Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Russia: Escape from participation in the war

Current figures, September 2023

(19.09.2023) Based on new information, we update our estimate for the number of fled military service-obligated men from Russia. We arrive now at a figure of at least 250,000 male refugees liable for military service who left Russia.

In September 2022, we had made an estimate, based on various statistics, of how many military service men have fled Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. For Russia, we came up with an estimate there of at least 150,000, for Belarus at least 22,000, and for Ukraine at least 170,000.

Report on the situation of Belarusian refugees in Lithuania

(17.08.2023) Written by International Centre for civil initiatives “Our House” (Nash Dom), Belarus & Lithuania with the support of International Fellowship of Reconciliation – Austria, European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, Federation for Social Defence, Germany, Connection e.V., War Resisters’ International, The International Peace Bureau (IPB), Vilnius, 17 August 2023

Read the full report here: Report on the situation of Belarusian refugees in Lithuania – OUR HOUSE (news.house)

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’.