DOMRADIO.DE: marriage and family are under the special protection of the state. You will find the in the Moment in article 6 of the basic law. That's not enough for the children?

Dr. Sebastian Sedlmayr (head of the UNICEF Department of policy, children's rights and education): The children are not mentioned there explicitly. Of course, they are usually part of a family. But children's rights are not limited to family life. The UN children's Convention on the rights of the children rights in all walks of life, in which they are located. And since children are always the children of parents, but in addition, for example, transport operators, customers, patients or pupils, and so on, just is not enough in the current formulation, to be clear.

DOMRADIO.DE: there Is in terms of children's rights because not a lot of progress when you look back in the past?

Sedlmayer: There are definitely a lot of progress in the last 30 years, since the children's rights adopted in the Convention - of course also in Germany. There are, for example, for 20 years and the prohibition of violence in child-raising, and there is also a growing awareness that children have their own rights. But there is still significant pent-up demand.

DOMRADIO.DE: Why, would you say, is the Corona of a pandemic now, currently, harmful to the rights of the child?

Sedlmayer: I think right now in the time of the Corona pandemic has shown that the needs and interests of children and, thus, their families were relatively far back. It has of course great thoughts on how the pathogen is to contain. And this is also very important, of course, for the children.

But many of the interests that are also extremely important - as, for example, the continuation of the educational career - were considered not so right. It would have been good if the children would have rights in a stronger legal position. Because then you would not have got past it.

DOMRADIO.DE: not to stand Behind their appeal, the children's rights in the basic law explicitly anchor, only UNICEF and the German child protection Association, but also by numerous personalities from politics, economy, science and culture. Why is it, in your view, so hard, the Changes bring?

Sedlmayer: This is due to the fact that the basic law is a very strong and respected Constitution, in which, for example, the Dignity of the human person is directly in the first place. There is then often argued that children are people and therefore all the rights in the basic law, also for children. This is almost correct. Children are not allowed to choose. You can imagine even hard-to-an Assembly of three-year-olds. But in principle, it is true, of course, that children's rights are also human rights and the basic law applies to you.

Just not yet become sufficiently clear that children have, in addition, since the rights of the child Convention rights of its own. And this could explicitly would be in the basic law to anchor, cause them to act in political decisions, in judicial decisions, the Authorities, a greater role to play.

The Interview was conducted by Tobias Fricke.

In the FOCUS Online/Wochit In the

*The post "Unicef calls for better rights for children: "they have been neglected in the crisis,"" is published by DOMRADIO.DE. Contact with the executives here.