Human Rights of Armed Forces Personnel promote democratic principles in the military by permitting the political participation of individual members of the armed forces. Box 5.5: Political restrictions for service personnel in Germany171 Military personnel are required to behave in a way that does not disrupt their shared sense of duty. In particular, they are prohibited from acting to promote a political group by giving speeches, distributing written material or acting as a representative of a political organization. Mutual respect must always be maintained. Military personnel may not wear their uniform at political events. Superiors may not influence their subordinates to be for or against political viewpoints. Under Section 15 of the Legal Status of Military Personnel Act, the political activities of military personnel are subject to certain restrictions. In the course of their duties, military personnel may not act to the benefit or hindrance of a particular political side. This does not, however, affect the right of military personnel to express their own opinions in conversation with one another. All of these approaches have been shown to be effective in terms of guaranteeing democratic practice and balancing this with the individual rights of armed forces members. While no one approach can be prescribed, all approaches require sensitivity as to when political activity genuinely calls the armed forces’ neutrality into question and when restrictions on individuals rights are excessive. Restrictions on the rights of service personnel that take account of different types of political office, differing degrees of political involvement and the requirements of different military contexts can more easily be justified. In that sense, less restrictive policies focusing on individual circumstances are to be preferred. At the same time, the particular history or situation of a state may require a more restrictive approach in order to establish and maintain the armed forces’ political neutrality in support of democratic processes. It would also be difficult to justify prohibitions based on the type of political view supported by a member of the armed forces, except in the case of a political party advocating the overthrow of democratic institutions. 171 88 Response of Germany to the ODIHR-DCAF 2018 questionnaire.