CO UPDATE
The monthly email newsletter of War Resisters' International's The Right to Refuse to Kill programme || Index of past issues | español
Editorial
Again, our work for the right to conscientious objection got some positive outcome: The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention gave an opinion on three cases from Colombia presented by War Resisters' International, and clearly stated that the recruitment of conscientious objectors constitutes a form of arbitrary detention (see main article). While this does not change the situation on the ground in Colombia immediately, it is nevertheless a great and important victory for all conscientious objectors in Colombia and beyond.
It will now be on us and the groups in Colombia to use the opinion of the Working Group wisely in our efforts to promote the right to conscientious objection in Colombia and everywhere.
The opinion of the Working Group is also the result of the close cooperation between War Resisters' International and its partners in Colombia, who provided the information which WRI used to submit the cases. It shows what can be achieved when the knowledge of local groups is brought together with international experience.
However, to continue to do this War Resisters' International depends on your donations to be able to carry out this work. We therefore ask you to donate to WRI online now at wri-irg.org/en/donate-en.htm.
Andreas Speck
Upcoming events
1 December: Prisoners for Peace Day
Prisoners for Peace Day 2008 is an opportunity to support all those who are imprisoned for their conscientious objection to military service or nonviolent resistance to militarism and war.
1 December 1956, was the first time WRI 'celebrated' Prisoners for Peace Day. This was done by publishing a Prisoners for Peace Honour Roll and calling on all members of WRI sections to send postcards and letters to the prisoners.
We ask you to:
- On 1 December, put aside at least one hour and write at least four cards to prisoners;
- Get your peace group or class or meeting place to organise a card-writing session;
- Set up a stall in your town centre, perform a bit of street theatre, or do whatever else it takes to attract attention and interest.
CO-Update
Monthly email newsletter of WRI's Right to Refuse to Kill Programme
War Resisters' International, 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX, Britain; tel +44-20-7278 4040; fax +44-20-7278 0444; email co-update-editor@wri-irg.org
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Colombia: UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention says batidas are a form of arbitrary detention
An important legal victory for conscientious objectors in Colombia
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared in its Opinion No 8/2008 (Colombia) the practice of recruitment in the form of raids (batidas), and the recruitment of conscientious objectors a form of "arbitrary detention". This is an important legal victory for conscientious objectors in Colombia, although the opinions of the Working Group are legally non-binding.
In 2007, War Resisters' International (WRI) presented three cases from Colombia to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention:
- Frank Yair Estrada Marín was detained by members of the army in May 2007 during a 'batida', and was recruited by force. Frank Yair Estrada Marín declared himself a conscientious objector.
- Carlos Andrés Giraldo Hincapié was detained during a batida in August 2006, and recruited by force. He too declared himself conscientious objector.
- Alejandro de Jesús Gonzáles Duque was detained on 8 April 2007 during a batida. He was released a few days later.
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention decided on these three cases on 8 May 2008, and transmitted this decision to War Resisters' International on 25 September 2008. In all three cases the Working Group concluded that "the deprivation of liberty of which Mr Estrada Marin, Giraldo Hincapie and Gonzales Duque were victims was arbitrary, and in contravention of article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights."
In the two cases of conscientious objection the Working Group concluded that "with reference to Mr Estrada Marin and Giraldo Hincapie, contravened also article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, corresponding to category I of the categories applied by the Working Group."
The Working Group is very clear on the right to conscientious objection and states: "The detention of those who have expressively declared themselves conscientious objectors does not have a juridical substance nor a legal base, and their incorporation into the army against their will is a clear violation of their assumption of conscience which can violate article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Not to provide a space for the right to conscientious objection can be a violation of this article."
About the 'batidas', the Working Group states: "Neither does the practice of 'batidas', raids, or 'levas' with the aim to detain youth who cannot confirm their military situation in the streets or public spaces a legal basis or juridical substance."
The opinion of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is very important for Colombia, especially for two reasons:
- The Working Group clarifies that the practice of 'batidas' is illegal and constitutes arbitrary detention in all cases, not only in cases of conscientious objectors.
- The Working Group clarifies that the sentences of the Constitutional Court of Colombia about conscientious objection to military service do not conform with international law, and that not to provide a space for the right to conscientious objection can be a violation of article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Since May 2007, WRI jointly with the groups of the National Assembly of Conscientious Objectors (Asamblea Nacional de Objetores y Objetoras de Conciencia (ANOOC)) give out "Conscientious Objectors' Cards" to declared conscientious objectors, and maintain a database of conscientious objectors in Colombia. Until today, more than 100 persons declared themselves conscientious objectors.
Sources: War Resisters' International: Press Communiqué. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the United Nations declares raids on potential recruits and the recruitment of conscientious objectors "arbitrary detention". 25 September 2008, http://wri-irg.org/news/2008/detention-en.htm, Grupo de Trabajo sobre la Detención Arbitraria: OPINI�N No. 8/2008 (Colombia), 8 May 2008
South Korea: Constitutional Court to rule again on the right to conscientious objection
A South Korean appelate court has again asked the Constitutional Court to rule whether article 88 paragraph 1 of the South Korean conscription law, which makes conscientious objection to military service illegal, is unconstitutional. This move comes at a time when the South Korean government is delaying the implementation of a law on conscientious objection.
On September 5, the Chuncheon District Court said it had asked the Constitutional Court to rule on whether Article 88, Section 1, of the conscription law violates the Constitution because it makes it illegal to be a conscientious objector. This is the first time in six years that the Constitutional Court was asked to rule on whether the law is unconstitutional. Ahead of the request, the Chuncheon court allowed a 21-year-old man, who is identified by his surname Park and was sentenced to 18 months in jail by a lower court on charges of violating the conscription law, to be released from prison on bail in August. The Chuncheon court is involved in appeals trials involving four conscientious objectors, including Park.
The Chuncheon court pointed out that Article 88, Section 1, of the conscription law allows for the possibility that freedom of conscience could be undermined by not allowing for conscientious objectors. In particular, the court said it decided to ask the Constitutional Court to rule on the matter because the Defense Ministry has recently rebuffed a plan to revise military service laws so that conscientious objectors would be allowed to perform alternative forms of service.
“The Constitutional Court has advised the country to allow alternative forms of military service and conscientious objectors have been waiting for an introduction of an alternative service program for decades,” said an official at the Chuncheon court. “There were once hopes about alternative service, but those hopes were dashed on the grounds that there had been a change in the social mood,” the official said.
In 2004, the Constitutional Court ruled in a 7-2 vote that alternative military service would not violate the Constitution and advised the government to allow conscious objectors to perform alternative forms of service. At the time, the government also worked to introduce an alternative service program. However, at that time the Constitutional Court did not fine that not to provide for the right to conscientious objection is unconstitutional (see CO-Update No 1, September 2004).
In January 2007, the United Nations Human Rights Committee decided on two cases from South Korea and said that not to provide for the right to conscientious objection in fact constitutes a violation of Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (see CO-Update No 27, February/March 2007).
While trials had been delayed for a while in expectation of the Korean government passing a law on conscientious objection, the trials resumed again in July when the Ministry of Defense was known to be reconsidering the idea.
Attention is also being focused on Constitutional Court President Lee Kang-kook, who was a chief justice of the Supreme Court at the time of a 2004 case involving a conscientious objector and submitted a minority opinion in favor of the right to be one. “Punishing someone accused of refusing military service on religious grounds undermines human dignity. In addition, it does not fulfill the original purposes for punishment such as crime prevention and education,” Lee said in his opinion. “It would be desirable for freedom of conscience to be respected and guaranteed.”
The Defence Ministry reiterated that it will base its decision on public consensus regarding whether or not to allow an alternative form of service for conscientious objectors. The ministry also said the Military Manpower Administration selected a research agency last month to gauge public opinion on whether to allow an alternative to conscientious objectors. The research is due to be completed by 20 December 2008.
The selected research agency will conduct a survey and a public hearing on whether to allow alternative service and will present their findings to the Military Manpower Administration. The manpower agency and the Defense Ministry plan to make a final decision on the matter early in 2009.
About 420 conscientious objectors have been arrested for violating Article 88, Section 1, of the conscription law, according to data collected by an organization of families of conscientious objectors who have been arrested. Another 100 conscientious objectors are in the midst of trials without detention. Hong Young-il, the leader of the organization, said that since the Defense Ministry expressed a negative view about the possibility of allowing conscientious objectors to perform alternative forms of service, there have been additional convictions.
Canada: US war resister Jeremy Hinzman allowed to stay for now
U.S. army deserter Jeremy Hinzman and his family were granted a last-minute stay of deportation on Monday, 22 September, by a Federal Court judge while the court decides whether to hear their appeal.
Jeremy Hinzman, his wife and two children were ordered to leave Canada by 23 September 2008 or face forcible deportation to the United States, where the soldier faces prosecution for fleeing to Canada in 2004 rather than deploying with his army unit to Iraq.
The judge's decision will allow the family to remain in Toronto while the court decides whether to review a decision by Citizenship and Immigration officials not to let the Hinzmans remain in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. They are also trying to appeal their pre-removal risk assessment.
"Based on the evidence and submissions before me, I am satisfied that the applicants would suffer irreparable harm if a stay were not granted pending determination of their leave application," Justice Richard Mosley said in his three-page endorsement.
Earlier, Hinzman's lawyer, Alyssa Manning, argued that deserters who have been publicly critical of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq have received harsher punishment after returning to the U.S.
Last month, U.S. deserter Robin Long was sentenced to 15 months in prison after lawyers mentioned a media interview he had given in Canada before he was deported in July, Manning told the court.
As one of the first deserters to seek refuge in Canada rather than fight in Iraq, Hinzman's case has been even more public.
"He is the person associated with objections to the war in Iraq," Manning told the court.
Hinzman's claim for refugee status was rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board in 2005. An appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal also failed, with the court ruling that he wouldn't face any serious punishment if he returned to the U.S.
The Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear his case.
Source: CBC News: U.S. army deserter, family win stay of deportation, 22 September 2008, The Canadian Press: Judge grants U.S. deserter's last-ditch effort to stave off deportation, 22 September 2008
Azerbaijan: conscientious objection only with long substitute service
The Azerbaijani Parliament believes that the introduction of a substitute service for conscientious objectors may cause youth to divert from serving in the army in the country.
“Therefore, alternative service should be long-term and its terms should be more difficult than the army service to prevent people to divert from the military service under some pretexts,” Safa Mirzayev, the head of the Azerbaijani Parliament’s Administration, said at a news conference on 27 September.
Azerbaijan undertook an obligation to adopt a law on conscientious objection, when it joined the Council of Europe (CE) in 2001. However, the obligation has not yet been implemented.
It is not difficult to adopt the Law on Alternative Service, Mirzayev said. The public attitude and different people is too important for this matter.
“The term of military service gradually becomes shorter in Europe. The term is six-month in most countries. Only people, who do not join the military service for their conviction, pass to an alternative service in Europe. They participate in public services, renovation of hospitals and cities. The attitude towards military service is different in Azerbaijan because of the war condition. Therefore, we should not implement this task as Europeans,” Mirzayev said according to Trend News.
According to Mirzayev, there are only very few conscientious objectors in Azerbaijan who do not want to perform military service out of deeply held convictions. A substitute service should be more difficult than the military service and the Law should reflect this character, he said.
“Local and international experts do not agree with my position and say that it does not meet the international standards. However, the Law on Alternative Service will be adopted in any case and form,” the head of the Azerbaijani Parliament’s Administration said according to Trend News.
This new announcement follows an earlier statement of Gultakin Hajiyeva, member of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and MP, who said on 24 July that "This Bill must be discussed in Milli Majlis (the Azerbaijani parliament). If some MPs insist on passing this Bill, some terms will be set forth for it to take effect, that is, the alternative military service will not be introduced in Azerbaijan unless the occupied lands of Azerbaijan are freed."
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe nevertheless passed a new resolution, demanding, among others, that "the law on alternative civilian service should be adopted without further delay, in line with Azerbaijan's accession commitment" (Resolution 1614 (2008), 24 June 2008).
While it now looks likely that Azerbaijan may pass a law on conscientious objection in the near future to releave international pressure, this law is highly unlikely to comply with international standards.
Sources: Trend News: Alternative Service Can Divert Youth from Army in Azerbaijan, Says Head of Parliament Administration, 27 September 2008, TrendNews: Azerbaijani Delegation in PACE Opposes Fulfillment of Some Obligations Before Council of Europe, 25 July 2008, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe: Resolution 1614 (2008), 24 June 2008
Recent co-alerts
In the previous month(s), the WRI office issued the following co-alerts:
(a full archive of co-alerts is available at wri-irg.org/news/alerts)
- [co-alert] ISR14951-14952-14953-290908: ISRAEL: three women conscientious objectors in prison, Mon 29 Sep 2008
- [co-alert] USA14950-020908: USA: Conscientious objector Robin Long, sentenced to 15 months, moved to Miramar Naval Consolidated Brig, Mon 08 Sep 2008
- [co-alert] USA14950-020908: USA: Correction: prison address for conscientious objector Robin Long, sentenced to 15 months, Tue 02 Sep 2008
- [co-alert] USA14950-010908: USA: Conscientious objector deported from Canada sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, Mon 01 Sep 2008