Armenia

As published in The Right to Conscientious Objection in Europe, Quaker Council for European Affairs, 2005.

Conscription

Conscription is enshrined in Article 47 of the 1995 Constitution and is further regulated by the 1998 Law on Military Service.

The length of military service is 24 months.

All men between the ages of 18 and 27 are liable for military service. Men who have the officer level and possess specific skills may be called up for service up to the age of 35.

Armenia: First legal conscientious objectors - but others still in prison

According to information provided by the Armenian Defence Ministry, about 20 persons chose to opt for conscientious objection during the autumn call-up in Armenia, the first after the new law on conscientious objection came into force in July 2004.

The right to conscientious objection is derived from Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and seen as a manifestation of the freedom of religion and belief. The then CSCE stressed the right to conscientious objection in paragraph 18 of the Document of the Copenhagen meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension in June 1990.The UN Commission on Human Rights stressed the right to conscientious objection in several resolution, most recently Resolution 1998/77, 2000/34, 2002/45. The Council of Europe also stresses the right to conscientious objection, especially in resolution 337 (1967) and recommendations 1518 (2001), R (87) 8, and 816 (1977).

Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee : Armenia.

19/11/1998.

CCPR/C/79/Add.100. (Concluding Observations/Comments)

(...)

18. The Committee regrets the lack of legal provision for alternatives to military service in case of conscientious objection. The Committee deplores the conscription of conscientious objectors by force and their punishment by military courts, and the instances of reprisals against their family members.

(...)

Original: http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/%28Symbol%29/CCPR.C.79.Add.100.En?Open…

CCPR/C/79/Add.100
19 November 1998

(...)

18. The Committee regrets the lack of legal provision for alternatives to military service in case of conscientious objection. The Committee deplores the conscription of conscientious objectors by force and their punishment by military courts, and the instances of reprisals against their family members.

(...)

Source: http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/CCPR.C.79.Add.100.En?Opendocument