As of: February 5, 2024, 2:06 p.m
By: Lisa Mahnke
Comments
Press
Split
The proportion of minors in the Bundeswehr is increasing.
Despite criticism from outside, the traffic light government “does not want to forego” its potential.
Berlin - The number of underage recruits in the Bundeswehr in 2023 will be higher than ever before - although the recruitment of young people has been criticized for a long time.
More than one in ten of the 18,802 soldiers who started their service in the Bundeswehr last year were minors.
This was the federal government's answer to a written question from the left-wing faction.
Accordingly, 1,996 people were only 17 years old when they started working.
When data collection began in 2011, there were only 689 underage soldiers.
Among other things, the
world
had reported.
According to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, only people aged 18 and over are actually allowed to join the armed forces.
However, there is an exception that 23 other contracting states make use of in addition to Germany: with parental consent, 17-year-olds can also be recruited as long as they are not deployed in armed guard service or in military conflicts.
This means that young people can be trained before they have reached the minimum age.
Social media and school campaigns as Bundeswehr advertising for the recruitment of minors
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has been calling for this exemption to no longer be used since 2008.
Most recently, in 2022, the committee recommended a minimum age of 18 and “ban all forms of advertising or marketing of military service aimed at children, particularly in schools.”
It was not without background that the left-wing faction asked about the target group orientation of various formats on social media, including the YouTube format “The Recruits” of the “Bundeswehr Exclusive” channel.
Even voluntary military service in homeland security involves weapons training.
© picture alliance/dpa |
Nicolas Armer
In response to the request, they denied any documents aimed at a minor target group.
There were also requests for lectures by youth officers at schools and universities - there were a total of 4,175 lectures in 2022, of which 1,920 were at high schools.
According to the federal government's response, a total of 100,952 pupils and students would have been reached.
Basic training for weapons knowledge - also for underage recruits in the Bundeswehr
At the moment, every recruit completes three months of basic training at the start of their service, which includes weapons skills, among other things.
Last year, 315 women and 1,681 men were among the underage soldiers and therefore underwent this basic training.
Of the women, 73.7 percent took up voluntary military service, 24.8 percent signed up as temporary soldiers and 1.6 percent did voluntary military service in homeland security.
For men it was 57.9 percent for voluntary military service, 35.8 percent as temporary soldiers and 6.2 percent in homeland security.
“No violation” of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Traffic lights demand distance from weapons in minors’ training
The coalition agreement of the traffic light government also contains what at first glance appears to be a critical position on the recruitment of minors: “Training and service with weapons are reserved for adult soldiers,” it says in the agreement between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP.
With the current regulations, service is prohibited, but training with the weapon is not.
Numerous trade unions and human rights organizations such as Terre des Hommes, Kindernothilfe and Education without the Bundeswehr (BoB) also called for a stop to the recruitment of minors as part of the “Never under 18!” campaign.
My news
Without Americans: Germany is working on Ukraine's liberation strike
Ukraine speaks of “flying garbage”: Australia wanted to supply Kiev with F/A-18 fighter jets
Russia recognizes plan behind NATO maneuvers: diplomat attacks Germany
“Comprehensive mobilization”: Putin wants “99 percent of the population” to fight against “enemies”.
Putin's troops are confident of victory - and complacent - in the Ukraine war
1 hour ago
“Miracle” turns into scrap: Putin’s hypersonic missile goes up in smoke
In her military report, the Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högl (SPD), stated that due to the personnel shortage, the Bundeswehr “does not want to forego the potential of 17-year-old school leavers.” According to a survey, not even 20 percent of Germans are ready to serve in arms. even with regard to Pistorius' plan for conscription.
According to the military report, the aim instead is to “particularly protect young soldiers with regard to their mental and physical health”.
Instead of increasing the recruitment age, in view of the coalition agreement, we are currently working on a concept to be able to train minors without weapons until they come of age.
In a defense by the federal government, it was argued that there was no violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: “On the one hand, minors would not be compulsorily drafted into military service and would not be directly deployed in hostilities.”