Austria

Submission to the 89th Session of the Human Rights Committee: March 2007 SUMMARY:

Conscientious objection to military service has been recognised in law for as long as obligatory military service has existed in the modern Austrian state. There are however a number of serious concerns with the details of the current legislative provisions.

Background

Under the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, Austria was prohibited from maintaining conscription. From 1938 to 1945 conscription into the German Army was imposed.

Women in Argentina's Military

Women, formerly banned from Argentine's military, are now being accepted as volunteers. The move came last year after mandatory conscription for men was abolished. Conscription ended because of public outrage over the death of a conscript after being beaten by his superiors. Over 5,000 women have applied to join the military, only ten percent of whom have been accepted into the Army, for communications, administrative and medical work. Three hundred women are now serving their first one-year term. Competition for the few jobs open to women is fierce.

The applicant complained about his conviction by the Austrian courts for having refused to serve his compulsory military service on grounds of his religious beliefs as a Roman Catholic.