GERMANY: Children's Rights in UN Treaty Body Reports

Summary: This report extracts mentions of children's rights issues in the reports of all UN Treaty Bodies and their follow-up procedures. This does not include the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child which are available here: http://www.crin.org/resources/treaties/index.asp

Please note that the language may have been edited in places for the purpose of clarity.

• UN Human Rights Committee
• UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
• UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
• UN Committee against Torture
• UN Committee on Migrant Workers
• UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance

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UN Human Rights Committee
(CCPR/C/DEU/CO/6)
Last reported: 18 and 19 October 2012

Concerns raised:

• Violence against women and girls: While welcoming the State party’s various efforts to combat violence against women and girls at legislative and policy levels, such as initiatives and projects carried out under the Second Plan to Combat Violence against Women of 2007, the Committee is concerned about the persistent violence against women in the State party. The Committee is concerned about the high level of violence faced by women with immigration backgrounds, in particular those of Turkish and Russian origin, despite various measures taken by the State party to prevent and combat such violence (arts. 3 and 7).

  The State party should continue to strengthen its efforts to combat violence against women and girls and, in particular, increase measures to protect women of Turkish and Russian origin. It should continue to facilitate access to existing counselling and support services for particularly vulnerable and marginalized women victims of violence, and to investigate allegations of cases of such violence, prosecute and, if convicted, punish those responsible. Moreover, the State party should improve the coordination between the Federation and the Länder on this issue and regularly evaluate the impact of its initiatives.
   

• Discrimination against children from Jewish, Sinti and Roma backgrounds: While noting the various measures taken by the State party to combat racism, the Committee is concerned at the persistence of racially-motivated incidents against members of the Jewish and Sinti and Roma communities as well as Germans of foreign origin and asylum seekers in the State party. The Committee is concerned about the persistent discrimination faced by members of the Sinti and Roma communities regarding access to housing, education, employment and healthcare (arts. 2, 18, 20, and 26).

  The State party should take concrete measures to increase the effectiveness of its legislation and to investigate all allegations of racially-motivated acts and to prosecute and punish those responsible. The State party should also strengthen its efforts to integrate members of the Sinti and Roma communities in Germany by firmly promoting their access to education, housing, employment and healthcare. The State party should further pursue its awareness-raising campaign and promote tolerance between communities.

 

 

(CCPR/CO/80/DEU)
Last Reported: 17 March 2004
Concluding Observations Adopted: 30 March 2004

No mention of children's rights.

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UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

(E/C.12/DEU/CO/5)

Last Reported: 6 and 9 May 2011
Concluding Observations Adopted: 20 May 2011

Concerns Raised

• Child care: The Committee is concerned that the insufficient number of child care facilities and women and men's career choices as well as the stereotype gender roles continue to impede women's equal enjoyment of the right to work.

  The Committee urges the State party to:

  (a) Continue efforts to address gender role stereotypes and to educate girls and boys about equal career opportunities with a view to promoting their pursuance of education in fields other than the ones traditionally dominated by either sex;

  (b) Significantly increase the supply of care services for children, persons with disabilities, older persons and the sick and the participation of men in care-taking work. (Paragraph 16)

  
   
• Social security: While noting the Federal Constitutional Court's ruling upholding the constitutionality of the method for the calculation of the subsistence level, the Committee remains concerned that this method does not ensure an adequate standard of living for the beneficiaries. Moreover, the Committee is concerned that the amount of the social security payment for children is very low so that approximately 2.5 million children in the State party remain below the poverty line. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned about that increase in the taxable portion of the pension to 80 per cent in 2005. (art. 9, 10)

  The Committee urges the State party to:

  (a) Review the methods and criteria applied to determine the level of benefits and to monitor the adequacy criteria regularly to ensure that the level of benefits affords the beneficiaries an adequate standard of living;

  (b) Continuously review the impact of its various social security schemes, including the 2011 child package, on child poverty;

  (c) Reconsider its decision to increase the taxable portion of the pension. In this regard, the Committee reiterates its recommendation of 2001 to ensure that the social security reform undertaken by the State party does not retrogressively affect the Covenant rights of the low-income groups and the disadvantaged and marginalised groups of the population and refers the State party to its general comment No. 19 (2007) on the right to social security. (Paragraph 21)

  
   
• Domestic violence: The Committee notes with concern that domestic violence does not constitute a specific criminal offence in the State party's legislation. The Committee is also concerned at the increase of violence against women from some ethnic groups.

  The Committee urges the State party to:

  (a) Criminalise domestic violence as a distinct criminal offense;

  (b) Continue to assess the implementation of various measures and plans on the incidence of violence against women, and particularly among some ethnic groups. (Paragraph 23)

  
   
• Nutrition: The Committee notes with concern that as much as 25 per cent of pupils go to school without breakfast and are thereby at risk of malnutrition as lunch is not yet provided in all schools.

  The Committee urges the State party to:

  (a) Take concrete measures to ensure that children, especially from poor families, are provided with proper meals;

  (b) Ensure that measures taken in this regard do not further stigmatise children from disadvantaged social background. (Paragraph 28)

  
   
• Education: The Committee is concerned that the number of pupils who leave schools without a diploma, particularly among socially disadvantaged pupils, remains high in spite of the various measures taken by the State party such as the individual counseling and monitoring services, and the special support to pupils with special needs. (art. 13, 2.2)

  The Committee urges the State party to:

  (a) Address the social aspects of the issue when implementing plans aimed at supporting pupils at risk of leaving schools without a diploma;

  (b) Heighten awareness of the possibility for, and provide support to, those enrolled in vocational training programmes to acquire the secondary school diploma. (Paragraph 29)

  
   
• Education fees: The Committee is concerned that the State party has not acted on its earlier recommendation of 2001 to introduce a reduction of fees in higher education with a view to abolishing them, in compliance with the provisions of paragraph 2 (c) of article 13 on the progressive introduction of free higher education.

  The Committee urges the State party to:

  (a) Introduce a reduction of tuition fees in the national framework legislation regulating higher education

  (b) Vest in the federal government more responsibilities as regards education policies which have up to now been devolved to the Länders (Paragraph 30)

  
   
• Human rights education: The Committee notes with concern that education on human rights, including on economic, social and cultural rights, is not given sufficient attention and not systematically integrated into education curricula at various levels.

  The Committee calls on the State party to:

  (a) Provide education on human rights, including on economic, social and cultural rights, to students at all levels as appropriate, and for members of all professions that have a direct role in the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights, including civil servants, teachers, social workers, and the police. (Paragraph 31)

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UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

CERD/C/DNK/CO/20-21

Concluding Observations Adopted: 15 May 2015

Last Reported: 18 October 2013

Concerns Raised

--------------------------

(CERD/C/DEU/CO/18)

Last Reported: 5 and 6 August 2008
Concluding Observations Adopted: 13 August 2008

Concerns Raised

 

• Education: While noting current proposals for legislative change, the Committee is concerned by reports that the principle of compulsory primary education is not fully applied to children of asylum-seekers in Hesse, Baden-Württemberg and Saarland, with the effect that the children concerned encounter obstacles in connection with school enrolment. (art. 5(e) (v))

  The Committee recommends that the State party:

  (a) Ensure that children of asylum-seekers residing in the territory of the State party do not face any obstacles in connection with school enrolment. (Paragraph 22)

  The Committee is also concerned that children of immigrants are overrepresented in special schools for "under-achievers" (Sonderschulen), mainly on account of their lack of adequate German language skills, and underrepresented in secondary and tertiary education. (art. 5(e) (v)) The Committee recommends that the State party:

  (a) Take effective measures to ensure the integration of children of non-citizens in the regular school system;

  (b) Reconsider the problem of transfer of such children to Sonderschulen including the criteria for any such transfer, improving current arrangements to support the German language skills of such children. (Paragraph 23)

  The Committee is also concerned about the fragile situation of the Sorbian school network in Saxony and Brandenburg, caused in part by falling school enrolment, which may have an impact on the general principle of the use of minority languages in the school system. (art. 5(e) (v))

  The Committee recommends that the State party:

  (a) Ensure effective implementation of the legal provisions with regard to the use of minority languages in the school system;

  (b) Encourage the authorities of Saxony and Brandenburg to consider means of strengthening the involvement of the Sorbian minority in decision-making in this field and ensure the continuation of a viable Sorbian school network, including secondary schools, in order to sustain Sorbian language and culture. (Paragraph 24)

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UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

CEDAW/C/DEU/CO/7-8

Concluding observations published: 3 March 2017

Last reported 2 October 2015

Positive developments: The Committee welcomes the State party’s efforts to improve its institutional and policy framework aimed at accelerating the elimination of discrimination against women and promoting gender equality, including the adoption or establishment of The policy regarding integration, housing, health care, education for refugees and asylum seekers including unaccompanied minor children. The Committee welcomes the fact that, in the period since the consideration of the previous report, the State party has ratified or acceded to the following international and regional instruments The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure, in 2013; The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, in 2009 (paras 5, 6).

Extraterritorial State obligation: The Committee is concerned about the negative impact of the conduct of transnational companies, in particular textile and large scale agricultural corporations, registered or domiciled in the State party and operating abroad on the enjoyment of the rights enshrined in the Convention by local women and girls in third States; The Committee recommends that the State party develop a comprehensive national gender strategy, policy and action plan that addresses the structural factors causing persistent inequalities, including intersecting forms of discrimination against disadvantaged and marginalized women and girls (paras 15, 18).

Harmful practices: The Committee is concerned about legislative provisions allowing marriage under the age of 18 years in exceptional cases; The lack of clear legislative provisions prohibiting unnecessary medical procedures to be performed on infants and children with indeterminate sex until they reach an age when they are able to provide their free, prior and informed consent; Inadequate support and lack of effective remedies for intersex persons, who have undergone medically unnecessary surgical procedures, at a very early age, often with irreversible consequences, resulting in long term physical and psychological suffering. The Committee recommends that the State party: Ensure safeguards to protect girls under the age of 18 years who have been allowed to marry; Adopt clear legislative provisions explicitly prohibiting the performance of unnecessary surgical or other medical treatment on intersex children until they reach an age when they can provide  their free, prior and informed consent; provide families with intersex children with adequate counselling and support; and ensure that the German Medical Association provides information to medical professionals on the legal prohibition of unnecessary surgical or other medical interventions for intersex children (paras 23, 24).

Gender-based violence against women: The Committee is concerned about incidents of hate crimes and attacks on refugees and asylum seekers in both shelters and camps, causing injury to women and girls; The Committee recommendations that the State party promptly investigate any incidents of hate crime or attacks against refugee and asylum seeking women and girls and ensure that the perpetrators are duly prosecuted (paras 25, 26).

Trafficking and exploitation of prostitution: The Committee is concerned about the low rates of prosecution and conviction in cases of trafficking in women and girls; The Committee recommends that the State party develop awareness raising programmes for the police and social workers at the municipal levels and investigate, prosecute and adequately punish all cases of trafficking in persons, especially women and girls; Strengthen measures to systematically identify and provide support to women victims and those at risk of trafficking, in particular migrant women and unaccompanied girls, ensuring adequate access to health care, counselling services and redress including compensation. In addition strengthen human, technical and financial resources to NGOs who offer specialised victim protection and support services, and develop gender-sensitive training for social workers dealing with victims of trafficking; Strengthen assistance provided to women and girls who wish to leave prostitution, including by providing exit programmes and alternative income-generating opportunities (paras 29, 30).

Education: The Committee remains concerned that refugee and asylum seeking women and girls have limited access to integration and language courses which are currently accessible only to refugees with prospects of remaining in the State party and/or recognized refugees. The Committee recommends that the State party encourage further diversification of the educational choices of women and men and girls and boys, revise educational curricula at the Länder level to ensure the inclusion of women’s human rights, ensure that gender sensitive teaching materials and teaching materials that promote diversity and the protection of all minority groups, are available across all Länder, and include a module on gender stereotypes in education within national teacher training programmes; Address discriminatory stereotypes and structural barriers that may deter girls from progressing beyond secondary education and enrolling in traditionally male-dominated fields of study, such as mathematics, information technology and science; ensure that all asylum seeking and refugee children have access to language course and integration programmes (paras 33, 34).

Employment: The Committee notes with concern the persistence of horizontal and vertical occupational segregation, the concentration of women in the lower-paid service sectors and in temporary and part-time work due to their traditional role as caregivers for children, and women’s under-representation in managerial positions in companies; The insufficient number of high quality child care facilities, despite the considerable efforts that have been made in this regard.  The Committee recommends that the State party introduce adequate staffing ratios for day-care centres, ensuring high quality and reliable after school care for children, and increase all-day care options (paras 35, 36).

Health: The Committee remains concerned about the disparities between Länder in affordable contraceptives for women living in poverty; The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that modern contraceptives are accessible, affordable and available throughout the territory of the State party to all women and girls, in particular those living in poverty and/or in remote areas (paras 37, 38).

Economic empowerment of women: The Committee remains concerned that women continue to be disproportionately affected by poverty, particularly single mothers, older women, migrant women and women with disabilities; The significant number of parents, predominantly fathers, who fail to pay child maintenance, and the often limited and onerous access to maintenance advances, are one reason single female headed households are at considerable risk of falling into poverty; The limited data available on the economic consequences of divorce on women. The Committee recommends that the State party design a sustainable system of child maintenance and introduce means tested child allowance along with minimum maintenance payments for children after their parents separate or divorce (paras 39, 40).

Rural women: The Committee is concerned that inadequate infrastructure especially in relation to care and welfare, as well as demographic change and rural migration may lead to poverty and social exclusion for women, particularly single mothers and the elderly. The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that adequate child care infrastructure is in place, and provide training opportunities as a means of increasing diversification and alternative employment to encourage young women to stay in rural areas. Further increase supply and care services for the elderly (paras 41, 42).

Refugee and asylum-seeking women: The Committee is concerned that the suspension until March 2018 of the right to family reunification of those persons who have been granted subsidiary protection may negatively impact on women and girls; The Committee recommends that the State party review the decision to postpone family reunification for subsidiary protection beneficiaries, given that it is an important legal and safe pathway to ensure integration, particularly for vulnerable women and girls; Ensure that the Federal Office for Migration and Asylum is adequately resourced to deal with the significant backlogs it is currently facing, and  ensure that the specific needs of vulnerable groups of asylum-seeking and refugees, as well as women and girls, arriving in the State party are addressed as a priority concern throughout the asylum process (paras 47, 48).

Marriage and family relations: The income tax allowances for families that lower the tax burden, (depending on the chosen tax collection category), but widen the gap in the tax wedge between the first and the second earner, with little overall impact on labour supply or poverty reduction thus presenting little incentive for women in a family with children; The Committee recommends that the State party establish a monitoring mechanism to ensure that shared custody is practiced and that child maintenance orders reflect the reality in relation to the time and cost allocation between parents (paras 49, 50).

(CEDAW/C/DEU/CO/6)

Last Reported: 2 February 2009

Concerns Raised

• Reconciliation of family and work life: The Committee is concerned that domestic and family responsibilities are primarily borne by women, many of whom interrupt their careers or engage in part- time jobs to meet family responsibilities. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the delegation that an amendment of the tax system reducing the negative aspects of taxation of married couples ("splitting") was introduced in January 2009 and hopes that this amendment will alleviate the negative incentive of the previous tax system on the participation of women in the labour market. The Committee notes with concern that the lack of childcare places in the State party, particularly for the 0 to 3 age group, their unequal quality and lack of flexibility, and the lack of afterschool programmes may constitute an impediment to women's participation in the labour market.

  The Committee encourages the State party to:

  (a) Step up its efforts to assist women and men in striking a balance between family and employment responsibilities, inter alia through further awareness-raising and education initiatives for both women and men on adequate sharing of care of children and domestic tasks, as well as by ensuring that part-time employment is not taken up almost exclusively by women;

  (b) Step up its efforts to improve the availability, affordability and quality of care places for school-age children in order to facilitate the re-entry of women into the labour market;

  (c) Assess the current legal provisions on the taxation of married couples ("splitting") and their impact on the perpetuation of stereotypical expectations for married women. (Paragraphs 29 and 30)

  
   
• Education: While noting the State party's efforts to address stereotyping in the choice of academic and vocational fields, the Committee expresses concern about the prevailing existence of such stereotyped choices, despite the numerous initiatives undertaken by the State party in that regard.

  The Committee encourages the State party to:

  (a) Strengthen its programme aimed at diversifying academic and vocational choices for girls and boys and to take further measures to encourage girls to choose non-traditional fields of education

  (b) Closely monitor the situation of refugee and asylum-seeking girls, especially undocumented ones, at all educational levels and to continue to address the difficulties they experience in the school system. (Paragraphs 33 and 34)

  
   
• Violence against women: The Committee commends the State party for the range of efforts, including recent legislative initiatives, to eliminate violence against women since the submission of its previous periodic report. It remains concerned, however, at the high prevalence of violence against women and girls, as demonstrated by the studies on women's experience with violence in Germany, including migrant women, showing that some 40 per cent of women had experienced physical or sexual violence or both since the age of 16 and that women from Turkish and Russian migrant backgrounds experienced physical and sexual violence with a level of frequency — and gravity for Turkish migrant women — clearly above the average for the female population of Germany. The Committee is also concerned at the inadequate impact of the Protection against Violence Act of 2002 on persistent and extremely violent perpetrators and on migrant women married for less than two years. The Committee is also concerned that acts of domestic violence may not be taken into account in child custody or visitation cases.

  The Committee urges the State party to:

  (a) Ensure that comprehensive measures are in place to address all forms of violence against women;

  (b) Ensure the effective implementation of the 2007 action plan on violence, to study and analyse all types of violence against women, particularly those that result in murders of women, and to continue implementing policies to prevent such violence, provide protection, support and services to the victims, and punish and rehabilitate offenders'

  (c) Implement legislation requiring that convictions for acts of domestic violence be taken into account in child custody or visitation decisions. (Paragraphs 41 and 42)

  
   
• Shelters for victims: The Committee is concerned at the lack of sustained funding of shelters for women and non-residential counselling centres and at the lack of free access to shelters regardless of income for all women and children in all Länder. It regrets that some Länder are unable to offer secured housing in shelters to all women victims of violence, or equipped shelters for women with special needs, such as women with disabilities.

  The Committee urges the State party to:

  (a) Take the necessary measures to ensure greater cooperation between the Federal Government, the Länder and the municipalities to monitor the provision of social services with a view to ensuring the availability of a sufficient number of shelters equipped to accommodate women with special needs, such as women with disabilities, throughout the territory of the State party and making sure that such shelters are adequately financed and open for all, regardless of the victim's financial resources. (Paragraphs 43 and 44)

  
   
• Statistics on violence: The Committee welcomes the increased efforts of Germany in compiling sex- disaggregated statistics and in shedding light on the number and ages of asylum- seeking and refugee women and girls but regrets the lack of statistical information on cases of female genital mutilation on women and girls living in Germany, on violence against women in institutions and on homicide of women in the context of domestic violence.

  The Committee calls upon the State party to:

  (a) Establish a method of collecting comprehensive statistical data disaggregated by sex, age, type of violence and the relationship of the perpetrator to the victim;

  (b) Provide statistical information in its next periodic report on the number of cases of female genital mutilation on women and girls living in Germany. (Paragraphs 45 and 46)

  
   
• Vulnerable groups of women: The Committee expresses concern at reports received on the lack of penal institutions for girls and their detention in high security women's prisons despite the low security risk they often pose. The Committee notes that the detention of juveniles in adult prisons, often located in remote areas, may impair their right to education and the visiting rights of their families. It notes with further concern the reported insufficiency of facilities and programmes for physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of girls.

  The Committee urges the State party to:

  (a) Ensure full implementation of juvenile justice standards, in particular the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the "Beijing Rules"), the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the "Riyadh Guidelines"), the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (the "Havana Rules") and the Vienna Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System;

  (b) Take all necessary measures to ensure that persons, including girls below 18, are deprived of liberty only as a last resort and, when in custody, are in any case separated from adults;

  (c) Ensure that girls in prison are provided with a full programme of educational activities, including physical education, and that adequate gender and child-sensitive recovery and social reintegration measures are applied. (Paragraphs 57 and 58)

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UN Committee against Torture

(CAT/C/DEU/CO/5)

Last Reported: 4 and 8 November 2011
Concluding Observations Adopted: 18 November 2011

Concerns Raised

• Trafficking in persons: The Committee notes with interest the cooperation programmes between the federal and Länder levels, church and civil society organisations to provide assistance to victims of trafficking, and welcomes the exercise of universal jurisdiction in regard to crimes of trafficking for sexual and work exploitation pursuant to section 6 of the Criminal Code. However, it expresses serious concern at a "dark field of undetected cases" of trafficking as acknowledged by the State party and as evidenced by low number of such crimes registered by the police as compared to non-governmental estimates. According to NGO sources, there are some 15,000 people, including children who have been allegedly trafficked to the State party from various European, Asian and African countries for forced sex-work, illegal adoptions and as labourers in service sectors (arts. 2, 3, 12, 14 and 16).

  The Committee urges the State party to:

  (a) Prevent and promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigate, prosecute and punish trafficking in persons and related practices;

  (b) Provide means of redress to victims of trafficking, including the assistance to victims to report incidents of trafficking to the police, in particular by providing legal, medical and psychological aid and rehabilitation including adequate shelters, in accordance with article 14 of the Convention;

  (c) Prevent return of trafficked persons to their countries of origin, where there is a substantial ground to believe that they would be in danger of torture, to ensure compliance with art. 3 of the Convention;

  (d) Provide regular training to the police, prosecutors and judges on effective prevention, investigation, prosecution and punishment of acts of trafficking, including on the guarantees of the right to be represented by an attorney of one's own choice, and inform the general public on the criminal nature of such acts;

  (e) Compile data disaggregated, as appropriate, by nationality, country of origin, ethnicity, gender, age, and employment sector as well as the provision of redress. (Paragraph 15)

  
   
• Unaccompanied minors: While noting the information that the so called "Airport Procedure" under article 18 of the Law on Asylum Procedure applies to the asylum-seekers arriving from a safe country of origin or without a valid passport, the Committee remains concerned in particular by the reports of continuous exposure of unaccompanied minors to the "Airport Procedure", including those whose asylum applications have been refused or refugee status repealed who can be deported to the countries of origin if no reasonable ground to expect torture or ill-treatment has been detected. The Committee is also concerned about the lack of information on the State party's position it represents in the context of the EU discussion on minors subject to the "Airport Procedure" (art. 3).

  The Committee recommends that the State party:

  (a) Exclude unaccompanied minors from the "Airport Procedure", as recommended by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI);

  (b) Ensure that unaccompanied minors can enjoy the rights guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child;

  (c) Ensure collection and public availability of data, disaggregated by age, sex and nationality, on the number of unaccompanied minors that are subject to enforced removal from the State party;

  (d) Play an active part in the EU discussion on this issue with a view of extending the protection of unaccompanied minors from the risk of torture and ill-treatment. (Paragraph 27)

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UN Committee on Migrant Workers

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UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

CRPD/C/DEU/CO/1

Last reported: 26 and 27 March 2015

Concluding Observations adopted: 13 April 2015

Women with disabilities (art.6): The Committee is concerned about insufficient action to prevent and combat multiple discrimination of women and girls with disabilities, particularly migrants and refugees, and the inadequate collection of relevant data. (para 15)

The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Implement programmes for women and girls with disabilities, particularly migrant and refugee women and girls, including affirmative action to eliminate discrimination in all areas of life; (b) Systematically collect data and statistics on the situation of women and girls with disabilities with indicators to assess intersectional discrimination, and include analytical information in this regard in its next periodic report. (para 16)

Children with disabilities (art.7): The Committee is concerned: (a)that children with disabilities are not systematically involved in decisions affecting their lives; (b)that the parents of children with disabilities cannot decide freely on the type of education and services provided to their children; and (c) about the unequal access to treatment and opportunities for children with disabilities of migrant or refugee parents. (para 17)

The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Adopt safeguards in order to protect the right of children with disabilities to be consulted in all matters affecting their lives, ensuring assistance that is appropriate to their disability and age; (b) Ensure the consideration of all children with disabilities in legislation, policies and measures under the principle of equal opportunities and community inclusion, paying particular attention to children with disabilities of migrant or refugee parents. (para 18)

Access to justice (art.13): The Committee is concerned about: (a) the lack of structures and procedural accommodation within the justice sector specifically designed to provide assistance for persons with disabilities, particularly girls who are victims of violence and abuse. (para 27)

The Committee recommends that the State party: [...] (b) Introduce legislative reforms so that the national criminal, civil, labour and administrative procedures include the requirement to ensure procedural accommodations for persons with disabilities, taking into particular account persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities, deaf-blind persons and children with disabilities. (para 28)

Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse (art.16): The Committee is concerned about the lack of: (a) the appointment of an independent monitoring authority to investigate violence and abuse of persons with disabilities both inside institutions, where they face increased risks, and outside of institutions; (b) independent complaint mechanisms inside institutions; and (c) permanent State funding to protect women against violence. (para 35)

The Committee recommends that the State party provide a comprehensive and effective strategy with adequate funding to ensure that women and girls with disabilities are effectively protected against violence in all public and private settings. It also recommends that the State party immediately establish or designate an independent body or bodies in accordance with article 16(3) of the Convention and ensure that complaints linked to incidents in institutions are handled by an independent body. (para 36)

Protecting the integrity of the person (art.17): The Committee is concerned about: [...] (d) the lack of implementation of the 2011 recommendations of the Committee against Torture (see CAT/C/DEU/CO/5, para.20) regarding upholding the bodily integrity of intersex children. (para 37)

The Committee recommends that the State party take the measures, including of a legislative nature, necessary to: [...] (d) Implement all the recommendations of the Committee against Torture (ibid.) relevant to intersex children. (para 38)

Respect for home and family (art.23): The Committee is concerned that the State party does not provide adequate support for parents with disabilities to bring up their children and exercise their parental rights, and to facilitate the adoption of children with disabilities. (para 43)

The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) take measures to ensure explicitly in the law the prohibition of the removal of children from their parents on the basis of their parents’ disability; [...] and (c) provide increased opportunities for the adoption of children with disabilities. (para 44)

Education (art.24): The Committee is concerned that the State party has an education system where the majority of students with disabilities attend segregated special-needs schools. (para 45)

The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Immediately develop a strategy, action plan, timeline and targets to provide access to a high-quality, inclusive education system across all Länder, including the required financial resources and personnel at all levels; (b) Scale down segregated schools to facilitate inclusion and ensure that the law and policies uphold the duty that mainstream schools enrol children with disabilities with immediate effect if that is their choice; (c) Ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided at all levels of education and that the right to such accommodation is legally enforceable and justiciable before the courts; (d) Ensure the training of all teachers in inclusive education, increased accessibility of the school environment, materials and curricula, and the provision of sign language in mainstream schools, including at the post-doctoral level. (para 46)

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UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance

(CED/C/DEU/CO/1)

 

Last reported: 17-18 March 2014

Concluding Observations adopted: 27 March 2014

 

Concerns raised

 

Criminal law: The Committee recognises the position of the State party that since there has been no known cases of enforced disappearance, there is no need to enact specific legislation. However, the Committee recalls the obligation of State parties according to article 25, paragraph 1, of the Convention to take the necessary measures to prevent and punish, under criminal law, the conducts it describes.

 

These conducts include, amongst others, the wrongful removal of children who are subject to enforced disappearance; the falsification, concealment and destruction of documents attesting to the true identity of a child; and for State parties to take the necessary measures to search for and identify children and to return them to their families of origin.  (paragraph 28)

 

The Committee recommends that the State party review its criminal legislation with a view to incorporating, as specific offences, the conducts described in article 25, paragraph 1 of the Convention and to provide appropriate penalties that take into account the extreme seriousness of the offences. (paragraph 29)