Conscientious objection

The International Fellowship of Reconciliation is participating in the 49th session of the UN HUman Rights Council.

On March 23rd the plenary addressed item 6 which is pertaining to the Universal Periodic Reviews. During the meeting the Council adopted the outcomes concerning the Country reviews which took place during the 39th session of the UPR.

IFOR participated in the General Debate which took place at the UN during the 49th session of the Human Rights Council, concerning item 4: Human rights situations that require the Council's attention.

IFOR has delivered a statement concerning forced conscription in Eritrea and related issues such as the violation of the right to conscientious objection, the armed conflict in Ethiopia and the refugees rights for the Eritrean fleeing from the indefinite National Service and looking for protection abroad.

Human Rights Council, 49th session 

Ahead of the hearing before the Council of State, Greece’s Supreme Administrative Court, of the cases of Charis Vasileiou and Nikolas Stefanidis, conscientious objectors to military service whose applications have been rejected by the Deputy Minister of National Defence, Amnesty International, Connection e.V., the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) and War Resisters’ International (WRI) call on the Greek authorities to annul the decisions of rejection and grant them a fair examin

The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection has published its Annual Report on Conscientious Objection to Military Service in Europe 2021, covering the region of the Council of Europe (CoE). 

Read and download the report here.

EBCO’s President Alexia Tsouni said:

On March 10th, on the occasion of the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council, IFOR participated in the Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the freedom of religion or belief, Mr. Ahmed Shaheed, and addressed the issue of the right to conscientious objection to military service in the plenary.

The statement has been co-sponsored by War Resisters' International and referred as well to the concerning situation of armed conflicts.

On March 10th, IFOR -with a statement co-sponsored by War Resisters' International, participated in a session at the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council. The statement presented at the Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the freedom of religion or belief, Mr. Ahmed Shaheed, addressed the issue of the right to conscientious objection to military service in the plenary.

Read the full statement below.

The Union of Conscientious Objection Finland (AKL) condemns Russia’s war in Ukraine in violation of international law. The Union is concerned that, according to several sources, Russia has used not only contract soldiers but also ordinary conscripts to attack.

There are many shortcomings in the exercise of the right to conscientious objection in Russia, and many of those ordered in the war of aggression are likely to be there against their will. Those ordered and refused military action run the risk of being prosecuted and severely punished in Russia.

This is a list of those who are currently in prison for their conscientious objection to military service and their work for peace.

On December 6th, the UN Human Rights Committee announced their decision on the case of conscientious objector Lazaros Petromelidis from Greece. The Committee found violations of articles 9(1), 12(2), 14(7), and 18(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and asked Greece to take necessary measures addressing these violations. The decision of the UN Human Rights Committee advances relevant jurisprudence and could be significant for conscientious objectors in other countries too.
Read the full statement of Connection e.V., European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, International Fellowship of Reconciliation, and War Resisters' International.

In December 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Committee asked Belarus to respond in the case of 33-year-old conscientious objector Dmitry Mozol. In February 2021, a court in Pinsk fined him four months' wages for refusing call-up to reservist military training on grounds of conscience. He failed to overturn the criminal punishment on appeal. The law allows only individuals who have completed alternative civilian service to be exempted from reservist military training. Alternative service was introduced only in 2016, after Mozol was initially called up. Jehovah's Witnesses fear that other young men could also face such prosecution.

Conscientious objectors to military service in Greece continue to face violations of human rights and this does not pass unnoticed from international and regional monitoring procedures, including at the level of the United Nations.

Another young man in the self-proclaimed state of Northern Cyprus faces a prison sentence due to his refusal to perform compulsory military service.