Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Guinea-Bissau - Conscientious objection to military service

Connection e.V. reports to the UN Human Rights Committee (144th session)

(May 2025) The state implements conscription and maintains armed forces, therefore, the issue of conscientious objection to military service is relevant.

Kazakhstan - Conscientious objection to military service and related issues

Connection e.V. reports to the UN Human Rights Committee (144th session)

(May 2025) The report emphasizes that not only the right to conscientious objection to military service is not recognised in law, but also the actual persecution of conscientious objectors to military service continues effectively until today.

Latvia - Conscientious objection to military service and related issues

Connection e.V. reports to the UN Human Rights Committee (144th session)

(May 2025) We reported that the right to conscientious objection to military service is not adequately recognised and implemented by the State party, since there is no genuinely civilian alternative service, the body examining applications is not independent and impartial, and there is no genuine recognition of the right to conscientious objection for professional members of the armed forces.

Ukraine: How should government deal with conscientious objectors in wartime?

(24.04.2025) Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and Ukraine’s immediate declaration of martial law, alternative civilian service has not been available to conscientious objectors in Ukraine. Many conscientious objectors  have been detained and forced to join the army, held illegally (often for months) on military bases, or criminally prosecuted. Jehovah’s Witnesses report that about 661 of their believers faced criminal charges of evading mobilisation in 2024. Courts have handed several conscientious objectors three-year jail terms for refusing mobilisation. Courts have handed others suspended sentences.