Number of minor soldiers in the Bundeswehr reached 5-year high value
Berlin, January 23, 2023 - The Bundeswehr hired 1,773 soldiers last year, a strong increase of 43 percent compared to 2021 (1,239). Among them were 327 girls aged 17. Almost every tenth of newly established soldiers or soldiers was 2022. This emerges from the Ministry of Department of the Department of Defense on a written question from the left-wing MP Ali al-Dailami.
"It is a certificate of poverty for the federal government that the Bundeswehr has recruited almost 1,800 minor soldiers in 2022 -this is the maximum value of the past five years," said Ralf Willinger of the Child Rights Organization terre des hommes , spokesman for the alliance »under 18 never! No minors in the Bundeswehr «.
»This is about 17-year-old girls and boys who are exposed to high risks such as accidents, strong psychological stress and sexual abuse in the Bundeswehr, as reported by the Ministry of Defense. We ask the new Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to finally put an end to this tragedy and to raise the recruitment age for soldiers to 18 years, as over 150 countries have already done worldwide. «
UN Committee for the rights of the child recently requested this : »Sexual abuse, sexual harassment and other forms of violence against minor soldiers in the Bundeswehr urgently need to be examined and the perpetrators are held responsible. The recruitment age for the Bundeswehr must be raised to 18 years. Any advertising and marketing for minors for military service, especially at schools, must be banned. «
More information:
- Answer by the Ministry of Defense to a MP (1980034-V267, 2021), which shows that minor soldiers are exposed to numerous risks in the Bundeswehr.
- SPIEGEL ONLINE, September 7, 2022 : »Judgment of the Federal Administrative Court: Student intern is harassed - soldier is degraded«. Judicial conviction of a Bundeswehr soldier who had included and sexually harassed a student intern.
- Further information such as interviews with underage Bundeswehr soldiers, the studies »Why 18 Matters - An Analysis of the Recruitment of Children« and »Shadow Report Child soldier 2020«: www.unter18nie.de