International CO Day: May 15th
Editorial
The British regulations governing the right to conscientious
objection have long been a well hidden "secret". In its 1998 report "Refusing to bear arms. A
world survey on conscription and conscientious objection to military
service", War Resisters' International wrote: "The current army
rule covering the procedure on conscientious objection is Instruction
No. 6 [D/DM(A) 7/5/3(M1(A))] - which is actually forbidden to be
published outside the army. For the same reason of secrecy the
"instruction" for the navy and air force is not known."
When the war on Iraq began in 2003, War Resisters' International
published information on conscientious objection for members of the
British Armed Forces, together with a leaked copy of the regulations
for the army, on its website.
Only now - following a request by War Resisters' International under
the Freedom of Information Act - are these documents legally available
to the wider public. However, it remains to be seen if the Armed Forces
will also make them more easily available to its members - who would
need them most - i.e. by including them in the A-Z index of the
Ministry of Defence website. Presently, a simple search of the MoD
website for the term "conscientious objection" yields no results. How
then are soldiers to claim their right?
Andreas Speck
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War Resisters' International obtains UK conscientious objection
regulations under Freedom of Information Act
"Serious flaws regarding human rights"
Using the UK Freedom of Information Act, War Resisters' International
finally obtained the regulations governing the right to conscientious
objection for the three branches of the British Armed Forces [1], in
time to examine them for a counter-report to the United Nations Human
Rights Committee, which will examine the United Kingdoms human rights
record in its sessions in October 2007 and July 2008 [2].
The regulations governing this right have so far not been
publicly available, although War Resisters' International did make a
leaked copy of the regulations for the army available on its website
since 2003 [3]. Andreas Speck, conscientious objection worker at War
Resisters' International, comments: "The non-availability of
regulations governing a fundamental human right, enshrined in Article
18 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
prevents members of the Armed Forces effectively from exercising their
right. It is therefore not a surprise that - according to the
information obtained from the MoD - only six members of the Armed
Forces applied for conscientious objection since 2000".
In its report to the Human Rights Committee, War Resisters'
International raises five major concerns:
- The regulations governing the right to conscientious objection are
not in the public domain, and information is difficult to obtain by
members of the public, and also by members of the Armed Forces.
- Decision making on an application for conscientious objection in the
first instance is by the respective branch of the Armed Forces itself,
and not by an independent body. Only the appeal body – the Advisory
Committee on Conscientious Objection – is an independent body.
- It is disturbing that the Royal Air Force does not allow applications
for discharge on grounds of conscience while disciplinary action is
ongoing, or the conscientious objector is absent without leave or a
deserter.
- Members of the Armed Forces “are not to take any active part in the
affairs of any political organisation, party or movement. They are not
to participate in political marches or demonstrations”. This is a
serious infringement of the right to freedom of association and to
freedom of peaceful assembly, as enshrined in Article 21 and 22 ICCPR.
- Members of the Armed Forces are prohibited from standing in
parliamentary elections, and need to seek approval from the Ministry of
Defence to stand in local authority elections. This is a serious
infringement of Article 25 paragraph (b) of the ICCPR.[4]
Andreas Speck comments: "While Britain is certainly not the
worst offender in terms of the human right to conscientious objection,
it is also equally certain that the British regulations do not meet
international standards, as defined by the Human Rights Committee. The
semi-secret status of the three different regulations, and the
inconsistences between the regulations for the different services don't
make things easier for soldiers who develop a conscientious objection.
It is high time that Britain brings its regulations in line with
international standards".
For more information, call Andreas Speck on +44-20-7278 4040
War Resisters' International, 20 September 2007
Notes to editors:
[1] The response from the Ministry of Defence is available
on the WRI website at http://wri-irg.org/news/2007/modindex-en.htm:
Cover
letter 17-08-2007-161349-004 Speck (Ministry of Defence)
ARMED
FORCES POLICY ON CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS (Ministry of Defence)
AGAIs
Vol 5 INSTRUCTION 006 - RETIREMENT OR DISCHARGE ON GROUNDS OF CONSCIENCE
(Royal Army)
PERSONNEL,
LEGAL, ADMINISTRATIVE AND GENERAL ORDERS 0801. APPLICATION FOR
DISCHARGE ON GROUNDS OF CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION (Royal Navy)
PROCEDURE
FOR DEALING WITH CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS WITHIN THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
All files are
presented as PDFs for ease in cross-platform viewing, and to preserve
the original formatting as much as possible.
[2] The Human Rights Committee is the Treaty body overseeing
the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, to which Britain is a signatory. In its 91st session
(October 2007) the Committee will draw up a list of issues, and in its 93rd session
in July 2008 it will examine the human rights situation in Britain in
detail.
[3] http://wri-irg.org/pdf/co_uk_army.pdf
[4] War Resisters' International: United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland. Human Rights and the Armed Forces. Submission to the
21st Session of the Human Rights Committee: October 2007. The report
will be available on the WRI website from 24 September on.
