terre des hommes demands an end to the recruitment of underage soldiers and a halt to arms exports to conflict zones
Osnabrück/Berlin/Geneva, September 5, 2022 – Ahead of the upcoming questioning of the German government by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on Monday and Tuesday in Geneva, the international children's aid organization terre des hommes accuses the German government of disregarding children's rights. "Germany is responsible for serious violations of children's rights involving underage soldiers in the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) and the consequences of German arms exports to conflict regions," declared Beat Wehrle, spokesperson for the terre des hommes . "Since 2008, Germany has ignored the repeated calls from the UN Committee and child protection organizations to raise the recruitment age for soldiers to 18 and to stop arms exports to conflict regions where children are recruited as soldiers. The governing coalition now has the opportunity to protect children and young people in accordance with international law. This is not a concession to young people, but the fulfillment of a treaty obligation."
The German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) recruit 17-year-olds as soldiers every year. In 2021, the number was 1,239, and it is rising. "The rights of these girls and boys are regularly and severely violated in the Bundeswehr. Data from the Ministry of Defense from 2021 shows that underage soldiers were victims of sexual violence between 2018 and 2020 and suffered serious physical and psychological harm, such as mental disorders or injuries," said Beat Wehrle. "Furthermore, the dropout rate among these young recruits is exceptionally high."
Furthermore, terre des hommes criticizes the fact that many children in war zones are dying from German weapons or are forced to fight as child soldiers. For example, in the Yemen war, where numerous children are being used as soldiers, at least 3,550 children have been killed by the Saudi-led military coalition, according to UN figures, primarily through aerial bombing. Rheinmetall bombs, Tornado and Eurofighter fighter jets, and Heckler & Koch assault rifles were used in these attacks. "Members of this military coalition, such as the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, have long been among the main recipients of German arms exports. In 2021 alone, arms exports to Egypt worth over four billion euros were approved – a new record," says Beat Wehrle. "Here, too, the German government must urgently reverse course and stop arms exports to regions with armed conflicts and serious violations of children's rights. This must be enshrined in the new arms export control law."
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is the body established by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that reviews the compliance of states parties with this international treaty every five years. Since 2008, it has repeatedly called on Germany to raise the recruitment age for soldiers to 18 and to halt arms exports to conflict zones where child soldiers are used, in order to protect children. The German government has so far ignored this request.
terre des hommes has submitted several studies and documents to the ongoing UN reporting process, documenting serious violations of children's rights in connection with the military and armed conflicts. These include the shadow report "Child Soldiers" and the study "Small Arms in Small Hands – German Arms Exports Violate Children's Rights." They can be ordered free of charge terre des hommes downloaded here