Belarus

28/04/1998

1 Conscription

conscription exists

The legal basis for conscription is the 1992 Law on Universal Conscription and Military Service. [6]

The Belarussian armed forces are still largely a conscription army, about half of its troops being conscripts. In the Soviet Union, Belarus was one of the most militarized republics, owing to its geopolitical importance. [11]

Since independence the armed forces have been reduced from 300,000 troops in 1991 to 76,000 in 1996; further reductions are planned as maintaining the present strength of the armed forces is too expensive. There are no known plans, however, for the abolition of conscription. [2]

military service

All men between the ages of 18 and 27 are liable for military service. [1]

The length of military service is 18 months; 12 months in the case of university and college graduates. [1]

According to the Ministry of Defence, the length of military service is to be reduced to 12 months by the year 2000, this in the context of planned overall reduction of the armed forces. [7]

There are believed to be military training arrangements for students at universities and colleges. [7]

postponement and exemption

Postponement is possible for students. Students can be granted postponement only once; if a young man wants to change his study course he must first perform his military service. [2]

Exemption is possible for medical reasons, for domestic reasons (having small children or being a family's sole breadwinner) and in the case of people who have served a term in a forced labour colony for some major crime. [1]

recruitment

Call-up for medical examination takes place at the age of 18. After the medical examination conscripts are divided into five health categories and sent to military units by the recruitment commission. They then get their call-up notices, specifying the day and place for joining up. There are two call-ups a year, in spring and in autumn. [2]

Only about 40 per cent of liable conscripts actually perform military service. During the 1996 autumn call-up, for instance, more than 25,000 people were summoned to the recruitment commissions, but only 12,000 were recruited. The remaining 13,000 were granted either postponement or exemption, or else did not respond to the call-up orders (see: draft evasion an desertion). The official explanation for this given by the Ministry of Defence was that the Belarus military doctrine did not envisage any more recruits, so there was now greater competition to join the army. [8]

Most conscripts in the armed forces tend to be from lower social economic classes and rural areas. [2]

The ethnic composition of the armed forces is also a major concern for the authorities. By the end of 1992, for instance, ethnic Russians accounted for nearly half the conscripts in the armed forces and about 80 per cent of the officer corps. Since than the ethnic composition has changed gradually in favour of Belarussians, but the process is slow. [11] [13]

2 Conscientious objection

legal right

According to the art. 57 of the 1994 Constitution: "Procedures regulating military service, and the grounds or conditions for exemption from military service or its replacement by alternative service, shall be determined by law." [5]

No other legislation on conscientious objection and substitute service has been introduced. In 1992 a parliamentary working group started drafting a bill on substitute service, which was finally rejected by parliament in 1994. Since then new legislation has been discussed by parliament, but no laws have been passed. [1] [6]

Under the draft law rejected in 1994, substitute service would apparently have been of three years' duration. The Ministry of Defence stated it would like to extend substitute service to those found medically unfit for military service and conscripts with criminal records, as it is unwilling to provide them with weapons. The general notion underlying the draft law was, it seems, that those choosing to perform military service should get certain privileges. [2]

procedure and practice

The absence of further legislation means there are no procedures whereby to apply for substitute service.

Apparently some conscripts have applied to the recruitment commission or an individual commander to be allowed to perform substitute service. They were probably dealt with at the discretion of the individual commanders concerned.

In some cases conscientious objectors have been sent to serve in the construction battalions. [12]

A Belarussian NGO has reported a case of a conscript who, for religious reasons, refused to undergo military training. The military authorities threatened to send him to prison if he failed to appear at the barracks. It is not known how many similar cases have taken place. [2]

There are no recent known cases of conscientious objectors being prosecuted and imprisoned. In 1990 a Jehovah's Witness was sentenced to two years' imprisonment under art. 77 of the Criminal Code for evading a call-up. He had previously served a 20 month sentence for refusing to respond to his call-up papers. [4] According to Amnesty International in 1997, conscientious objectors are facing prosecution by the military authorities. [1]

substitute service

Pending the introduction of further legislation performing substitute service remains impossible.

As stated above, some conscientious objectors are assigned to unarmed military service in construction battalions. The government has in fact stated that those refusing to perform military service on conscientious grounds "are transferred to military engineering units on a decision of the Ministry of Defence, where they will continue to serve in the interests of the armed forces." [5]

In the Soviet Union the construction battalions were filled with members of certain religious groups, those convicted for criminal offences and others whom the authorities wouldn't gain access to weapons. Its conditions are known to be particularly harsh. [12]

3 Draft evasion and desertion

penalties

Draft evasion and desertion are punishable under the Criminal Code. Under art. 77 evading regular call-up to active military service is punishable by imprisonment. [9]

practice

Draft evasion and desertion are widespread and have increased significantly since Belarus gained independence in 1991, the reasons including poor conditions and human rights violations within the armed forces.

According to a Belarussian NGO, bribing officials is a rare means of draft evasion, whereas higher level contacts seem to be much more effective. Some sources claim it is quite usual to acquire false medical certificates through bribery and thus be granted exemption. Others simply do not respond to call-up notices. For instance, 30 percent of conscripts (which is some 6,000) reportedly did not respond to the 1995 spring call-up. Of those, 99 percent were said to be in hiding or else feigning illnesses. [2]

The Ministry of Defence reported about 2,000 cases of draft evasion in 1994 and 2,868 in 1992, compared to only two in 1988. [3]

Desertion rates have increased too since independence. According to the Ministry of Defence, there were 539 such cases in 1992, compared to 71 in 1988. [3]

It is not known how far monitoring and punishment of draft evasion and desertion take place. In most draft evasion cases documents are sent to military prosecutors. However, in 1994 prosecutions for draft evasion were initiated against only 29 people, although 1,500 did not turn up for military service (and 574 did not turn up more than twice). [10]

6 Annual statistics

The armed forces are 81,800-strong, which is 0.78 percent of the population.

Every year about 76,000 young men reach conscription age. There are 40,000 conscripts in the armed forces. [14]

Sources

[1] Amnesty International 1997. Out of the margins, the right to conscientious objections to military service in Europe. AI, London. [2] ECCO 1996. Compulsory military service in Central and Eastern Europe, a general survey. European Council of Conscript Organisations (ECCO), Utrecht, Netherlands. [3] Markus, Ustina 1993. 'Belarus Debates Security Pacts as a Cure for Military Woes', in: RFE/RL Research Report, 18 June 1993. [4] Amnesty International 1992. Concerns in Europe: November 1991 - April 1992. AI, London. [5] UN Commission on Human Rights, 1994. Report of the Secretary-General prepared pursuant to Commission resolution 1993/84 (and Addendum). United Nations, Geneva. [6] Centre for Canadian and Soviet Studies 1992. CIS, Baltic States and Georgia: military service. Immigration and Refugee Board Documentation Centre, Ottawa, Canada. [7] 'Defence minister announces 12-month army service by 2000'. Belarussian radio, Minsk, 30 May 1996. [8] 'Army receives surplus of recruits'. Belarussian radio, Minsk, 22 September 1996. [9] 'Belarussian president announces autumn conscription'. Belarussian news agency, Minsk, 12 October 1996. [10] 'Belarus conscription drives plagued by absentees'. Belarussian radio, Minsk, 17 March 1995. [11] US State Department 1995. Belarus - a country study. Area Handbooks, State Department, Washington DC. [12] Belarus League for Human Rights 1995. Inquiry for the ECCO database. European Council of Conscript Organisations (ECCO), Utrecht. [13] Sorokin, Konstantin E. 1996. 'The Belarus Military: A Loyal Segment of Society?', in: Danopoulos, Constantine P. and Dani`l Zirker (ed.): Civil-Military Relations in the Soviet and Yugoslav Successor States. WestView Press. [14] Institute for Strategic Studies 1997. Military Balance 1997/98. ISS, London.

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