History of Conscientious Objection
The movement for conscientious objection to military service has been at the heart of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation ever since 1914 when our founders refused to participate to the WW I.
Historically, our branches around the world were often the only network of support for those objecting to military service on religious grounds. We collaborated closely with sister organizations, most notably War Resisters' International, to support those objecting on the bases of deeply held convictions that were not religious.
Current Developments
Globally, we have come a long way in establishing an International Human Right to conscientious objection to military service as a human right protected by international law.
IFOR defends this right in close cooperation with different international, regional or local organizations upholding conscientious objectors around the world.
One critical contribution that we made to this effort, with the financial support of the JRCT, was that we maintained many years a consultant who focused primarily on conscientious objection to military service at the United Nations in Geneva.
We are still coordinating closely with War Resisters' International, the Quaker UN Office in Geneva, and the European Bureau of Conscientious Objection (EBCO) to support conscientious objectors around the world and to call attention to the abuse, imprisonment and harassment faced by those who have made the brave decision to refuse military service.
C.O. Resources
A Conscientious Objectors Guide to the International Human Rights System
EBCO Reports
Every Year, IFOR’s representative works with EBCO to publish a report on the status of C.O.
C.O. Alerts from WRI
Statements to the UN Human Rights Council on matters of conscientious objection
Submissions to UN Mechanisms regarding the provisions for conscientious objectors and related matters in UN member States.
C.O. Articles on IFOR's Blog
Conscientious objection alerts and articles from our blog.