From child protection to political participation? Notes to the practice and theory of children's rights

In reference to the intentions that were brought forward in the German Federal Government's "National Plan of Action for a World Fit for Children" to substantially strengthen the participation of children, the article analyzes the manners in which children's rights have been absorbed in Germany so far. The survey will be connected to a critical appraisal of the United Nation's Convention on the Rights of the Child. The article is rounded up with considerations concerning citizenship and political participation of children. These are based both on observations in Germany and on experiences and surveys with working children and their organizations in the continents of the South.