Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

May 15th 2025: International Conscientious Objection Day

Social Media initiative started

(14.05.2025) Several organizations worldwide stand in solidarity with those who refuse to kill and engage in wars and are for this reason persecuted, criminalized and jailed. The undersigned organizations -active also at the European level- address a specific appeal to the European institutions and Member States to protect and fully implement the right to conscientious objection to military service: "We call on Europe to fully implement this human right and to protect those who object to military service in their own countries and that, because of persecutions, seek protection in European countries."

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Week of Action for the International Day of Conscientious Objection, 15 May 2025

All events

Around the International Day of Conscientious Objection, 15 May, there will be events and actions in several countries: Istanbul, London, Seoul, Bogotá, Medellín, Carlisle, Liverpool, Wokingham, Oxford, Staffordshire, Leicester, Washington, Edinburgh, Göttingen, Celle, Aalen, Mainz, Oldenburg, Greifswald, Schwerin, Nottuln, Erlangen, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Marburg, Mainz, Bonn, Bielefeld, Osterholz-Scharmbeck, Berlin. With these events, we are calling for protection for all those who refuse to go to war. Conscientious objection is a human right, especially during war. Persecuted conscientious objectors and deserters need asylum!

Ukraines Supreme Court: Religious belief does not exempt citizens from military service during wartime

(01.05.2025) Ukraine’s Supreme Court ruled that citizens cannot refuse military service during wartime based on religious beliefs, emphasizing that the obligation to defend the nation applies to all Ukrainians during Russia’s full-scale invasion, the court’s press office said on May 1.

Ukraine: How should

(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.