Conscientious objection

An Ashgabad court jailed 20-year-old Azat Ashirov for two years on 31 July for refusing compulsory military service on grounds of conscience. He had set out his objections in writing and offered to perform an alternative civilian service. Ashirov's jailing brings to seven the number of Jehovah's Witness conscientious objectors known - as of 5 September - to be serving jail terms of between one and four years. Six of them are imprisoned at the Labour Camp at Seydi in the eastern Lebap Region.

After twenty five days of imprisonment the IDF’s Conscience Committee granted conscientious objector Maya Brand-Feigenbaum a release from military service. "I believe that refusing to serve in the military is the best and most effective way for me to promote anti-war principles and contribute to ending the occupation", she said.

Conscientious objector Yasmin Ricci-Yahav, 18, was imprisoned again for her refusal serve in the army. This is Yasmin's second imprisonment and she will spend 20 more days behind bars. Yasmin was first sentenced to 10 days following her declaration of refusal at the military recruitment centre in Tel Aviv. By the end of her current term, she will have spent a total of 30 days in prison.

A new report on Eritrea published by Human Rights Watch documents the devastating effects of the conscription system on the lives of young Eritreans. In Eritrea, all secondary school students —male and female— are forced to undergo military training to complete their final year. They are sent to Sawa military camp where they follow a schedule combining secondary school classes with compulsory military training.

The Seoul Central District Court rejected an appeal by conscientious objector Hong Jeong-hun who was sentenced to one year and six months by a district court for his refusal to serve in the military. Hong was not taken into custody and said he would appeal again.

After 82 days in solitary confinement, the Israeli army released conscientious objector Roman Levin from military prison last week. Levin, who refused to continue serving in the IDF over its occupation policies, was discharged by an army committee for “poor and severe behavior.”

In June 2018, South Korea's Constitutional Court made a landmark ruling recognising conscientious objection. In its ruling, the Court obligated lawmakers to change the law accordingly and initiate alternative civilian service for conscientious objectors by the end of 2019. After more than a year since the ruling, the National Assembly is still reviewing the proposed bills on alternative civilian service.

Exiled conscientious objectors from Turkey published a call to refuse the war in Northern Syria: “Refuse! Resist! Don’t be a soldier!” They declared: “This is an illegal war that contradicts international treaties. Those who make the decision to invade, those who participate in it, and those who offer support should know that they are committing a crime against humanity!”

Compulsory military service in Honduras, abolished in 1994, still brings painful memories of terrible human rights violations such as forced recruitment, forced disappearances and the torture and death of those who either refused to enlist or were campaigning against it. War Resisters’ International strongly believes that the initiatives to reestablish a compulsory military service are not a step in the right direction, if the desired result is to decrease the crime rate and avoid criminal organizations recruiting the youth of Honduras, which happen to be the two most commonly used arguments for reintroducing the compulsory military service.

Three conscientious objectors, all Jehovah's Witnesses, returning to Transdniester (a self-declared state in the eastern part of Moldova) to visit family were called up for military service in May, and banned from leaving. "I've been living with this uncertainty for nearly half a year, unable to leave, work or relax," Mikhail Yeremeyev told Forum 18. Proposed Alternative Service Law amendments would subjugate alternative service applications to the personnel needs of the military.

A new national civic service programme targeting young people was launched in June this year, 20 years after ending conscription for men in the country.

Unjust laws and human rights violations force many people to flee their countries and risk drowning to reach Europe via passing through the Mediterranean Sea. Saving the lives of those who are facing death is the first human duty. But now, the Italian law prevents NGOs from search and rescue activities of those people drowning in sea. Because of this context, a number of individuals from Italy launched an appeal for conscientious objection to disobey the relevant law and for saving human lives.