Osnabrück/Berlin, September 3, 2025 – The German Federal Cabinet is scheduled to approve the draft legislation for implementing the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) in Germany today. Terre des Hommes warns that in the future, children could also be detained or placed in detention-like facilities under certain conditions. Terre des Hommes sees this as a clear violation of children's rights and, together with migration law experts, is urgently calling for improvements in the upcoming parliamentary process.
“Children do not belong in detention centers or reception facilities without sufficient freedom,” says Joshua Hofert, spokesperson for the board of Terre des Hommes . “Children need a safe place, access to education, participation, and fair procedures – not isolation and disenfranchisement. We call on all members of the Bundestag: Advocate for the protection of children in parliamentary proceedings. Prevent children’s rights from being violated.”
A legal opinion commissioned by Terre des Hommes and other organizations from migration law experts Prof. Dr. Constantin Hruschka and Robert Nestler comes to a clear conclusion: Without binding child protection regulations, the implementation of the reform threatens serious violations of children's rights in Germany.
“Child protection guarantees should be enshrined as concretely as possible in German legislation to ensure their effectiveness,” says Prof. Dr. Hruschka. “However, the current drafts propose stricter measures – such as the possibility of detention and detention-like placement, even for children. These stricter measures are not only disproportionate but also violate children’s rights. The legislator’s objective must be to avoid restrictions on children’s freedom and to protect them in the best possible way.”
Further improvements are urgently needed in other parts of the proposed legislation as well. For example, it must be ensured that the special protection needs of children and young people are assessed systematically and in a child-friendly manner, that unaccompanied minors receive special protection, and that access to education and healthcare for all children is guaranteed with binding standards.
background
- The current legislative process represents the most significant reform of German asylum law since 1993. It serves to implement the EU-wide reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), the regulations of which are to be applicable in all member states from June 2026. Terre des Hommes has repeatedly commented on the planned changes to European asylum law and raised serious concerns regarding children's rights.
- The expert report “Child Rights Aspects of the Reform of the Common European Asylum System” by Constantin Hruschka and Robert Nestler was jointly commissioned by the following organizations: Federal Association for Minors and Refugees (BuMF) eV, The Paritätische Gesamtverband, German Children's Aid Organization eV, German Committee for UNICEF eV, Kindernothilfe eV, Save the Children Germany, SOS Children's Villages eV, Terre des Hommes Germany, World Vision Germany.
- Terre des Hommes has drawn attention to the living situation of refugee children in unsuitable accommodation structures in various publications: www.tdh.de/informieren/themen/kein-ort-fuer-kinder