Children's rights

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When children's rights are rights of children and young people referred. They are enshrined worldwide in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter UN-CRC), which was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on November 20, 1989 and has now been ratified by most countries in the world, from which a universal binding nature of children's rights is derived leaves. This decision was the result of a decade-long process after the Second World War , which began with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The Hague Convention for the Protection of Minors is also important.

German children's and young people's rights in the narrower sense are positions as they are also in SGB ​​VIII , in JGG , in the family law section of the BGB , in state school laws and z. B. very clearly in the law on the religious upbringing of children (KErzG) - there, however, only from a certain age - be recorded.

Basic children's rights

In the CRC, all persons under the age of 18 are defined as children and it is affirmed that all children are entitled to all human rights . The convention contains a total of 54 children's rights articles as well as the additional protocol on the participation of children in armed conflict , the additional protocol against the sale and sexual exploitation of children and the additional protocol on the individual complaint procedure . In many respects, these articles are similar to the basic rights catalogs of western style. For example, freedom of opinion, freedom of religion and freedom of information are discussed.

The rights of the child in the UN CRC are based on four central principles, which the “UN Committee on the Rights of the Child” in Geneva defined as “general principles”. These general principles can be found in Articles 2, 3, 6 and 12.

  • Non-Discrimination (Article 2): All rights apply to all children without exception. The state is obliged to protect children and young people from all forms of discrimination. The abolition of discrimination is in the foreground, as the preamble explicitly emphasizes the equal treatment of all people from birth.
  • Priority of the best interests of the child (Article 3): The general principle of orientation towards the best interests of the child requires that the best interests of the child be given priority in all legislative, administrative and other measures by public or private institutions.
  • Development (Article 6): The basic principle ensures the right of every child to life, survival and development.
  • Consideration of the child's opinion (Article 12): Children have the right to be heard, directly or through a proxy, on all matters affecting them. The child's opinion must be taken into account appropriately and according to their age and maturity.

In addition, there are numerous other rights of children, which can be divided into protection, support and participation rights.

  • Protection: rights to protection of identity, privacy, protection against separation from parents against the will of the child (insofar as this does not conflict with the protection of the child's well-being), protection against damage by the media, against the use of force, abuse or neglect , against economic exploitation, against addictive substances, against sexual abuse , against kidnapping , protection of refugee children and minorities, protection in the event of armed conflict, protection in criminal proceedings and the prohibition of life imprisonment
  • Funding rights (commission): Right to life and development, to family reunification, to freedom of assembly, right to both parents, to support in the event of disability, to health care, to an adequate standard of living, to education, to cultural development, to rest, leisure, play and development, on the integration of damaged children, access to the media
  • Participation rights (Participation): Right to freedom of expression, to obtain and pass on information, and right to use media suitable for children

History of children's rights

For thousands of years, children were counted among the possessions of their parents from birth until modern times. In this respect, the children had no specific freedom in which they could develop into independent individuals. In the course of their life (school, training, job) they were exclusively dependent on the wishes of their parents and had to unconditionally submit to the head of the family. For example, in ancient Rome the pater familias had the unrestricted right to decide on the life or death of his newborn child (ius vitae et necis).

Early modern

It was only with the Enlightenment that the image of childhood as an independent phase of life as we see it today was formed. The declaration of human and civil rights of the French Revolution (Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen, 1789) states in Article 1: “People are born free and equal in rights and remain so.” It follows from the explicit mention of the whole life span as the basis of rights, no special considerations regarding children. As a result, however, there were first improvements, in particular with regard to occupational safety and the use of violence against children: In Great Britain in 1833 factory work for children under nine years of age was banned. In 1896, the civil law in Germany made “gross abuse and inappropriate punishment” by parents, but also by other caregivers, such as teachers and carers a punishable offense. In 1899, separate courts for juveniles were institutionalized for the first time in the United States. Previously, children were treated like adults in court. Childhood as a phase of life worth protecting and with special needs was born.

These developments led to ever more explicit formulations of child needs and demands for a stronger legal separation between youth and adult criminal law . At the same time, however, the alienation from work and the development of the modern nuclear family in particular brought with it a multitude of problems for children and their care (such as neglecting small children during working hours). The first forms of welfare education and the protection of minors are primarily to be understood as measures of repression.

First half of the 20th century

The Geneva Declaration

With the beginning of the 20th century and the associated industrialization and the introduction of compulsory schooling , the children's rights movement gained increasing importance. The Swedish reform pedagogue and women's rights activist Ellen Key proclaimed the 20th century the century of the child. The English primary school teacher Eglantyne Jebb founded the British Save the Children committee, shaken by the massive misery of refugee children after the First World War . Convinced of the need to stand up for the child's interests, she designed a five-point program. She sent this Children's Charter to the League of Nations in Geneva in 1923 with the following words: “I am convinced that we should lay claim to certain rights of children and work for the universal recognition of these rights.” The charter was signed on September 26, 1924 by adopted by the General Assembly of the League of Nations. Better known as the Geneva Declaration, it was primarily intended to ensure the care and protection of children in the interwar period. It also contained fundamental rights for children with regard to their well-being. However, it was not legally binding. With the dissolution of the League of Nations in 1946, it also lost its foundation.

Janusz Korczak

In the early 1920s, the Polish pediatrician and educator Janusz Korczak wrote in his “Magna Charta Libertatis” the right of children to unrestricted respect for their personality as the basis of all children's rights. With his view that children are equal to adults and should be treated with respect, he was way ahead of his time and demanded comprehensive participation rights for children.

post war period

The Declaration of the Rights of the Child

Immediately after the Second World War, the United Nations became the successor to the League of Nations. As a result, numerous subsidiary organs and specialized agencies of the UN emerged, which were supposed to take on the challenges posed worldwide. Thus, in 1945, UNESCO was founded, which, among other things, advocates securing a basic right to education. In 1946 UNICEF , the UN Children's Fund was founded to support children affected by World War II. In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the UN General Assembly of 1948, the family's right to support (Article 25) and the right to education (Article 26) are guaranteed.

UNICEF has been an integral part of the UN since 1953 and focuses on helping children in need. The principle here is that the needs of children are more important than any international conflict. With the founding of the UN, however, the declaration of children's rights of 1924 (Geneva Declaration) was repealed. With the intention of having the Geneva Declaration recognized by the UN with a few adjustments, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child was passed by the General Assembly of the United Nations on November 29, 1959 after several years of preparatory work. For the first time in the history of children's rights, the child was referred to as an independent legal entity and the concept of the best interests of the child was introduced. In spite of everything, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child was not legally binding, although it was passed unanimously. Also in 1959, “ terre des hommes ” was founded in Switzerland to help children in need - a German section was founded in 1967. For Unicef, child protection has not been the focus of work since the 1960s , but rather child welfare and the fight against child poverty.

Book cover: US psychologist Farson complains about a lack of children's rights in 1974

The Convention on the Rights of the Child

As part of the International Year of the Child , proclaimed in 1979 on the 20th anniversary of the “Declaration of the Rights of the Child” by the United Nations, Poland submitted the proposal to convert the 1959 Declaration into a legally binding treaty. On November 20, 1989, 30 years after the Declaration of Rights, the UN passed the International Convention on the Rights of the Child , which was the first to be legally binding. It came into force on November 2, 1990. Since then, November 20th has been International Children's Rights Day. "The convention is unique in that it combines the largest range of fundamental human rights - economic, social, cultural, civil and political - in a single agreement".

A characteristic feature of this time is a change of perspective from the protective idea to child well-being (and the fight against child poverty) - according to the UN CRC of November 1989. The effectiveness of the concept of child welfare differs significantly from its predecessor ideas, such as the Child protection or that of the welfare of children , since the child is granted their own rights for the first time, which are comparable to the rights of adults. Child welfare is a consciously broad term that is defined differently depending on the discipline, so that the measurement of child well-being varies.

present

World Children's Summit

At the same time as the Convention on the Rights of the Child came into force, the first World Children’s Summit took place in New York in 1990. A program for the survival, protection and development of children, especially in developing countries, was adopted there. The second World Children's Summit took place in 2002. At this second conference, a final document entitled “ A World Fit for Children ” was adopted, which aims to improve children's living conditions worldwide. In addition to representatives from more than 180 countries, children and young people were also heard in the UN General Assembly for the first time.

Additional protocols

As a result, the Convention on the Rights of the Child was specified and expanded through three additional protocols. The first additional protocol to the Children's Rights Convention on Children in Armed Conflict states that minors may not be conscripted into military service. The second additional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography explicitly calls on states to prosecute child prostitution as a crime and to criminalize it. The third optional protocol on individual complaints provides a mechanism for individual complaints. If children have violated their rights, they can contact the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva to assert their rights. At the same time, this step underpins the fact that the Convention on the Rights of the Child contains individual rights of the child, which national authorities and courts must observe. The third Optional Protocol was signed by 45 states by January 2014 and ratified by the ten necessary states. It came into force on April 14, 2014. Germany ratified it on February 28, 2012.

United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child) is a body of independent experts that monitors and reports on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in individual countries. The committee regularly drafts so-called "General Comments" on various provisions and subject areas of the Convention. He thereby helps to interpret the articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on the basis of legal developments and practical experience. «General Comments» have the quality of legal opinions and offer the contracting states and their bodies specific support in interpreting and implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child . According to the 3rd Additional Protocol to the Convention, individual complaints about violations of children's rights can also be submitted to the Children's Rights Committee.

European Union

The Lisbon Treaty , Article 2, obliges the EU to promote the protection of children's rights. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union states:

Article 24 rights of the child
(1) Children are entitled to the protection and care necessary for their well-being. You are free to express your opinion. Their opinion will be taken into account in the matters that concern them in a manner appropriate to their age and maturity.
(2) The best interests of the child must be a primary consideration in all actions by public or private bodies affecting children.
(3) Every child has the right to regular personal relationships and direct contact with both parents, unless this is contrary to his or her best interests.

With its EU Agenda for the Rights of the Child , the EU reaffirms its intention that EU policies affecting children, directly or indirectly, be designed, implemented and monitored in a way that complies with the best interests of the child as set out in this Charter and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Implementation and compliance with rights

The Convention on the Rights of the Child has been ratified by all countries in the world - with the exception of the USA. They last ratified Somalia and South Sudan in October 2015 . It therefore applies to almost two billion children and can definitely be described as one of the most successful human rights documents. However, despite the legal stipulation, there has been very different progress in implementation and control in the various countries. Uncovered defects have so far remained largely without legal consequences. Various organizations criticize the fact that almost 20 years after ratification, the level of child participation is in fact extremely low when it comes to fulfilling their rights - although according to the UN CRC they should be included "in all matters that affect them".

The introduction of an individual right of appeal for children before the international court of justice is one possibility to punish violations of the UN CRC more effectively.

In principle, compliance with children's rights should be guaranteed by means of a special “monitoring”. The basis for this is, on the one hand, the mandatory reports on the implementation of the convention in the participating states, which they must submit to the "UN Committee on the Rights of the Child" (Committee on the Rights of the Child) every five years. The first state report was due two years after the UN CRC came into force. On the other hand, in addition to the respective governments of the countries, the UN Committee also consults civil society institutions. To this end, in many countries a “National Coalition”, ie an alliance of several children's rights organizations, monitors compliance with state obligations. In Germany this is the National Coalition Germany .

According to information from terre des hommes, some progress has been made since it was passed in 1989: National action plans for the implementation of the convention have been drawn up; child mortality has fallen worldwide. The school enrollment rate for boys and girls has increased to 85 percent (2006). The female genital mutilation is prohibited by law almost everywhere. Around 100,000 former child soldiers were demobilized between 2001 and 2006. Corporal punishment is now banned in schools in over 100 states. On the other hand, terre des hommes points out that there are still major grievances: despite the ban on genital mutilation, 8,000 girls are circumcised every day in 26 countries in Africa and in Yemen. Despite demobilization, the deployment of 250,000 child soldiers in 19 conflict areas has been documented. 16,000 children under the age of five die every day (as of 2015, in 2002 there were 25,000), most of them from diseases such as diarrhea, measles or pneumonia. Hundreds of thousands of children are infected with the HI virus every year. In developing countries, one in four children under the age of five is underweight and is therefore lagging behind in their physical and mental development. Many children are denied the right to education. Around 75 million children do not go to school, more than half of them are girls. There are more than five million children in forced labor or bondage, and over one million are sold by human traffickers each year. It is believed that more than 1.8 million minors are sexually exploited for prostitution and pornography. There are a million people under the age of 18 in prison worldwide.

Book cover: All children's and young people's rights, presented by Günther 2003

Germany

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the Federal Council only caused a U-turn with regard to children's rights in the spring of 2010 by voting for the withdrawal of the declaration of reservation to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified in 1992. Until this decision was made, the UN Convention had not only been consistently implemented in developing countries, but also in Germany. For example, refugee children previously lost their right to be considered children within the meaning of the law when they reached the age of 16. In practice, this restriction meant that unaccompanied minor refugees between the ages of 16 and 18 were treated as adults in terms of asylum procedures in Germany and could therefore be detained for deportation . For years, German legislation has violated the principle of non-discrimination, according to which all children must be granted the same rights.

In addition, in its landmark judgment of February 9, 2010, the Federal Constitutional Court criticized the fact that the previous calculation of the Hartz IV standard rates did not determine any child-specific needs. Currently, the requirement rates for children are derived from the standard rates for adults. However, the court made it clear that "children are not little adults". The federal government is therefore requested to recalculate the Hartz IV standard rates - both for adults and for children.

To protect children's rights in Germany, around 100 nationally active organizations and initiatives have come together to form the National Coalition Germany . For this purpose, an alternative or parallel report is to be drawn up regularly, in which the official government information is critically commented on and supplemented. The Federal Government (representation of the Federal Republic of Germany) and the National Coalition Germany (process-accompanying non-governmental organization) are responsible for responsibility under international law and strategic management. The German Youth Institute and the German Institute for Human Rights as well as the Federal Ministry for Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth are responsible for data collection and reporting . The Petitions Committee of the German Bundestag and the Children's Commission of the German Bundestag as the contact point for complaints are responsible for complaint management. The evaluation and assessment of future perspectives are carried out at national level by the Children's Commission such as the Human Rights Committee of the German Bundestag, the Federal Government and the National Conference for the Rights of the Child (committee of selected personalities).

Austria

Austria signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the first day it was signed, January 26, 1990. The agreement was ratified on August 6, 1992 and formally entered into force 30 days later. Since then, a number of laws have been passed or changed that correspond to the convention. In some areas, however, the convention has not yet been implemented. In the Federal Constitutional Law on the Rights of Children, passed in 2011, only eight of a total of 43 paragraphs were included in the Austrian constitution . Due to a reservation of performance , the Convention on the Rights of the Child itself is not directly applicable, i.e. courts and authorities cannot refer to it directly when making decisions.

Children's rights in Germany

Overall, it can be said for Germany that a serious change has taken place since the end of the Second World War: children are no longer legally seen as objects , but as subjects, i.e. H. Recognized as bearers of their own rights .

While upbringing under National Socialism was designed to be tough from infancy, aimed at breaking the child's will, conveying racist content and National Socialists murdering millions of children, the first child-related rights became binding for the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 when the Basic Law came into force : among other things the protection of the family ( Art. 6 GG ) and the right to the free development of the personality ( Art. 2 GG ); however, children were not mentioned as independent legal subjects.

The children's shop movement in particular brought the discussion about anti-authoritarian upbringing and thus also children's rights on the agenda in Germany in the 1970s . As a result, corporal punishment was banned at German schools in 1973 - although, according to an OLG judgment in Bavaria in 1979, a customary right to punishment continued to exist. This was forbidden in the GDR since 1949.

As part of the comprehensive care reform in 1980, the "Parental Control" from the "was parental care " superseded. In addition, Section 1626 (2 ) was inserted into the German Civil Code (BGB), which for the first time made it binding for children and young people to have a say in all matters relating to children .

In the Child and Youth Welfare Act (KJHG) introduced after German reunification (and in a modified form that is still valid today ), children are explicitly understood as having their own rights. This becomes clear, for example, in the child's right to advice and care from the youth welfare office, which is independent of the parents, or in the legal right to a kindergarten place for every three-year-old child (instead of for the parents), which was added in 1996. With the Childhood Rights Reform Act of 1998, on the one hand, legitimate and illegitimate children were largely equated; on the other hand, children were given the right to contact both parents ( Section 1684 (1) BGB), as well as the opportunity to unite children in proceedings involving parental custody To provide guard advisor (since September 1, 2009: legal advisor ) as “the child's lawyer”.

The law banning violence in upbringing , which came into force in 2000, guarantees children in Germany the right to a non-violent upbringing in the family as well. This means that parents no longer have the right to chastise in Germany.

Despite several initiatives and two requests (1994 and 2004) by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the inclusion of children's rights in the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany is still pending. Children are mentioned in Article 6, Paragraph 2 of the Basic Law, but only as objects: "The care and upbringing of children is the natural right of the parents and the primary duty incumbent on them". This means that children do not have their own constitutional status and can only sue for rights derived from their parents. To date, the Federal Republic of Germany has not fully complied with the obligation contained in Art. 4 of the UN CRC to take all appropriate legislative and administrative measures “to implement the rights recognized in this Convention”. With the inclusion of children's rights as a fundamental right , Germany would not only take into account the new view of children as independent legal subjects, but also implement the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Art. 24) into national law.

Extensive activities such as playing sports in clubs remain problematic, which are very positive in themselves, but can impair children's rights through insults, threats and bullying by coaches and other athletes.

National Action Plan for a Child-Friendly Germany 2005–2010 (NAP)

The national action plan “For a Child-Friendly Germany” is a multifaceted package of measures that Germany has put on its way as a result of the agreements at the second World Summit for Children .

The focus is on the following six goals:

  1. Equal opportunities through education
  2. Growing up without violence
  3. Promote healthy living and environmental conditions
  4. Participation of children and young people
  5. Development of an adequate standard of living for all children
  6. International commitments

Between 2005 and 2010, around 170 different measures were on the agenda in these areas. Any problems, weak points and deficits must be identified and corrected as quickly as possible. In addition, the most important need for action in the future is to help all children achieve their rights. This means on the one hand to keep the children informed and educate them about their rights, and on the other hand to support them in exercising their rights. These core goals apply beyond Germany's borders.

Organizations

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Jörg Maywald: UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: Balance and Outlook. In: From Politics and Contemporary History . 38/2010, pp. 9-13.
  2. ↑ Children's Rights Special: The History of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. ( Memento from October 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) German Children's Fund; Retrieved February 3, 2011.
  3. ↑ humanium.org The German wording of the Geneva Declaration
  4. ↑ humanium.org
  5. ↑ un.org (PDF)
  6. ↑ Optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Participation of Children in Armed Conflict of May 25, 2000. German Institute for Human Rights, accessed on May 3, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography of May 25, 2000. German Institute for Human Rights, accessed on May 3, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a notification procedure. German Institute for Human Rights, accessed on May 3, 2020 .
  9. ↑ https://www.netzwerk-kinderrechte.de/un-kinderrechtskonvention/3-zusatzprotokoll-individualbeschwerde.html
  10. ↑ An EU agenda for the rights of the child: Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions (PDF; 97 kB), European Commission, February 15, 2011, Com ( 2011) 60
  11. ↑ Süddeutsche: Somalia and South Sudan ratify the children's rights convention
  12. ↑ Manfred Liebel: Children's rights from a children's perspective: How children worldwide get their rights. Lit. Verlag, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-8258-1855-5 .
  13. ↑ Ahmad Alhendawi: The right to participation of children and young people. Retrieved December 10, 2015 .
  14. ↑ 18. Giving children a voice terre des hommes encourages the participation of children. (PDF, annual report 2014) Terre des hommes Germany; Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  15. ^ Under-Five Mortality Dashboard. (No longer available online.) A Promise Renewed , archived from the original on June 7, 2017 ; Retrieved on June 3, 2017 (English, mortality rate among children under five; data can be retrieved from 1950 onwards, depending on the country).
  16. ↑ Children in forced labor. (PDF, annual report 2014) Terre des hommes Germany; Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  17. ↑ 5th / 6th Parallel report for Germany 2009-2019. In: www.umsetzung-der-kinderrechtskonvention.de. Retrieved April 29, 2019 .
  18. ↑ The supplementary reports were also referred to as shadow reports up to the fourth report. Because of the negative connotation, the name has been used since the 5th / 6th. Report no longer used. An overview of the previous reports can be found in the list of shadow reports for Germany. In: www.kinderrechte.de. Retrieved April 29, 2019 .
  19. ↑ The National Coalition runs the website Check your rights , on which children and young people can find out about their rights. The data collected are used to prepare for the 2019/2020 UN dialogue.
  20. ^ Children's rights in Austria. kinderrechte.gv.at, accessed on December 10, 2015 .
  21. ^ APA, Daniela Neubacher: Children's rights are enshrined in the constitution. January 13, 2011, accessed November 20, 2012 .
  22. ^ Claudia Schachinger: Children's rights in Austria's constitution. (PDF) January 20, 2011, accessed on March 11, 2015 .
  23. ^ Lore Maria Peschel-Gutzeit: Children's rights special: Children's rights in the Basic Law. Information point of the German Children's Fund; accessed on June 15, 2014.
  24. ^ Children's rights special: Campaign children's rights in the Basic Law. Information point of the German Children's Fund; accessed on June 15, 2014.
  25. ^ Arnd Krüger : Children's rights. Competitive sport (magazine) 45 (2015), 3, 40.
  26. ↑ A world suitable for children. United Nations: United Nations Special General Assembly Final Document on Children, New York 2002, p. 2.