Detention of conscientious objector Kimberly Rivera
Use this form to send the letter below to the relevant authority (President Barack Obama). You can add your own notes in a separate box after the standard text, if you wish. You must include a name, address, and email address; a copy will be sent to you with a cc to the WRI office (so we have a record of how many email letters have been sent out for this particular case).
Dear President Obama,
I am writing to express my concern at the detention of conscientious objector Kimberly Rivera on 20 September 2012, on her return from Canada.
Kimberly travelled to Canada between deployments in Iraq in 2007, having developed a conscientious objection.
The right to refuse to perform military service for reasons of conscience is part of freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as recognised in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the United States of America is a state party.
This includes those who have joined the armed forces voluntarily, since the freedom to change one's religion or belief is recognised in Article 18 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This was also specified in the Human Rights Committee General Comment 22, paragraph 5.
I therefore urge you to immediately release Kimberly Rivera,
Yours sincerely,
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