - fundamentally and massively. See detailed, for example, Pro Asyl or Prof. Dr. Winfried Kluth.
In practice, the cryptic sentence "We ensure a consistent implementation of the existing temporary restrictions in performance law" means the implementation of the performance cuts, which are also highly critical for children and adolescents, from the so -called security package or in the form of the payment card.
Ukrainian refugees will receive services according to the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act. In addition to an enormous bureaucratic effort, this means less services and limited medical care for children and their parents.
The term "irregular migration" wrongly gives the impression that there are enough legal ways for refugees to look for protection. Unfortunately, there are such legal ways, for example over a visa, almost never. Instead, refugees are forced to enter dangerous ways in order to be able to apply for an asylum application at all (see, for example, Pro Asyl 2023).
In the coalition agreement, some of the few ways to flee to Germany are now massively restricted or completely exposed. Instead of limiting "irregular migration", the few regular escape routes that exist are limited. Experience shows that if legal ways are missing, irregular migration increases and the escape routes become more dangerous. The result: more children and adolescents die while fleeing.
The coalition agreement provides for increasing equal opportunities for children through massive investments in daycare centers and schools. The migration advice for adult immigrants is to be continued and “adequately financed”, integration is to be invested, integration courses are to be continued, language daycare centers are to be introduced, the start-chances program continued and extended to daycare centers. A commitment to the important role of civil society organizations as a "bridge" when arriving is mentioned - it remains to be seen what funding should look like.