Conscription 

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Merve Arkun: "We are often stopped by armed police." Photo: Rena Effendi/The Guardian

"You can’t fight your way to peace"

From a 20 y/o Israeli to a 99 y/o Briton, eight conscientious objectors on why they refused to serve in the army

(08.06.2024) Military service for 18-year-olds is a key Tory election pledge in the UK. But in countries with conscription, opting out comes at a heavy cost – ostracisation, fines and time in prison. With Peter Hathorn (South Africa), Einat Gerlitz (Israel), Merve Arkun (Turkey), Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal (Thailand), Bill Galvin (USA), Oleg Sofyanik (Ukraine), Mikita Sviryd (Belarus/Lithuania) and Timothy Tyndall (UK).

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The Movement of Conscientious Objectors

Digest April 2024

Newsletter

(04.06.2024) My dears, hello to everyone!
April was marked by the beginning of another conscription campaign in Russia and reforms of the military enlistment system in Moscow. The Russian government promised and finally adopted the latest regulatory act on the electronic registry of military service and electronic summons: with all these rules, we are facing a rather difficult end of the year. In Armenia, there was the second abduction of a Russian serviceman in five months. We believe
that it was carried out by the Russian military police and we are actively monitoring
the situation. And our organisation, together with colleagues from Ukraine and Belarus,
was awarded the Peace Prize by IPB! Enjoy reading!

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EBCO, WRI, IFOR & Connection e.V.

Russia: Stop the raids and detention of conscripts in Moscow

Joint Press Release

(03.06.2024) The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), War Resisters’ International (WRI), the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), and Connection e.V. strongly condemn the raids, detentions and practices of forced recruitment carried out by the Russian authorities from 25th to 27th May in Moscow. We urge the Russian authorities to fully respect the human right to conscientious objection to military service, which is inherent in the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, guaranteed under Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and so is non-derogable even in a time of public emergency, as stated in Article 4(2) of ICCPR.

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United Nations, General Assembly: Report on Conscientious Objection

Conscientious objection to military service

Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

(21.05.2024) In the present report, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights provides recommendations on legal and policy frameworks to uphold human rights in the context of conscientious objection to military service in accordance with States’ obligations under international human rights law and applicable international human rights standards. The Office addresses, in particular, the recognition of the right to conscientious objection to military service in domestic law, the application procedures, genuine alternatives to military service, the promotion of conscientious objection to military service and the processing and recognition of the refugee status of conscientious objectors.

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