Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Supreme Court of Ukraine releases a prisoner of conscience: conscientious objector Vitaly Alekseenko

(26.05.2023) Yesterday, 25 May 2023, at the Supreme Court of Ukraine in Kyiv, the court of cassation overturned the conviction of prisoner of conscience Vitaly Alekseenko (who attended by video link from prison), and ordered his immediate release from prison and his retrial in the court of first instance. EBCO delegate Derek Brett travelled from Switzerland to Ukraine and attended the court hearing as international observer.

Nearly 50,000 signatures handed over in Berlin on the International Day of Conscientious Objection

Conscientious objection is a human right. This includes the right to asylum!

(15.05.2023) On this year’s International Day of Conscientious Objection, 30 organizations from Europe called for protection for all those who refuse military service in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. During a festive event, almost 50,000 signatures of the #ObjectWarCampaign collected on the platform WeMove.eu were handed over to the European Commission in Berlin. The presentation of the petition was accompanied by speeches of national and international guests from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, additional actions and music.

Russia: Release all those who object to engage in the war

Illegally detention in the Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine

(28.03.2023) The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), Connection e.V. (Germany), the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), and War Resisters’ International (WRI) strongly denounce the reported detention by the Russian authorities of large numbers of soldiers and mobilised civilians in a number of centres in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine, because they refuse to participate in the war. Russian authorities are reportedly using threats, psychological abuse and torture to force those detained to return to the front.

Joint Press Release: International organisations call for actions at the Ukrainian and Russian embassies

to protest against the forced mobilisation and to support conscientious objectors and deserters

(22.02.2023) In the framework of the #ObjectWarCampaign (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine: Protection and asylum for deserters and conscientious objectors to military service), the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), War Resisters’ International (WRI), the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), and Connection e.V. (Germany), call for actions at the Ukrainian and Russian embassies from the 23^rd to the 27^th of February 2023 to protest against the forced mobilisation and to express solidarity with Ukrainian and Russian conscientious objectors and deserters.