Conscientious objection

23/01/1998 1 Conscription

conscription does not exist

Conscription has been abolished in 1972. The 1951 National Service Act was rendered ineffective in 1973 by the National Service Termination Act and repealed alltogether in 1992. Conscription is not enshrined in the constitution, there is no legislation providing for conscription in peacetime and there are no provisions for registration of conscripts in peace time. [1]

The 1903 Defence Act, as amended in 1992, does provide for the introduction of conscription in war time.

The European Commission of Human Rights sitting in private on
12 January 1998, the following members being present:

Mr S. TRECHSEL, President
MM J.-C. GEUS
E. BUSUTTIL
G. JÖRUNDSSON
A.S. GÖZÜBÜYÜK
A. WEITZEL
J.-C. SOYER
MM H. DANELIUS
F. MARTINEZ
C.L. ROZAKIS
Mrs J. LIDDY
MM L. LOUCAIDES
B. MARXER
M.A. NOWICKI
I. CABRAL BARRETO

Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee : Belarus.

19/11/1997.

CCPR/C/79/Add.86. (Concluding Observations/Comments)

(...)

16. The Committee notes the statement of the delegation of Belarus that legislation on conscientious objection to military service is envisaged. In this regard:

CCPR/C/79/Add.87
19 November 1997

(...)

12. The Committee is concerned at reported cases of harassment and use of excessive force by members of the army against conscripts and of police brutality against detainees.

Therefore:

CCPR/C/79/Add.86
19 November 1997

(...)

16. The Committee notes the statement of the delegation of Belarus that legislation on conscientious objection to military service is envisaged. In this regard:

The Committee recommends that a law exempting conscientious objectors from compulsory military service and providing for alternative civil service of equivalent length be passed at an early date in compliance with article 18 of the Covenant and the Committee's General Comment No. 22 (48).

(...)

CCPR/C/79/Add.84
19 November 1997

(...)

11. The Committee expresses concern that Revolutionary Command Council Decree No. 115 of 25 August 1994 violates the provisions of article 6, paragraph 2, of the Covenant, which restricts the application of the death penalty to the "most serious crimes", by stipulating that the death penalty will be imposed on persons who have evaded military service several times, and that it contains retroactive provisions, contrary to article 15 of the Covenant.

The Committee therefore recommended that:

05/11/1997 1 Conscription

conscription exists

The northern part of Cyprus applies conscription, but its current legal basis is unclear. Probably the laws and regulations pertaining to it are derived from and similar to the Turkish military service laws.

military service

The length of military service is 24 months. [4] [1]

After completing military service, conscripts are called up for a few days reservist training annually until they turn 50 or 55.

05/11/1997 1 Conscription

conscription exists

Conscription is enshrined in the 1960 Constitution.

The present legal basis of conscription is the 1961 Military Service Law. [4]

military service

All men aged between 18 and 50 are liable for military service. [6] [7]

The length of military service is 26 months. [4] [8]

At the end of military service regular reservist training, lasting for from several days to several weeks, is compulsory up to the age of 50 and up to the age of 65 for officers.

05/11/1997 1 Conscription

conscription exists

Not much is known about the conscription system in the Republika Srpska. The legal basis for conscription was probably the Defence Law of the former Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia. On 28 December 1996 a new Army Law was passed, and proposals for a fresh law on defence were discussed in early 1997. [9] [10]

military service

The length of military service is 9 months. It was reduced from 18 months with the passing of the new 1996 Army Law.

05/11/1997 1 Conscription

conscription exists

The present legal basis of conscription is unclear. Before 1996 the legal basis of conscription was probably the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's Defence Law. On 6 July 1996 a new Law on Defence was passed, but not much information is available about it. [9]

Military service is performed in the armed forces of Bosnia-Herzegovina or in the Bosnian Croat forces (HVO). Both these forces are officially to merge into one in 1999.

Serdar Tekin of ISKD (Izmir War Resisters) reflects on the impact that Osman Murat Ülke's well-publicised conscientious objection has had in Turkey.

In Turkey, all men over 20 are required to do 18 months of what the Constitution euphemistically calls "Fatherland service". Despite our country's strong militarist tradition, for years there has been widespread avoidance of conscription: by buying oneself out; by taking advantage of deferments; by evading the draft; or by deserting.

Pedro Oliver of KEM-MOC (the Basque CO Movement) evaluates the prison experience of insumisos as a political tool.

From the very beginning, in 1989, MOC and other anti-militarist groups have endeavoured to make their total resistance campaign ("Insumisión") its own best antidote against state repression.