Conscientious objection

Osman Murat Ülke faces trial in Ankara Military Court on Tuesday, 19 November for "alienating the public from the military" by burning his military papers. Osman, who has been detained since 7 October, ended his hunger strike after 21 days when the authorities accepted that he refuses to wear military uniform. He remains isolated from other prisoners -- most of whom are deserters. However, he now has a bed, a light, and reading and writing materials.

CCPR/C/79/Add.70
8 November 1996

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10. The Committee welcomes the entry into force of the Civilian Service Act, which has introduced a civil procedure for determining cases of conscientious objection.

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Source: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,CHE,,3ae6b0328,0.html

1. The Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance, acting within the terms of his mandate, visited Greece from 18 to 25 June 1996 at the invitation of the Greek Government.

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(d) Legislation concerning conscientious objection

CCPR/C/79/Add.62
3 April 1996

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18. The requirement to sing the national anthem and salute the flag as a condition of attending a State school, despite conscientious objection, appears to be an unreasonable requirement and to be incompatible with articles 18 and 24 of the Covenant.

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Source: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/type,CONCOBSERVATIONS,,ZMB,3ae6b0324,0.html

CCPR/C/79/Add.61
3 April 1996

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15. Finally, the Committee is greatly concerned to hear that individuals cannot claim the status of conscientious objectors once they have entered the armed forces, since that does not seem to be consistent with the requirements of article 18 of the Covenant as pointed out in general comment No. 22 (48).

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Violence in a "Culture of Violence" -15-28 April, Turkey

This two-week international training on nonviolence is a co-operative effort of the DFG-VK Bildungswek NRW, the Kurve Wustrow training centre, FöGA, and the Izmir War Resisters Association (ISKD).

Action for Civil Alternative (APAC), Lebanon

Tarek El Husseini of Action for Civil Alternative, Lebanon, was pleased to meet the WRI Executive during a brief visit to London. APAC has about 60 active members and has already met nonviolence trainers from francophone groups (Jean-Marie Muller and Hervé Ott from France; Michel Megard, Switzerland, and Françoise Bazier, Belgium). An APAC leaflet declares "Our style of work is based on cooperation, auto-direction, and nonviolence, to attain full participation in civil society.

By JEAN DE WANDELAER

Conscientious objection is a constitutional right in Paraguay, but the fact that there are now around 600 COs seems to bother the military. On 4 November, 18-year-old objector César Barrios was on his way to Pirapey, 110km from Encarnación, to give a workshop on CO.

By RAFAEL SAINZ DE ROZAS

--This year will be the last. Starting next year, the Prisoners for Peace Honour Roll will not include those hundreds of Spanish names which, since 1989, have reminded us of the total resisters in jail. As laid down in the new penal code-approved on 8 November-after next May no one will be sent to prison for insumisión (total resistance to military and alternative service) in the state of Spain.

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Press Communiqué

On Wednesday, 9 August, a group of 11 women will publicly present themselves as CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS at 8.30am in front of the Human Rights Commission. In Paraguay there are already 8 women who have previously presented themselves as objectors, but this is the first group made up of only women. We would like to therefore express the motives behind our objection:

CCPR/C/79/Add.54
26 July 1995

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21. The Committee is concerned that conscientious objection to military service, although recognized under article 59 of the Constitution, is not a practical option under Russian law and takes note in this regard of the draft law on alternative service before the Federal Assembly. It expresses its concern at the possibility that such alternative service may be made punitive, either in nature or in length of service. The Committee is also seriously concerned at the allegations of widespread cruelty and ill-treatment of young conscript-soldiers.

Proposal for a series of consultations with armed struggle movements

The proposal is to hold a series of consultations with movements engaged ii' armed struggle or who have recently quit armed struggle. These consultations would he held in different countries, and would be documented afterwards. They would happen over a period of time, say a three-year period, to build up the trust necessary for a real dialogue.