Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Mikita Sviryd: The story of a Belarusian deserter in Lithuania

Stuck between the threat of death penalty in Belarus and illegal refugee status in Lithuania

Mikita Sviryd, a Belarusan deserter who, when the war started in Ukraine, fled illegally to Lithuania because he was afraid that the Belarusan army would go to Ukraine to help Russia. Today Mikita is an illegal refugee, Lithuania has denied the young deserter political asylum. In Belarus, desertion can be punishable by death penalty. Today, he is desperate and expects nothing good in his future. What is for geopolitics the fate of one guy who at the age of 19 decided to give up being a soldier? #protection4Nikita

"Adbusting”: Berlin and Helsinki activists demand asylum for conscientious objectors

(11.07.2024) Oops, what are Berlin ad posters doing in Helsinki? And why are they campaigning for asylum for conscientious objectors? The "adbusted" posters are calling for asylum for conscientious objectors from Belarus and Russia. "We are currently in Helsinki to network with antimilitarists from the Baltic Sea region," reports Roderich Supersonnenwetter, spokesperson for the action group (AfKj!). "So close to the border with Russia, it makes sense to send a signal of solidarity for conscientious objection." Roderich Supersonnenwetter says: "Asylum for conscientious objectors from Russia and Belarus is a smart way to make it more difficult for Putin to wage his war in Ukraine!"

Oral statement given at Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants

UN Human Rights Council, 56th Session

(26.06.2024) This morning, June 26th, on the occasion of the 56th session of the UN Human Rights Council, it took place in Geneva the conclusion of the Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants. Connection e.V. took the floor, in collaboration with WRI, to raise the issue of denial of asylum to conscientious objectors and to call on the members of the Human Rights Council to protect conscientious objectors whose human rights are violated in their country of origin.

War in Ukraine: France grants asylum to 19 deserters of the Russian army

(22.03.2024) Since the beginning of the year, 19 Russian citizens have been granted asylum in France as announced by the National Asylum Court (CNDA) on March 22, 2024. Russian soldiers who refused to fight in Ukraine were already granted refugee status by the CNDA in June 2023. According to the court’s decisions, which were "read out between January 1 and mid-March 2024, 19 asylum applications" were granted, the CNDA told AFP news agency on Friday.