Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

"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).

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!

41 Israeli reserve soldiers refuse to take part in invasion of Rafah

Newsletter of the Refuser Solidarity Network (RSN)

(02.06.2024) Hi, Mattan here. I am the executive director of RSN and in 2017 I spent 110 days in prison because I refused to serve the Israeli occupation. Two weeks ago, I shared our belief that a new wave of refusal was imminent (...). Last Friday, the first concrete move in this refuser wave went public. 41 Israeli reserve soldiers published a letter declaring that they refuse to take part in the assault on Rafah, endangering uninvolved civilians, the hostages, and themselves. Below is the full text of their letter.

#RefuseWar: Solidarität mit Kriegsgegner*innen weltweit

Öffentliche Aktionen zum Internationalen Tag der Kriegsdienstverweigerung - Ein Bericht

(28.05.2024) Kriegsdienstverweigerung heißt Widerstand gegen Militarismus – aus Betroffenheit, aus Solidarität, in Gedenken und im gemeinsamen Kampf gegen die patriarchale Logik des Tötens. Am 15. Mai, dem Internationalen Tag der Kriegsdienstverweigerung, haben Aktivist*innen weltweit zur Unterstützung von Kriegsdienstverweiger*innen, Deserteur*innen und Kriegsgegner*innen aufgerufen und Aktionen durchgeführt.

Hinweis: Dies ist die Kurzfassung eines Artikels, der im Juni 2024 in der Zeitung graswurzelrevolution erscheint.