Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Desertion in order to not participate in war

Numbers for Russia, Belarus and Ukraine

(02.10.2022) We know that thousands of military conscripts have fled Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.But it is not possible to obtain accurate numbers on desertion, conscientious objection to military service and military draft evasion in these countries. No statistics record how many there really are. Therefore, at this point we can only try to estimate those numbers.

Dual Agenda: In Ethiopia’s civil war, Eritrea’s army exacted deadly vengeance on old foes

(01.11.2021) When Eritrea sent troops into the Tigray region, the secretive nation seized a double opportunity: It detained thousands of Eritrean refugees as it battled Ethiopia’s former rulers. Spearheading the bloody campaign: a colonel nicknamed ‘Son of Bread’.

Young Syrians flee regime areas for Turkey

(11.05.2021) Dozens of young men from areas controlled by the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) cross daily smuggling routes to the areas under the Syrian opposition to reach Turkey and flee to Europe to escape conscription in the Syrian army.

Action: Stop the Slavery in Eritrea

Gallery to the action to the International Day of Conscientious Objection

(17.05.2019) Several dozen met on the occasion of the International Day of Conscientious Objection (May 15) in Bonn. They focussed on the situation in Eritrea, a country where women and men are conscripted indefinitely. The right of conscientious objection doesn’t exist in Eritrea. Some conscientious objectors have been detained for almost 25 years. The participants also submitted a petition to the European Commission Representation in Bonn. In it they called on the European Union to stop a project for road construction: “The aid subsidizes a dictatorial regime. Conscripts are meant to be used whose employment can only be described as slavery. There are no assurances on behalf of the Eritrean government to comply with human rights.” (...more)