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).

Pacifists pledge to resist national service, if scheme is implemented

Press Release

(27.05.2024) British pacifists have said they will refuse to join or in any way support the military under the Tories’ plans to reintroduce national service, if the scheme is ever implemented. In the first major announcement of his election campaign, Rishi Sunak said a future Tory government would introduce the scheme in 2025, forcing 18-year-olds either to join the military for 12 months full-time or to work one weekend per month in their community with organisations such as fire, police and the NHS.

War In Europe: What Is Happening To Conscientious Objectors?

Press Release: Publication of EBCO Annual Report “Conscientious Objection to Military Service in Europe 2023/24”

(14.05.2024) The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO) announces its forthcoming publication of its Annual Report “Conscientious Objection to Military Service in Europe 2023/24” on May 15^th, international conscientious objection day. It will be available online on 15 May 2024 on the EBCO website (www.ebco-beoc.org).

For the second year, this report is necessarily dominated by the war in Ukraine, with a large part of the space being taken up with reports of developments in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus and the situation of refugees from these countries. EBCO continues working on the #ObjectWarCampaign, which was jointly launched by Connection e.V., War Resisters’ International (WRI), International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), and European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO).

Krieg in Europa: Was geschieht mit Kriegsdienstverweiger*innen?

Pressemitteilung: Veröffentlichung des EBCO-Jahresberichts "Kriegsdienstverweigerung in Europa 2023/24"

(14.05.2024) Das Europäische Büro für Kriegsdienstverweigerung (EBCO) kündigt die bevorstehende Veröffentlichung seines Jahresberichts "Kriegsdienstverweigerung in Europa 2023/24" am 15. Mai, dem Internationalen Tag der Kriegsdienstverweigerung, an. Der Bericht wird am 15. Mai 2024 auf der Website von EBCO (https://www.ebco-beoc.org/) online verfügbar sein.

Im zweiten Jahr wird dieser Bericht zwangsläufig vom Krieg in der Ukraine dominiert; einen Großteil des Platzes nehmen Berichte über die Entwicklungen in der Ukraine, Russland und Belarus sowie die Situation von Flüchtenden aus diesen Ländern ein. EBCO arbeitet weiter bei der #ObjectWarCampaign mit, die gemeinsam von Connection e.V., War Resisters’ International (WRI), International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) und dem European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO) ins Leben gerufen wurde.