The National Coalition Germany welcomes the German federal government’s efforts to make the first ever child-friendly version of the State Report available, and its declaration of intent to publish the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in a child-friendly version in future.
With regards to the quality of the child-friendly version of the German federal government’s State Report, it must be noted that the report should not simply present the successes of government policies, but also reference problem areas, such as poverty and the Education and Participation Package (Bildungs- und Teilhabepaket), the latter remaining overly complex for too many eligible children and adolescents. While the report is rendered more comprehensible by the fact that it is split into a basic report, an appendix with state-specific information, an appendix with data and an appendix with feedback from children, there are hardly any references between the basic report and the appendices.
Accessible versions of the State Report to maximise reach are not yet available. The child-friendly version of the Supplementary Civil Society Report is also yet to be arranged.
- The National Coalition Germany recommends that the UN Committee call on the German federal government to
- 20. Make high-quality, balanced, child-friendly, accessible versions of the core documents of the State Report proceedings before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (State Report, Concluding Observations, Supplementary Report by the National Coalition Germany) systematically available to children and adolescents.