Don’t count on us! A call to refuse war and militarisation

The Latin American and Caribbean Antimilitarist Network (RAMALC) has shared this call for International Conscientious Objection Day. It's an invitation to stand against militarisation and war, refusing to be part of systems built on violence and exploitation. Don't count on us advocates for conscientious objection, antimilitarism, and solidarity all around the world. You can download the campaign poster in different languages here and read the call-out/statement below. 

They want our bodies to support the ongoing militarisation of territories: terrorising, killing, and destroying in the name of false security—security that only serves extractivism and its endless, selfish cycle of destruction and exploitation.
Don’t count on us.

They want our bodies for war and military service, while on our streets and in our homes, we are killed by misogyny and sexism. Enough is enough!
Don’t count on us!

They want to use us as justification for state military spending, based on the fear they themselves create, alongside the unchecked arms trade that enriches mafias disguised as authorities. We will not be part of that.
Don’t count on us!

We call for community-driven, solidarity-based action among peoples to resist the arms industry—a business built on hate, death, destruction, and discrimination. The “security” promoted by states and capitalism is a fiction, one that upholds the monopoly on violence and feeds the arms trade, the oppression of peoples, and the exploitation of territories.

At RAMALC (the Latin American and Caribbean Antimilitarist Network), we believe that true security is a collective, empathetic experience—one that is built together in the territories we inhabit. Security should be horizontal, born out of sororal and joyful dialogue, and shaped through collective direct action.

This 15th of May, and every 15th of May, marks the International Day for the Right to Conscientious Objection to Military Service—the right to say NO to war, conflict, aggression, and death. In times of militarisation and authoritarianism, refusing to collaborate with harm is a crucial act of freedom and solidarity.

Declare yourself an objector!