Compulsory social year
Compulsory social year or general service is a general civil service required by various politicians in Germany for men and women, similar to the military service and community service previously only performed by men .
Debate on compulsory social services
The debate on a general conscription was already before the suspension of compulsory military service performed variously 2011th Among other things, when the Kreil decision of the European Court of Justice in 2000 gave women basic access to military service. Since the earlier argument that women were fundamentally not suitable for combat missions no longer existed, but the compulsory military service still only concerned men, a new unequal treatment arose here, which the opponents of general conscription pointed to.
At the same time, due to the major downsizing of the Bundeswehr since the 1990s, the need for conscripts had fallen sharply. This led to the fact that the military justice was increasingly no longer given, as only a small part of the men who were conscripted were even drafted.
The argument often cited by proponents of compulsory military service that civil service is indispensable in the social sector could not be used to legitimize compulsory military service, as civil service was actually an exception, while military service was the rule provided for in the law. However, an exception cannot be used to justify the rule. It was therefore also critical to see that before the suspension of compulsory military service, at times more people doing community service were registered as conscripts: in March 2010, for example, 77,437 men were doing community service, while at the same time only 32,673 men were doing basic military service.
After the suspension of compulsory military service in 2011, with regard to the social issues raised and the Bundeswehr's increasing difficulties in finding qualified offspring, various voices were raised that a general service obligation, in the sense of gender equality for men and women, had to be performed in the Bundeswehr or in social affairs Area, request.
The best- known representative of this demand is currently Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who first expressed herself in this sense in spring 2018. In April 2019, she repeated this demand, with the express note that it was not a simple return to the old conscription.
Legal requirements
Due to national laws and international agreements, mandatory services and work are generally prohibited; exceptions are possible within defined limits in the Convention on Forced and Compulsory Labor of the International Labor Organization (ILO) from 1930 and in Art. 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights . A general duty of service in the social area cannot be derived here.
The following compulsory services are not considered forced labor :
- a compulsory service in the military associated alternative military service, such as the civil service as well as paramilitary or paramilitary equipment
- usual civic duties, such as compulsory service in a compulsory fire brigade
- work in the penal system
- Necessary work in cases of force majeure, for example mandatory clean-up work after natural disasters ( dike assistance ) or the civil service of certain professional groups, such as doctors, truck drivers, etc. in exceptional economic situations
- Work that serves the immediate good of the community, such as hand and tension services in small communities.
The majority of lawyers in Germany are therefore of the opinion that the introduction of compulsory social service could conflict with the international law prohibition of compulsory service . This was stated, for example, by the scientific service of the Bundestag in an opinion.
The Armed Forces Commissioner Hans-Peter Bartels also expressed this in 2018. He also pointed out that the now much smaller and completely differently structured Bundeswehr could no longer use the large number of conscripts expected with the introduction of such compulsory service. This had already become clear before the suspension of conscription. In addition, it was argued that the generation affected by such compulsory service was in any case significantly more disadvantaged than previous generations in terms of pension and health insurance due to demographic development, so general compulsory service was a double burden.
In addition, no parliamentary majority for the introduction of such a civil service is currently foreseeable. Surveys in the population showed different results, although the rejection usually predominated.
See also
- Federal Voluntary Service
- Citizen work
- Voluntary social year
- Hand and clamping services
- Compulsory year
- Service national universal (SNU)
- Workfare
- Civil service
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Official information from the Federal Office for Community Service for March 1, 2010, accessed on March 28, 2010 ( Memento of November 25, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Official information from the Bundeswehr, accessed on March 28, 2010
- ↑ Christiane Habermalz: Bundeswehr - Kramp-Karrenbauer wants service for everyone. In: deutschlandfunk.de. Retrieved January 4, 2019 .
- ↑ Kramp-Karrenbauer: "In the CDU we will discuss the subject of general compulsory service". Stern, April 3, 2019, accessed April 3, 2019 .
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110604103218/http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/german/docs/gc029.htm
- ↑ https://www.ilo.org/global/lang--en/index.htm
- ↑ https://dejure.org/gesetze/GemO/10.html
- ↑ Convention 29 of the ILO on Forced and Compulsory Labor 1930 ( Memento of June 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Perspectives for voluntary service and community service in Germany January 15, 2004. PDF, 106 pages.
- ↑ https://www.morgenpost.de/politik/article215008625/CDU-diskutiert-ueber-Wiedereinfuehrung-der-Wehrpflicht.html
- ↑ https://www.cicero.de/innenpolitik/annegret-kramp-karrenbauer-dienstpflicht-wehrpflicht-bundeswehr-pflege-jugend-rente
- ↑ https://www.faz.net/aktuell/beruf-chance/deutschland-keine-mehrheit-fuer-idee-der-sozialen-dienstpflicht-16287071.html