Osnabrück, September 19, 2022 – On the occasion of tomorrow's World Children's Day, the international children's aid organization terre des hommes together with many other associations, is calling on the German government to swiftly implement the improvements to family reunification for refugees announced in the coalition agreement.
"We expect the German government to give top priority to its promises to realize the fundamental right to family life for refugees," explained Beat Wehrle, spokesperson for the board of terre des hommes . "This would signal, appropriately for World Children's Day, that the well-being and rights of refugee children are a concern for the government."
Under current legal practice, unaccompanied minor refugees can have their parents join them, but not their siblings. This form of family separation is a severe psychological burden for many children and young people, which can have negative consequences for their further development. "Both international law and the German Basic Law oblige Germany to protect the right to family and to give priority to the best interests of the child." “German family law places special legal protection on the relationship between siblings,” said Sophia Eckert, terre des hommes expert on refugees and migration. “It is no longer acceptable that this does not apply to the family reunification of siblings of unaccompanied minor refugees. Siblings are part of the core family.”
Furthermore, terre des hommes together with its partners in this initiative, is calling for the reduction of administrative hurdles in visa applications and a limit of three months to waiting times at German embassies and consulates. Language skills should no longer be required before arrival; instead, refugees should learn the language where it is spoken.