“Children and adolescents of all backgrounds must be protected from physical and mental abuse without compromise. From a humanist perspective, there are no arguments that can justify the impairment of the physical and mental well-being of children.”
This is what Frieder Otto Wolf, President of the Humanist Association of Germany, said on Thursday on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This came into force in the Federal Republic of Germany on April 5, 1992. “Careful education and the prudent and sensitive shaping of the living conditions of our children are elementary demands that no one in our societies can deny. Every adult should be aware of and respect the humanitarian duty to safeguard the rights of all children, regardless of their origin, and help them to become enlightened, free, self-determined and compassionate beings to the best of their ability,” Wolf continued. He expressed his sorrow that even today, countless children in Germany and around the world are still affected by violence, hunger, abuse and even early death. “The actual treatment of children is the best measure of the degree of human civilization and cultural development. But unfortunately, the reality is often more than shocking.” The facts need to be reconsidered all the more as the sciences have gained many additional insights into the conditions of human development in recent decades. “Not least the more recent findings of epigenetics should give us all food for thought in this respect too.” Wolf therefore argued that comprehensive information about children’s rights and their protection must be more firmly anchored in society, the education system and the rule of law. “Because only those who know their rights can reflect on them and demand them. Humanists should vigorously push for lasting changes in the interests of all children.” Protection from abuse and discrimination of any kind has the highest priority and no false respect for religious truths and outdated convictions should serve as a pretext for tolerating obvious impairments to the well-being of children. “The widespread tolerance, even in our societies, of the abuse of children’s natural tendency to trust and the use of violence against children by authority figures in the family circle must be confronted just as resolutely as any form of external violence, poverty and hunger. Here we still need a broad alliance of reason, because the child’s right to protection from maltreatment must be equally respected in mental and physical matters. The cooperation of parents and society, non-denominational and denominational people is particularly important here.”
