Country report and updates: Jamaica
1 Conscription
conscription does not exist
Conscription has never existed since independence was achieved in 1962. [1] [2]
There is no legislation providing for conscription. [1]
recruitment
Legal enlistment age is between the ages of 18 and 24.
2 Conscientious objection
There is no known legal provision for conscientious objection.
In 1998 the government stated that, as military service is voluntary, "the question of CO status does not apply". [1]
3 Desertion
penalties
Desertion is punishable by up to two years' imprisonment in peacetime. In wartime desertion is punishable by firing squad execution. [1]
practice
No information available.
6 Annual statistics
The armed forces are 3,320-strong - about 0.13 percent of the population. [3]
Sources
[1] Embassy of Jamaica in Brussels 1998. Response to CONCODOC questionnaire, 30 January 1998. [2] US State Department 1987. Islands of the Commonwealth Caribbean - a regional study. Area Handbooks, State Department, Washington DC. [3] Institute for Strategic Studies 1997. Military Balance 1997/98. ISS, London.
Stay up to date with our international antimilitarist activism.