German Bundestag starts review on military service draft law

Germany's Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, on Thursday began reviewing a draft law to revise the country's military service model, triggering huge controversy among society.

The German federal cabinet in August approved a draft law of military service, introducing measures for mandatory registration and assessment.

According to the draft law, Germany's military service will remain voluntary. However, the government can make service compulsory with the approval of the Bundestag, if the security situation deteriorates or if voluntary recruitment proves insufficient.

The draft also reintroduces mandatory registration measures. Upon turning 18, all German men will be required to complete an online questionnaire about their willingness and ability to serve in the military.

Germany suspended compulsory military service in 2011 and since then, the army (Bundeswehr) has been transformed into a volunteer one.

During Thursday's first reading of the bill, the primary debate centered on a proposed lottery system. The conservative CDU/CSU bloc had earlier advocated for mandatory recruitment through a lottery in cases of troop shortages, a measure strongly opposed by the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD).

Meanwhile, the Green Party and the Left Party criticized the bill as hasty and lacking consensus, urging the abandonment of any form of compulsory military service.

German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday also expressed doubts about the lottery system, saying that the young people's futures could not be decided by lottery.

Some people said the potential reform of the military service is due to the influence from the United States and the NATO. "[We need] to educate our children and teenagers, and put money into education, instead of constant rearmament and more investment into military equipment. All this is because of NATO and its leading power the United States. They demand Germany to increase the armed forces," said Sevim Dagdelen, a former member of German Bundestag.

German Bundestag starts review on military service draft law

The multilateral system is "under attack" amid global turmoil, President of the 80th UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock warned in her remarks on Wednesday.

In her briefing on the priorities for the resumed 80th Session of the General Assembly, the UNGA president noted that the current multilateral system does not collapse all in a sudden, but "crumbles piece by piece" in divisions, compromises, and lack of political commitment.

The president called all the UN member states to defend the UN Charter and international law and promote cross-regional cooperation.

She also urged to push forward the work of the UNGA on certain critical issues with a strong majority, rather than an absolute consensus among all member states. Such act is not a failure of multilateralism, but "an affirmation of it," she said.

The foundational principles of the institution should not be eroded by appeasement, she said, calling the member states to show courage, leadership, and responsibility at the UN's "critical make-or-break moment."

"The UN needs you. Your support, your leadership, your principle, stand, your cross-regional cooperation, if we are to preserve and modernize this institution, if we are to make it, rather than break it," she said.

UNGA President warns global multilateral system "under attack"