Germany

Current situation & recent developments

Conscientious objection: The German law on conscientious objection (Kriegsdienstverweigerungsgesetz) is that it always applied to serving members of the armed forces as well as to conscripts. Therefore it remained in force and continued to be applied when conscription was suspended in 2011, although subsequently the majority of new applications predictably came from serving soldiers.

As shown in last year’s EBCO Report, a dramatic change took place in 2022, and this continued in 2023. For the second year, the largest number of applications came from “non-conscripts” (ungediente) – persons with no military experience. According to the information given by the Ministry of Defence in August 2023 the Bundeswehr – the armed forces – registered up to July 31st 2023 a total of 856 applications for conscientious objector status. In detail 462 applications were filed by non-conscripts, 300 by reservists and 94 by serving soldiers. By December, according to the same source, there had been a total of 1,609 applications, a mere 178 of them from serving soldiers^[1] What is remarkable is the number of “non-conscripts”. These are persons who under the current arrangements should not expect ever to face the requirement to perform military service, but who have chosen to make sure that they are listed as conscientious objectors in advance of this ever happening. In order to apply, they must first go through the medical examination and be passed fit for military service; the 462 represent only those who have passed this preliminary hurdle; they typically wait a long time for their applications to be processed. Anticipating any significant public debate about the reintroduction of conscription, their number indicated there is considerable fear that following the war in Ukraine that this had become a real possibility.  And indeed Defence Minister Pistorius in March 2024, quoting the security situation and a shortfall of 22,000 soldiers, instructed his ministry to "present options for a German military service model that is adapted to the threat and can also make a scalable contribution to national resilience in the short term".^[2]

By no means all applications are finally successful; data up to the end of May (when most were still in the course of processing) showed that 61 had been accepted, 31 rejected – six for incompleteness and 16 for inadmissibility; five had been the subject of appeals to the administrative courts. No fewer than 210 had been withdrawn. The data is not disaggregated, nor is any further information given about reasons for rejection.^[3] A major problem for soldiers who apply as conscientious objectors is the delay in processing applications. Soldiers are still forced to remain in their military unit after they have submitted their application for release on grounds of conscience. The time they have to spend in an atmosphere of pressure and social exclusion may last 9 to 12 months. It is not uncommon for the recognition authority (the Federal Office for Family and Civil Society - BAFzA) to report back doubts or questions about the applicant's reasons. The period is also considerably extended if a refuser who has been rejected by the BAFzA has to initiate legal appeal proceedings.

Juvenile recruitment: The Bundeswehr recruited 1,996 underage soldiers in 2023^[4], an increase compared to 2022 (1,779), and the highest proportion since counting began in 2011. This included 315 girls. The proportion of minors was 10.6% in 2023, compared with 9.4% the previous year. Recruitment under the age of 18 can take place only with parental consent and is usually for a period of voluntary service of between 7 and 23 months. The first six months are a probationary period during which the service relationship can be terminated by either party at any time. From a commitment period of twelve months, those doing voluntary military service are required to be willing to take part in Bundeswehr missions abroad unless they are doing their voluntary military service in homeland security. The December 2021 coalition agreement of the German government included an undertaking that “Training and service at arms are reserved for soldiers of full age,” however there were no substantive moves in 2023 towards implementation of the 2022 recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the subject of juvenile recruitment (see EBCO Report 2022/3, p18).