Armenia

08/05/1998

1 Conscription

conscription exists

The present legal basis of conscription is the 1991 Law on Military Duty, plus several subsequent amendments. Art. 1 states: "Military service on the territory of the Republic of Armenia constitutes the duty of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia".

Ever since 1986 Armenia has been in an undeclared state of war with Azerbaijan. Armenia claims the autonomous republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is on Azerbaijan territory, to belong to Armenia. In May 1994 a cease-fire was agreed, but the situation is still unstable and mobilisation occurs. Government has always denied any military involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. However, Armenian troops are clearly present in Nagorno-Karabakh, not just volunteers but also conscripts.

military service

All men between the ages of 18 and 27 are liable for military service. Officers and those with special skills are liable for service until the age of 35. [1]

There are no provisions for women to do military service. [14]

The length of military service is two years; 18 months in the case of university and college graduates. The length of military service was increased from 18 months in 1994. [14]

Reserve service lasts for a period of one to three months. Reservists were particularly called up in 1993 and 1994, when the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was at its height. [1] [4]

postponement and exemption

Postponement is possible for students at state-run institutions, up to the age of 26 (1991 law, art. 28).

Exemption is possible for medical and domestic reasons: having two or more children, having a handicapped wife, having a handicapped brother or sister and no other relatives able to take care for them, having an over 60-year-old father or over 55-year-old mother older there being no other children living at home, having a relative who has died in the defence of Armenia or being the youngest of three (or more) sons who have performed or will perform military service (1991 law, arts. 24 to 27). [2] [14]

Some obtain a false medical certificate through bribe and thus get exempted on medical grounds. The going rates for bribes are believed to be extremely high, between USD 3,000 and 10,000, so it is virtually impossible for most young men to pay them. [1] [3] [14]

According to one source, postponement and exemption are granted very restrictively and only to mentally and physically handicapped persons. [6]

recruitment

Call-up for medical examination and registration takes place at the age of 18. According to law, conscripts must receive a written request to attend medical examination and, immediately prior to call-up, they must receive a reminder stating the exact time and location where he is required to report to. Legal recruitment methods are, however, not always adhered to (see: forced recruitment).

Call-up takes place twice a year, in spring and autumn. [14]

All men aged 16 to 18 may receive pre-draft instructions, according to which they are registered on the call-up list and must undergo medical examination. According to the authorities, actual call-up for military service does not take place before the age of 18. [4]

Admittance to military training schools may take place from the age of 14. [10]

forced recruitment

Especially between 1992 and 1994, illegal conscription methods were being used in order to obtain sufficient recruits, for instance press-ganging and manhunts in the streets of Yerevan and sending recruitment officers to the homes of coscription-aged men. Reservists were recruited this way as well. [1] [4] [14]

There have also been reports of relatives of conscripts, who did not respond to military service, been taken hostage. [14]

Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan have also been conscripted, which is in violation of the Geneva Convention on refugees and the Armenian Law on Military Duty, which states that 'only citizens of Armenia have to serve in the National Army of Armenia'. [14]

2 Conscientious objection

legal right

The right to conscientious objection is not legally recognized.

In 1991, Armenian parliament passed the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations. It stipulates that where religious conviction conflicts with civil duty an alternative could be agreed between state bodies and religious organizations in accordance with procedures set up by law. [9]

In 1991, parliament also held initial discussions on a law on substitute service. [1]

No legislation on conscientious objection has ever been passed, nor does it seem it likely to be in the future.

Vice-minister of Defence Petrosian announced in 1996 that there were no legal provisions for conscientious objection, neither for religious or for any other reason, and that government had no intentions of introducing such provisions. He has also stated that military service must be continued, even if this meant violation of individual human rights. [6]

In January 1998, the Armenian Helsinki Association distributed a draft bill 'on the introduction of alternative service'. It has not get any response, as there are no political parties or human rights organisations supporting the right to conscientious objection. [14]

procedure and practice

There have been regular reports of young men refusing to perform military service on conscientious grounds getting sent to prison, those concerned are mainly Jehovah's Witnesses (in fact, Jehovah's Witnesses are not allowed to register officially in Armenia, mainly owing to their position on military service).

According to Amnesty International, in early 1998 there were five known cases of Jehovah's Witnesses getting sent to prison for refusing to perform military service. In 1996 there were 15 such cases. COs are usually sentenced under art. 75 and 254 of the criminal code. The total number of imprisoned COs is thought to be even higher, but facts are hard to obtain because of the secrecy surrounding military affairs. [11]

The position of COs seems to have gradually changed since 1995, leading to their increased prosecution. Up till 1995 local enlistment bodies continued the procedure followed in the Soviet era of allowing some members of certain religious groups to perform non-combatant duties, rather than prosecuting them. [11]

substitute service

No substitute service is available.

The government has stated in the past that conscripts may ask the draft-commission to assign them to non-combatant duties within the armed forces, such unarmed military service to last for five years. [4]

However, if it is not at all clear to what extent such service is available in practice. There are no known criteria for granting requests for assignment to unarmed service. According to human rights groups the possibility of getting to perform unarmed military service is actually very slight, and requires payment of a large sum of money. [1] [6]

Not many known cases are known of conscripts applying to perform unarmed military service. Some Seventh Day Adventists seem to have been assigned to unarmed military service, partly through intervention of the State Council for Religious Affairs; members of other religious groups have never resorted to this Council. There are also said to be have been some cases of conscripts assigned to unarmed military service through representations on their behalf by the UNHCR and IOM (International Organisation for Migration). In general most conscripts seem to have fear to face getting assigned to a harsher regime when applying to perform unarmed military service. [1]

3 Draft evasion

penalties

Draft evasion and desertion are punishable under the criminal code. [1]

Refusal to perform military service is punishable by one to three years' imprisonment; five years' in exceptional circumstances. (art. 75)

Refusal to respond to call-up for mobilization is punishable by three to 10 years' -imprisonment; five to 10 years' or death in wartime. (art. 76)

Refusal to perform reserve service is punishable by up to a year's imprisonment. (art. 214)

Going absent without leave for less than three days is punishable three months' to two years' imprisonment in time of peace; two to 10 years in wartime. (art. 253)

Going absent without leave for more than three days is punishable by one to five years' imprisonment; three to seven years' imprisonment if the absence lasts longer than a month; five to 10 years' in wartime. (art. 254)

Desertion is punishable by three to seven years' imprisonment in peacetime; five to 10 years or death in wartime. (art. 255)

Intentionally quitting a combat unit during battle is punishable three to 10 years' -imprisonment or death. (art. 256)

Evading military duties by cheating or by means of self-inflicted injury is punishable by three to seven years' imprisonment; five to ten years' or death in wartime or during combat. (art. 257)

practice

Draft evasion and desertion are widespread, the reasons include fear of being sent into combat in Nagorno-Karabakh and poor conditions and human rights violations within the armed forces. Precise figures are difficult to obtain, but many estimates assume a figure of 200 to 400 soldiers dying annually due to violence within the armed forces. [14]

Many conscripts simply do not respond to call-up papers. In 1993 and 1994, 90 per cent of all eligible conscripts were said not to have responded to call-up; in 1992 this was believed to be 70 per cent. [1] [3]

Conscripts who do not respond to call-up usually receive two initial written warnings. If they do not respond to these, they may get arrested by the civil police. [2]

The authorities have devised several methods for tracking draft evaders and deserters: young men who have failed to register for military service are not able to obtain a passport, all men aged 25 to 45 are forbidden to leave the country, as a means of ensuring that they perform their reserve service (government decree 129/1994), there are airports checks to prevent draft-aged men, including reservists, leaving the country and there is a treaty with the Russian federation on the exchange of draft evaders and deserters. [5] [8] [6] [14]

Draft evaders and deserters are registered by the authorities. In 1994 the Ministry of Defence started drawing up lists of draft evaders and deserters, which were said to include some 17,000 names by the end of 1996. [1]

The lists are split into several categories. The first category comprises conscripts who were drafted between spring 1992 and spring 1993, quitted their units and did not return within six months. The second category comprises conscripts who deserted between autumn 1993 and spring 1994, and conscripts who kept failing to respond to call-up. The third category comprises conscripts who did not respond to call up; when they become repeated draft evaders they are transferred to the second category. [8]

According to the Ministry of Defence, all but 470 draft evaders and deserters had been caught by early 1996. [6]

According to government figures, between January 1995 and June 1996 51 persons were convicted of draft evasion under art. 75 of the criminal code, 148 for going absent without leave under art. 253 and 254, and 95 for desertion under art. 255. As Armenia is not officially in state of war with Azerbaijan, penalties peace time apply. According to the Ministry of Defence, draft evaders and deserters get sentenced to a maximum three years' imprisonment, the actual penalty partly depending on any other possible misdeeds that have been committed. [1] [6]

After imprisonment those convicted of draft evasion must perform two years' military service in disciplinary battalions. Those convicted of desertion must serve three years in such battalions. Anyone sentenced to more than three years' imprisonment need no longer serve in a disciplinary battalions. [6]

In several cases proceedings against alleged deserters have reportedly been dropped once the detainee had agreed to perform military service. [4]

amnesty

Since 1995 an amnesty for draft evaders and deserters has been in force. It is possible to apply for amnesty to the government amnesty-commission, which demands a public confession of guilt in which a conscripts admits he had sought to evade the duty of defending his country. The amnesty commission can sentence the defendant to imprisonment in civil jail, at the end of which military service is still mandatory. It can also decide that part of the prison-sentence is to be served in the armed forces. According to the government, in 1996 about 1200 people applied for amnesty and had been registered and monitored. It is not clear what the latter means. [6]

During the 1997 autumn call-up, the Ministry of Defence stated that prosecutions of draft evaders and deserters would be dropped if they turned up voluntarily at military commissariats. It is believed that 300 deserters voluntarily reported to the military prosecutor. [12] [14]

6 Annual statistics

The armed forces are 60,000-strong - about 1.59 percent of the population. [13]

Every year approximately 32,800 young men reach conscription age. [13]

Sources

[1] Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1997. Ambtsbericht, 29 May 1997. BuiZa, 's-Gravenhage. [2] Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1994. Ambtsbericht, 9 August 1994. BuiZa, 's-Gravenhage. [3] German Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1994. Lagebericht, 5 August 1994. Auswärtiges Amt, Bonn. [4] UNHCR 1995. Background paper on refugees and asylum seekers from Armenia. UNHCR, Geneva. [5] Human Rights Watch 1994 Azerbaijan: Seven years of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. HRW, New York. [6] INLIA 1996. Fact Finding Mission Trans-Caucasus. INLIA, Groningen, Netherlands. [7] Fuller, Elizabeth 1993. 'Paramilitary Forces Dominate Fighting in Transcaucasus', in: RFE/RL Research Report, 18 June 1993. [8] Amnesty International (German Section) 1996. Ruckkehrgefahrdung von Deserteuren, Wehrdienstentziehern und Wehrdienstverweigerern aus Gewissensgrunden. AI, Bonn. [9] Amnesty International 1992. Concerns in Europe: November 1991 - April 1992. AI, London. [10] US Library of Congress 1994. Armenia - a country study. Area Handbooks, State Department, Washington DC. [11] Amnesty International 1998. Armenia: Summary of Amnesty International's Concerns. AI, London. [12] 'Defence Ministry appeals for conscription evaders to serve', Armenpress news agency, Yerevan, 18 November 1997. [13] Institute for Strategic Studies 1997. Military Balance 1997/98. ISS, London. [14] Daniljan, Mike 1998. 'Recruitment, Military Service, Conscientious Objection', in: Conscientious Objection and Asylum in Europe. Connection e.V., Offenbach, Germany.

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