Right to Refuse to Kill

May 15th is International Conscientious Objection Day: a day to remember those who refuse to take up arms or participate in preparations for war. Between now and May 15th, we’ll be sharing events, actions, and activities from around the world so you can see what’s happening in your city or country. Check this page again soon for new information and updates. 

On March 3rd Connection e.V and WRI hosted the webinar "Three years after the start of the war in Ukraine" where activists from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine shared how's the current situation in their countries regarding conscription and the situation of Conscientious Objection to military service. The presentations are available to watch and share now.

On May 15, the International Conscientious Objection Day, we want to send out a powerful joint message for peace and the right to refuse to kill. Especially in times of global armed conflict, it is more important than ever to promote public debate on conscription, conscientious objection and alternatives to the military. we invite you to reinvigorate the #RefuseWar international action in solidarity with all those who object to war and refuse to take up arms break their weapons  all around the world.

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.

The International Centre for Civil Initiatives “Our House”, Conscience and Peace Tax International (CPTI), the Center on Conscience & War, the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Fellowship of Reconciliation USA (FORUSA), the International Fellowship of Reconciliation Austria, MIR France, the International Peace Bureau, World BEYOND War, and War Resisters’ International, jointly submit a report for the UN Universal Periodic Review of Belarus.

The Venice Commission has issued a legal opinion affirming that Ukraine cannot compel individuals to carry or use weapons if they refuse military service on grounds of conscience.

Officials took Baptist Serhy Semchuk to prison in Lviv in January for his 5-year jail sentence. The Recruitment Office had told him he could serve in the military without weapons. However, later a criminal case was launched when he refused to take up weapons. "We're in such shock," a church member says. "He doesn't want to kill." Conscientious objectors to mobilisation who were not in the military also increasingly face prosecution on "disobedience" charges, including 6 Jehovah's Witnesses on trial.

Itamar Greenberg, an 18-year-old conscientious objector from Israel, has been released after serving a total of 197 days in prison for refusing mandatory military conscription in protest against what he described as “Israel’s crimes against humanity” in Gaza. 

A few days ago, the Berlin Administrative Court issued two rulings granting subsidiary protection to Russian conscripts. By doing so, the Administrative Court challenged a landmark decision issued by the Higher Administrative Court Berlin-Brandenburg in November.

In a statement marking the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN emphasized that 2024 saw a concerning increase in the recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts.

Lithuania is discussing expanding its military conscription to include women as part of an "effort to strengthen national defense and make conscription universal in the future." Giedrimas Jeglinskas, the chairman of the Seimas Committee on National Security and Defense, expressed that universal conscription is inevitable.