Protection and asylum for all from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine who refuse military service
IFOR is joining more than 30 organisations from Europe in calling for weeks of action to protect all those who refuse military service in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine from December 4, 2023 to the International Human Rights Day on December 10, 2023 states:
War is a crime against humanity. We condemn Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine, which is contrary to international law and has already led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries and millions of refugees.
Many people from Russia and Belarus, but also from Ukraine, who are threatened with military service, try to evade it: They do not want to kill other people and they do not want to die in this war. Soldiers at the front want to lay down their weapons in the face of the horror. They all face repression and imprisonment, in Belarus even the death penalty. But: Conscientious objection is an internationally recognized human right!
We demand from the governments of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine: Stop the persecution of conscientious objectors and deserters immediately!
We demand from the EU: Open the borders! Give opponents of war the option to enter the European Union! Protect conscientious objectors and deserters from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine and give them asylum!
For this purpose, we encourage you to organize and join rallies and demonstrations in front of Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian embassies as well as EU representations, vigils in front of deserter monuments and other creative actions at different locations in the week before the “International Human Rights Day” – from December 4 to 10, 2023. In doing so, we emphasize: conscientious objection is a human right!
