Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Colombia: Brayan Gonzales Blanco recruited irregularly by the army

(19.02.2020) On September 2, 2019 Brayan Gonzales Blanco was irregularly recruited by the Army to perform military service in Battalion No. 13 located in the municipality of Ubalá-Cundinamarca (Colombia). He has been incorporated for five months. In the first week of February, 2020 he began the process to define his military status as a conscientious objector and requested to be released. This has led to the military authorities within the battalion exerting psychological violence on him, putting his emotional well-being at risk.

Please send support letters to the Colombian authorities: https://wri-irg.org/es/programmes/rrtk/co-support-email/2020/desacuartelamiento-para-brayan-gonzales-blanco-reclutado

May 15 - Join the action to the International Day of Conscientious Objection

(30.03.2020) War Resisters’ International und Connection e.V. rufen dazu auf, bis zum 15. Mai 2020, dem Internationialen Tag der Kriegsdienstverweigerung, Videos zu erstellen. Sie sollen gemeinsam an diesem Tag veröffentlicht werden. Dazu haben die beiden Organisationene einen YouTube-Kanal eröffnet (www.youtube.com/channel/UC0WZGT6i5HO14oLAug2n0Nw). Die Videos werden auch über den Hashtag #CODay2020 verbreitet werden. Einige Videos wurden dafür bereits von uns vorbereitet.

Turkey: Do not be a supporter of the military deployment to Libya!

(14.01.2020) The Turkish Grand National Assembly approved a bill to deploy troops to Libya on 2 January. This bill fuels the war and internal conflict in Libya. The Turkish government has been taking steps that inflame the war in the eastern Mediterranean region and Libya for a while. With the bill, Turkey is destroying peace. As conscientious objectors and war resisters, we are absolutely against the bill approved by the Turkish Grand National Assembly. We invite everyone to take a stand against it.

South Korea: Alternative to military service is new punishment for conscientious objectors

(27.12.2019) Conscientious objectors in South Korea will continue to be punished and stigmatized for refusing military service under a new alternative service law that was adopted today by the country’s parliament, said Amnesty International. Under the new law, those refusing military service on religious or other grounds will be required to work in a jail or other correctional facility for three years. Previously, they would have been jailed for 18 months.