Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Submission to the High Commissioner of the Human Rights Council

Report on Conscientious objection to military service and asylum

(05.10.2023) Dear Sirs and Madams,

We are very grateful for being given the opportunity to hand over a submission to the High Commissioner’s report on “conscientious objection to military service” to the Human Rights Council, under resolution 51/6. As a non-governmental organization assisting conscientious objectors internationally, we have focused our submission on the questions of conscientious objection to military service and asylum, especially given the current war in Ukraine.

Russia: More than 250,000 flee recruitment to war

Russian organizations call for protection and asylum for all conscientious objectors

(20.09.2023) One year after the partial mobilization, Connection e.V. today presents updated figures on the flight of men subject to military service from Russia. Based on a study by the independent network for analysis and policy RE: Russia, Connection e.V. concludes that at least 250,000 men subject to military draft from Russia have left the country since the beginning of the war against Ukraine and are seeking protection in other countries. Connection e.V. and the Protestant Association for Conscientious Objection and Peace (EAK) demand that steps finally be taken to protect these individuals.

Israel: Feminist Counseling Network New Profile

(06.09.2023) My name is Or and I have been New Profile’s Counseling Network co-coordinator for the past 4 years. New Profile is a feminist anti-militarist movement that has been active in Israel since 1998. I am writing this as a part of the. #ObjectWarCampaign, organized by Connection e.V., the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, the European Office for Conscientious Objection and War Resisters’ International. The #ObjectWarCampaign is a very important campaign that calls European countries to acknowledge the right to asylum of people that ran away from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine as an act of refusing to take part in the war, to kill or be killed.

France: Refugee protection for Russian conscientious objectors at risk of recruitment

(06.09.2023) The Grand Chamber of the National Asylum Court (CNDA) ruled on September 6, 2023, that Russian nationals who refuse partial mobilisation or forced recruitment as part of the war in Ukraine must be granted refugee status, as they would be induced to commit such crimes directly or indirectly due to the large-scale commission of war crimes by the Russian armed forces. However, they would have to prove that they are actually at risk of being recruited for the war.