Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Join the Webinar: Conscientious objection in Turkey

Sa., November 21, 2020, 2pm UTC (3pm CET, 5pm Turkish Time)

This autumn the Conscientious Objection Association (Vicdani Ret Derneği) in Istanbul has launched a new project. The association would like to start a campaign and lobby work to gather international support for pushing the human right to conscientious objection in Turkey. The project also includes research and documentation of the particularly difficult situation of draft evaders and conscientious objectors (COs).

We invite you to participate in a webinar where we will discuss:

• The general situation of conscientious objectors in Turkey today,
• The project of the Conscientious Objection Association,
• How to develop and strengthen the campaign for COs.

Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe urges Turkey to recognize the right of conscientious objection

(04.06.2020) The Deputies 1. recalled that these cases concern the applicants’ repetitive prosecutions and convictions for refusing to carry out compulsory military service as pacifists and conscientious objectors, as a result of which they are compelled to lead clandestine lives amounting to “civil death”, and the absence of a procedure to establish their status as conscientious objectors;

Merve Arkun, Turkey: Conscientious objection: anti-war action and rejection of male-dominated codes

Video on YouTube channel Refuse to Kill

(15.05.2020) Hello. I’m Merve. I am one of the female conscientious objectors in Turkey. My justification for clarifying conscientious objection is also directly related to the denial of gender roles and the rejection of male dominance in social life. Unfortunately, the women here feel the full burden of the war in economic, political and social terms, as a result of the fact that the geography we live in is a geography of war. So an act of conscientious objection is both an anti-war action for women and a highly valuable one for the rejection of male-dominated codes within society. (...)

Hüseyin Civan, Turkey: I reject conscription and war as an antimilitarist and anarchist

Video on YouTube channel Refuse to Kill

(15.05.2020) Hello. I’m Hüseyin. I’m a conscientious objector. I declared my conscientious objection in 2015. I reject conscription and war as an anti-militarist and anarchist. Conscientious objection to the militaristic policies and practices of the powers is not just a way of rejecting war. It is also important for the construction of a new social life. (...)