Denmark

As published in The Right to Conscientious Objection in Europe, Quaker Council for European Affairs, 2005.

Conscription

Conscription is enshrined in Article 81 of the 1953 Constitution and is further regulated by the 1980 National Service Law.

The length of military service is between 3 days and 14 months, depending on the branch of the armed forces and the rank attained. Most conscripts perform a 9 months' military service.

All men between the ages of 18 and 30 are liable for military service. The National Service Law does not cover the self-governing territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland. If a young man moves to mainland Denmark after living in one of those territories for ten years or more, he is not liable for military service.[1]

As in most European countries, the number of available conscripts is much higher than the number considered necessary by the armed forces. Denmark is, however, the only European country where the actual selection of conscripts takes place by balloting. Selection takes place by drawing lots during medical examination. Firstly, conscripts who have applied to serve voluntarily are drafted, whatever lot number they might have. (Most conscripts in the armed forces - approx. 60 percent - have actually volunteered to serve). From the remaining conscripts only those with the lowest number are drafted, until the necessary amount is reached. The lots are actually not drawn by the conscripts themselves, but by the military authorities. Apparently, this is because someone once ate his lot ticket, which meant the draft had to be suspended that day in order to find out which lot number had been eaten. [2]

In 2004 the government and major opposition parties agreed on a reform of the armed forces, laid down in the 'The Danish Defence Agreement 2005-2009'. Conscription will remain in place, but the Agreement envisages a future reduction of military service to 4 months.[3]

Statistics

The armed forces comprise 27,900 troops, including 5,750 conscripts. Every year, approx. 30,000 young men reach conscription age; approx. 30 per cent are recruited.

Conscientious objection

Legal basis

The right to conscientious objection has been legally recognized since 1917. Denmark was in fact the first European country to introduce a law on conscientious objection. At present, the right to conscientious objection is regulated by the 1987 Civilian Service Act (588/87), as amended in 1992 and 1998.

Scope

Both religious and non-religious grounds for conscientious objection are legally recognized. According to Article 1 of the Civilian Service Act: "Conscripts for whom military service in any form is judged, from available information, to be incompatible with the dictates of their conscience, may be exempted from military service on condition that they are engaged in other national work, which is not, however, serving any military purposes".

Time limits

Applications can be made before and during military service. Applications that are made by serving conscripts should be more elaborate and should include an explanation as to when and where the applicant's conflict of conscience started. Approx. 20 per cent of CO applications are actually believed to be made by serving conscripts.[4]

It is not known if there are legal provisions for the right to conscientious objection for professional soldiers.[5]

Procedure

Applications must be made to the Conscientious Objections Administration Board (Ministry of Interior). Applications must be made with a standard form that is available at the Ministry. Since 1968 there is no personal interview during the application procedure and applications are not individually examined. Consequently, applications are almost automatically granted.

Substitute service

Since 1986, the length of substitute service is the same as military service: between 3 days and 14 months, depending on which part of the armed forces one would otherwise have served in. As most conscripts perform a 9 months' military service, most COs perform a 9 months' substitute service.

Substitute service is administered by the Ministry of Interior. It can be performed in government institutions like hospitals, social work and cultural institutions, but also with peace and environmental organisations.

Substitute service starts with a six days' introduction course, during which COs are informed about their rights and duties.

Practice

For the last fifteen years, the number of CO applications is relatively stable at between 600 and 900 per year.[6]

Almost all applications are automatically granted. According to the Danish government, applications are rejected if they are considered to be solely based on political grounds.[7]

Every year, approx. 25 COs refuse to perform both military service and substitute service. All of them are believed to be Jehovah's Witnesses.

Refusal to perform substitute service is punishable with a fine and a term of imprisonment equivalent to the length of time that someone should have served (Civilian Service Act, Article 6). Since 1996, Jehovah's Witnesses receive a suspended sentence that is replaced by a probationary term of one year under the provision that the committer does not commit an offence. During this year, they are under the supervision of the Probation Service and are obliged to carry out community service for a maximum of 240 hours.[8]

Notes

[1] Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers: Child Soldiers Global Report 2004.
[2] War Resisters' International: Refusing to bear arms - A world survey on conscription and conscientious objection to military service, 1998. Henning Sörensen: National Service Arrangements in Denmark, Paper presented at the 5th Global Conference on National Youth Service in Jerusalem, 11-15 June 2000, www.acys.utas.edu.au/ianys/country/denmark-2000.html
[3] Danish Defend Command: The Danish Defence Agreement 2005-2009, www.forsvaret.dk. 'Paper: government to make defence concessions', Copenhagen Post, 9 June 2004.
[4] War Resisters' International (1998).
[5] The 2001 report by the Council of Europe does not conclude that the right to conscientious objection applies to professional soldiers (Exercise of the right of conscientious objection to military service in Council of Europe member states, Report Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Doc. 8809 (Revised), 4 May 2001). According to other sources, professional soldiers may apply for CO status (War Resisters' International 1998).
[6] War Resisters' International (1998). European Bureau for Conscientious Objection/Heinrich Böll Foundation: European Union without Compulsory Military Service - Consequences for Alternative Service, 2000.
[7] United Nations Commission on Human Rights, 56th session, Civil and political rights, including the question of conscientious objection to military service, Report of the Secretary-General submitted pursuant to Commission resolution 1998/77 (E/CN/. 4/2000/55), 17 December 1999.
[8] United Nations Commission on Human Rights (E/CN/.4/2000/55).

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