Children and young people up to the age of 24 make up the majority of the population in almost all developing countries. By ratifying the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Germany and almost all its partner countries have pledged to create enabling frameworks to protect children and young people, and foster their development and participation.
The fact that development status is affected by age, and the resulting dependency on family, social and political structures, make it imperative to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of children and youth. Nevertheless, many countries lack the social and institutional frameworks needed to achieve this. Many girls and boys are at the mercy of violence, abuse and exploitation, or have inadequate access to social or health services. Rigid hierarchies between the genders and between generations mean that young people are often marginalised within their societies, and are left unable to effectively organise, participate and demand their rights.
On the basis of Germany’s human rights obligations, GIZ makes a key contribution toward improving the human rights situation, and thus the lives, of children and young people. We support our partner countries in
• orienting legal frameworks toward children and youth, and the protection of their rights
• building credible and sustainable structures at the national and local levels to protect children and young people, and foster their participation
• promoting dialogue and cooperation between state and non-governmental actors, and training these actors for their activities.
Official German development cooperation sees children and young people as subjects of specific rights. Only when their rights are enshrined, protected and fulfilled in law will they be able to unfold their potential and make effective contributions to social development processes.