Oral statement on the violations of human rights of conscientious objectors to military service
Delivered at the UN in Geneva
(05.03.2025) Oral statement delivered at the UN in Geneva on the violations of human rights of conscientious objectors to military service
On March 4th and 5th 2025, on the occasion of the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Nazila Ghanea, presented in the plenary in Geneva her report "Freedom of religion or belief and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".
Connection e.V., in collaboration with War Resisters International, participated in the related interactive dialogue and took the floor in the plenary of the Council addressing the concerning violations of human rights of conscientious objectors to military service, for instance, in Eritrea, Türkiye, Israel, Russia and Ukraine.
In her concluding remark the Special Rapporteur did acknowledge civil society addressing conscientious objection, restated the non-derogability of art. 18 and that her mandate fully carries conscientious objection to military service which have not been explicitly noted in her report, however, in her words, "the report framework is highly conducive and supports conscientious objection to military service".
You can read the report of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief here.
You can watch the interactive dialogue clicking here.
UN Human Rights Council, 58th Session,
Geneva, March 5th 2025
GD Item 3: Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief
Oral statement delivered by War Resisters International, in collaboration with Connection e.V.
Mr President,
War Resisters International (WRI), together with its partner Connection e.V., welcomes the report of the Special Rapporteur and would like to thank her for her reporting work.
[As reported in the contribution submitted by our partner,] we are deeply concerned that torture and other cruel treatment or punishment are also affecting some of those who exercise the human right to conscientious objection to military service which is inherent to art. 18 [the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion].
Eritrea enforces a de facto indefinite National Service, [a mandatory military service, which presents practices that in many cases amount to forced labour or slavery].1 Imprisonment of conscientious objectors [is reported to] take place under conditions amounting to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has issued numerous judgements concerning Turkish conscientious objectors stating, for instance in the Ülke2 case, that the acts concerned constitute degrading treatment within the meaning of Article 3 of the Convention.3 [The Court has also defined] the condition of conscientious objectors [in the country] as of “civil death”.4
WRI will offer a side event on this topic on Thursday at 12pm in room XXV.
In Israel, conscientious objectors used to be sentenced to repeated disciplinary punishment in military prison5. Currently, however, detention is indefinite and they are forced to agree to be released for medical or other reasons.6
In the context of the ongoing war of aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine and the forced mobilization in the occupied territories [we register that most of the requests for alternative service are denied with threats of punishment]. Refusal to serve could end in punitive fine or detention; [“disobedient” conscripts and soldiers are regularly detained and tortured.]7
[The media reported several cases of detained refusers in Ukrainev8, sometimes reportedly forced to manual labour9 and subjected to] psychological pressure and physical torture.10
Forum 18 reported Officials in Recruitment Offices and military units in Ukraine subjecting men – including conscientious objectors - to arbitrary detention, pressure to try to force them to accept mobilisation.11
WRI, together with Connection e.V., calls upon this Council to fully protect art. 18 and the human rights of conscientious objectors.
Thank you.
Footnotes
1 Human Rights Council Resolution 32/24, 15 July 2016, para. 4. https://undocs.org/A/HRC/RES/32/24
WRI and Connection e.V., “Oral statement given at Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea”, UN Human Rights Council, 56th Session, 20 June 2024. https://en.connection-ev.org/article-4174
Amnesty International, Report 2023/2024, Eritrea. https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/africa/east-africa-the-horn-and-great-lakes/eritrea/report-eritrea/
2 ECtHR, Case of Ülke v Turkey (Application No. 39437/98), 24 January 2006. https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-72146
3 Ibid para. 63.
4 Ibid. para. 62.
Vicious cycle of repetitive administrative and judicial proceedings and punishments and restrictions on civil rights.
The term “Civil death” refers as well to the restrictions on social and economic rights.
5 Accumulating between 90 and 120 days of detention.
6 Since October 2023, military judicial officers have informed conscientious objectors that the circumstances have changed. Most of objectors have noted that they are no longer being invited to the Fitness Committee and have requested release on medical or other grounds. Two of them have insisted on remaining in prison and waiting to appear before the Fitness Committee.
Tal Mitnick, was the first conscientious objector of this war. After serving six months in military prison, we demanded to send him to a Fitness Committee. During the committee session, the officer stated that she saw no reason to exempt him and suggested that he settle for a mental health exemption. Tal reluctantly agreed and was subsequently released after meeting with the head of the mental health department.
Itamar Greenberg has been sentenced to 195 days in military prison so far. He requested through Mesarvot organization to be allowed to appear before the Fitness Committee, which occurred on January 7th. On January 26th he received the Committee’s decision in prison, which stated that there was no basis for his release.
7 Written statement submitted to the Human Rights Council by War Resisters International, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status, [Jointly with its international partner Connection e.V. and local partner Ukrainian Pacifist Movement], (A/HRC/57/NGO/308), 27 September 2024. https://undocs.org/A/HRC/57/NGO/308
8 https://www.currenttime.tv/a/ukraine-russia-war-russian-soldiers-/31946543.html
https://verstka.media/v-plenu-u-sobstvennoy-armii/
https://www.newsweek.com/multiple-russian-soldiers-detained-refusing-fight-putins-war-1722915
https://www.dw.com/en/russian-contract-soldiers-increasingly-jailed-in-occupied-donbas/a-62701166
https://www.newsweek.com/russian-soldiers-refuse-fight-ukraine-war-detained-1764556
9 https://www.severreal.org/a/chto-proishodit-s-otkazavshimisya-voevat-v-ukraine/31954279.html
10 https://theins.ru/news/253555
https://zona.media/article/2022/07/21/yama
https://verstka.media/otkaznili-krasniy-luch/
11 https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2937
You can download the official text clicking here.
WRI and Connection e.V.: Oral statement delivered at the UN in Geneva on the violations of human rights of conscientious objectors to military service, March 5, 2025
Keywords: ⇒ Conscientious Objection ⇒ Eritrea ⇒ Israel ⇒ Mistreatment ⇒ Russia ⇒ Turkey ⇒ Ukraine