Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Russia: Stop the raids and detention of conscripts in Moscow

Joint Press Release

(03.06.2024) The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), War Resisters’ International (WRI), the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), and Connection e.V. strongly condemn the raids, detentions and practices of forced recruitment carried out by the Russian authorities from 25th to 27th May in Moscow. We urge the Russian authorities to fully respect the human right to conscientious objection to military service, which is inherent in the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, guaranteed under Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and so is non-derogable even in a time of public emergency, as stated in Article 4(2) of ICCPR.

Conscientious objection to military service

Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

(21.05.2024) In the present report, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights provides recommendations on legal and policy frameworks to uphold human rights in the context of conscientious objection to military service in accordance with States’ obligations under international human rights law and applicable international human rights standards. The Office addresses, in particular, the recognition of the right to conscientious objection to military service in domestic law, the application procedures, genuine alternatives to military service, the promotion of conscientious objection to military service and the processing and recognition of the refugee status of conscientious objectors.

A refuser wave is on the way

Newsletter of the Refuser Solidarity Network (RSN)

(19.05.2024) Dear all, Mattan here. I’m the Executive Director of Refuser Solidarity Network (RSN) and an Israeli refuser. Over the last few weeks, there’s been a noticeable shift in Israeli public sentiment and we’ve received signs indicating the emergence of a new wave of refusal. Increasingly, Israelis view the ongoing fighting not merely as a matter of self-defense aimed at bringing hostages home, but rather as an enduring political war with a right-wing agenda.

A Right to Refuse to Kill in Myanmar?

(20.03.2024) In February 2024, the military regime ruling Myanmar announced that it was mobilizing a “People’s Military Service Law”. The law allows for the conscription of male citizens aged 18 to 35 and female citizens aged 18 to 27. The announcement has caused fear and loathing among the country’s 14 million young people and their families. Just three days later, the military regime established the Central Body for Summoning People’s Military Servants to oversee conscription, of at least 60,000 young people per year (See this ISP report for a further analysis of the new conscription law). The conscription process will reportedly be launched after the Burmese New Year in mid-April, but there are some reports that roundups of young men have already begun.