IFOR reports on Conscientious Objection to UN OHCHR

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is working on its four-year analytical report on conscientious objection to military service. The report will be introduced and opened to discussion during the June 2017 session of the Human Rights Council.

IFOR responded to the invitation of OHCHR to submit information on the topic last February. In our submission, we concentrate only on developments after 2013, because early details were comprehensively summarized in the first Quadrennial Report (A/HRC/23/22, 3rd June 2013).
Regarding to the international legal and normative framework, the submission reports developments at the UN and regional level. In the second part, it provides analyses, speaks of encouraging developments, best practices and remaining challenges at the national level.
 

The read the full text of IFOR's submission click here.

Away From Arms! Demobilizing Child Soldiers

February 12, is international day against the use of child soldiers. The UN campaign #childrennotsoldiers (#enfantspassoldats) is being supported by several countries around the world. Through the work of it's Swiss Branch, IFOR began to work more closely with Junior Nzita, the goodwill ambassador for the UN campaign. Now Teenergy, a small company in Montreux, Switzerland specialized in documentary films, is finishing a 26-minute film on child soldiers and the real possibility of demobilization. Parallel to the production of the film is the development of a smartphone app by the University of Geneva. This app shall help child soldiers in process of demobilization. It is about to be used in a pilot project in Colombia. The films will be featured initially by TV5 monde in French and then in English and Spanish by other TV channels. It will be distributed free world wide through UN and various NGO channels including IFOR. 

This project is called Away from Arms and IFOR is proud to be partnering with Junior Nzita and Teenergy to support the project and child soldiers around the world. IFOR is represented in the project by Hans Ulrich Gerber.

On February 12, 2017 there will be the launch of the project in Montreux Switzerland.  The links below introduce the film and the event. Those near and far interested in this matter and willing to support the project are cordially invited to the event on February 12. We hope many will come and/or spread the word so it finds the necessary support to run over an initial period of 36 months.

- See here the invitation for February 12:  https://vimeo.com/teenergy/invitation

- An introduction to the documentary film:   https://vimeo.com/teenergy/soldat  password: teenergy

Join an International Delegation to Colombia!

Fellowship of Reconciliation Peace Presence, an effort supported by several branches of IFOR,  is organizing the Longing for Peace International Delegation April 18 – 27, 2017. 

FOR Peace Presence provides physical safety, political visibility and solidarity by accompanying communities and organizations that embrace active nonviolence to defend life, land and dignity.

Colombia is going through an historic but uncertain period. The results of four years of peace negotiations between the government and the FARC-a comprehensive agreement on five areas related to the conflict-was rejected by voters in October 2016 by the narrowest of margins. The Colombian Congress later approved the agreement on November 30th. Amid the hope of what the agreement means concerns about the future of implementation remain. 

The delegation will meet with local human rights defenders; human rights and environmental NGOs' women peace leaders; young Conscientious Objectors; Afro-Colombian, indigenous and small scale farmer leaders; and displaced communities. The delegates will learn about the impacts of corporations, and how global demand for energy is devastating communities and destroying vital ecosystems. 

For more information about FORPP or the delegation please visit their website here.

IFOR Submits Report on Eritrea to Human Rights Committee

IFOR's Main Representative to the UN in Geneva, Derek Brett, submitted a report on Eritrea to the 119th Session of the Human Rights Committee. The report specifically focused on matters of military service, conscientious objection and related human rights concerns in Eritrea. 

From the Report: 

Of all the world's states, Eritrea is the only one in which military service issues are widely considered to be one of the major human rights concerns.   Both men and women are subject to conscription; since 2002, under a situation of general mobilization, the period of service has been prolonged indefinitely.   Forced recruitment and abusive treatment within the military are widespread.  The right of conscientious objection is not recognized; the only way to escape enlistment is to leave the country.  Travel restrictions however mean that few citizens are able to do this legally, and it is believed that a “shoot to kill” policy is in place to prevent persons crossing the border clandestinely.  Nevertheless, almost throughout its independent existence Eritrea has, proportionate to population, suffered one of the largest refugee outflows in the world. 

To read the full report click here.

2016 EBCO Annual Report

In his foreword Friedhelm Schneider, EBCO President, points  to some gleams of light amid the darkness: 

• In January 2016 an amnesty was pronounced for all Greek objectors who had declared their objection before 1998 when the current law on conscientious objection entered into force. No compensation, however, was granted for all fines and prison sentences imposed to this group of early objectors.
• Supported by an international network of solidarity and lobby work the Ukrainian journalist and conscientious objector Ruslan Kotsaba was acquitted in July 2016. He had been arrested in February 2015 because of his appeal to refuse a mobilization that would lead to fratricide.
• In Rojava, Kurdish region where a many years long struggle is being waged against ISIS, the right of conscientious objection has been recognized by the government of the Cizre canton in April 2016.

After its General Assemblies held in London (14 May 2016) and in Athens (19 November 2016) the European Bureau of Conscientious Objection expresses once more its concern that the credibility of international Human rights institutions on the European and United Nations level will strongly be damaged if the implementation of their resolutions and judgements cannot be achieved. It will consequently stay an important task for human rights NGOs to remind national governments of their responsibility to publicize and to execute the binding requests of international Human rights institutions.

Click here to read the full EBCO 2016 report in detail.

IFOR supports Egyptian Conscientious Objectors

IFOR is standing with an international coalition of organizations supporting the movement against compulsory military service in Egypt. The International Secretariat joined the IFOR branches in Austria, and Belgium as well as our historic partner War Resisters International in a statement of solidarity with the No to Compulsory Military Service Movement and with the Egyptian conscientious objector, Mark Nabil Sanad. The coalition called on the Egyptian government to

“respect international standards and meet the obligations to which it has committed itself. This includes recognizing the right of Mark Nabil Sanad to conscientious objection to military service.”

To read the full statement or find out more information about the No to Compulsory Military Service Movement in Egypt you can visit their website here.