August 23rd 2023
Following the denial of political asylum by the Lithuanian authorities for the Belarusian peacebuilder and human rights defender Olga Karatch (Volha Karach), the international campaign #protection4olga has just been launched to demand protection and asylum for the director of the organisation ‘Our House‘. She has been fighting for human rights in Belarus for years, including the right to conscientious objection to military service, and is therefore persecuted and faces capital punishment in her country of origin, where she has been labelled a ‘terrorist’ by the regime.
On 18 August 2023, Lithuania denied her political asylum, calling Olga Karatch a ‘person who represents a threat to the national security of the Republic of Lithuania’. She was however granted a one-year temporary residence in the country, probably due to international letters of concerns that some politicians and heads of foundations had written to the authorities and to Lithuanian Ambassadors in different countries. But this status does not give her any safety regarding her status – authorities could at any time renege this decision and decide to deport her.
For that reason, we have started an International Campaign for the immediate protection of the human rights defender and peacebuilder Olga Karatch.
The UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted in 1998 acknowledges ‘the valuable work of individuals, groups and associations in contributing to the effective elimination of all violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of peoples and individuals’.
Olga Karatch, through the organisation she leads, ‘Our House’, has numerous activities to her credit in monitoring and defending human rights in Belarus and Belarusian citizens who have fled to other countries – such as Lithuania – and for this reason her organization was also chosen by the International Peace Bureau to be nominated for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, together with the Russian Movement of Conscientious Objectors and the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement.
States have an obligation to protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms of all citizens, and, especially for human rights defenders who ‘frequently face threats and harassment and suffer insecurity’ ‘to take all measures necessary to ensure the protection of human rights defenders, at both the local and the national levels, including in times of armed conflict and peacebuilding’, as stated in UN General Assembly resolution 66/164.
We express our deep concern that ‘in some instances, national security and counter-terrorism legislation and other measures, such as laws regulating civil society organizations, have been misused to target human rights defenders or have hindered their work and endangered their safety in a manner contrary to international law’, as stated in UN Human Rights Council Resolution 22/6 of 2013 on the protection of human rights defenders, which commits all states to protect and not criminalise those who work to defend human rights
Therefore, we appeal to the highest Lithuanian authorities, the President of the Republic of Lithuania, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs to respect international standards and provide protection and asylum for the Belarussian human rights defender Olga Karatch, who has taken refuge in Lithuania.
Lithuania is also a member of the European Union. We therefore also appeal to the European institutions and the EU Missions (Embassies and Consulates of EU Member States and European Commission Delegations) which, as stated in the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, should support and protect human rights defenders.
We also call on our national governments to take action to ensure that the protection of human rights defenders is guaranteed always and everywhere.
We call upon all civil society, from individual citizens to journalists and institutional representatives across Europe to take action in defence of human rights and those who defend them.
A sample letter to be sent to Lithuanian authorities can be found below. You are more than welcome to use it and properly advocate and support human rights defenders Olga Karatch.
For more information contact: ask@news.house
Draft letter:
To: President Gitanas Nausėda, e-mail: kanceliarija@president.lt or online form at https://www.lrp.lt/en/institution/letter-to-the-president/21930
Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė LRV, e-mail: kanceliarija@lrv.lt
Speaker of Lithuanian Parliament Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, e-mail: viktorija.cmilyte@lrs.lt
Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis, e-mail: minister@urm.lt
Сc: Our House, e-mail: info@nash-dom.info
Dear President, dear Prime Minister, dear Speaker of Lithuanian Parliament, dear Minister of Foreign Affairs,
I am writing to you because I am concerned about the safety and security of Ms Olga Karatch (Volha Karatch), a peacebuilder and human rights defender from Belarus who has sought refuge in your country. Recently, on the 18th of August, the Lithuanian Immigration Authorities rejected her application for political asylum.
Ms Olga Karatch is part of the Belarusian opposition and had to leave her home country in 2020 before the protests against the rigged presidential elections. Her organization “VšĮ Tarptautinis pilietinių iniciatyvų centras „Mūsų namai” is registered in Lithuania since 2014.
Olga Karatch and her organization are fighting for human and civil rights in Belarus and against a possible direct participation of Belarus in the war in Ukraine. For that, they repeatedly have been threatened by the Lukashenko regime. The Belarusian KGB labelled her as a terrorist, and recently there have been death threats against her. If she returned to Belarus, she would face immediate arrest and conviction to many years of prison; even imposition of the death penalty cannot be ruled out.
The UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted in 1998 acknowledges ‘the valuable work of individuals, groups and associations in contributing to the effective elimination of all violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of peoples and individuals’.
States have an obligation to protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms of all citizens, and, especially for human rights defenders who ‘frequently face threats and harassment and suffer insecurity’ ‘to take all measures necessary to ensure the protection of human rights defenders, at both the local and the national levels, including in times of armed conflict and peacebuilding’, as stated in UN General Assembly resolution 66/164.
We express our deep concern that ‘in some instances, national security and counter-terrorism legislation and other measures, such as laws regulating civil society organizations, have been misused to target human rights defenders or have hindered their work and endangered their safety in a manner contrary to international law’, as stated in UN Human Rights Council Resolution 22/6 of 2013 on the protection of human rights defenders, which commits all states to protect and not criminalise those who work to defend human rights.
Therefore, the situation is life threatening for her, and we ask you to extend your support to Ms Karatch and to allow her to stay in Lithuania and continue her work for human rights and peace under the secure status of being granted political asylum.
Yours sincerely,
Date
(Signature)
Please donate to ‘Our House‘:
Bank Name: Siauliu Bankas AB
IBAN: LT567180300008700065
SWIFT (BIC): CBSBLT26
Account Holder: Vsj Tarptautinis pilietiniu iniciatyvu centras “Musu namai”
Bank address: Tilzes g.149 76348 Siauliu Lithuania
Banko kode: 112025254
Country code: LT
Name of the organization: VšĮ Tarptautinis pilietinių iniciatyvų centras „Mūsų namai“
Address of the organisation: Vilniaus r. sav., Zujūnų sen., Buivydiškių k., Pamedės g. 6
Registration code: 303223926
Contact details: tel. +370 (5) 215 7190, finance@nash-dom.info
#ObjectWarCampaign: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine: Protection and asylum for deserters and conscientious objectors to military service.
Français en-dessous
JOINT PRESS RELEASE
Ukraine: Release peace activist Yurii Sheliazhenko and drop all charges against him
17 August 2023
The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), War Resisters’ International (WRI), the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) and Connection e.V. (Germany) strongly condemn the fact that Yurii Sheliazhenko, a well-known conscientious objector, pacifist, human rights defender and lawyer, Executive Secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, has been placed under partial house arrest by the Solomyanskyi District Court of Kyiv on 15 August 2023.
Yurii Sheliazhenko is a prisoner of conscience detained simply for peacefully expressing his genuine pacifist views, and should be immediately and unconditionally released and all the charges against him dropped. The Ukrainian authorities should respect the right to freedom of expression and stop the crackdown on Yurii Sheliazhenko and the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, which reveals their growing intolerance for dissent.
We remind the Ukrainian government that pacifism is not a crime in democratic states. We demand that human rights are fully protected, including the right to conscientious objection to military service, which is inherent in the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, guaranteed, amongst others, under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as under Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which is non-derogable even in a time of public emergency, as stated in Article 4(2) of ICCPR.
We strongly condemn all actions of harassment and all attempts of intimidation against Yurii Sheliazhenko and the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, as well as all cases of forced recruitment and even abduction of conscripts to the involved armies in the war in Ukraine, and all persecutions of conscientious objectors, deserters and non-violent anti-war protestors in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and elsewhere.
We support the IPB intention to nominate three remarkable organizations with a focus on the right to conscientious objection for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize; the Russian Movement of Conscientious Objectors, the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, and the Belarusian organization “Our House”.
PRESS PACK – Chronology & Resources:
11 August 2022: Criminal proceedings open against Yurii Sheliazhenko, Executive Secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, on the pretext of anti-Ukrainian character of his human rights defending activities, notably legal aid consultation text "human right to conscientious objection to military service".
21 September 2022, International Day of Peace: The Ukrainian Pacifist Movement meets and adopts the Statement entitled “Peace Agenda for Ukraine and the World”.
3 August 2023: Yurii Sheliazhenko, Executive Secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, is charged with the crime of “justification of Russian aggression” with sole “evidence” the Statement of 21 September 2022, which explicitly condemns Russian aggression. The Security Service of Ukraine breaks into the apartment of Yurii Sheliazhenko and conducts an illegal search and seizure operation, finding nothing criminal and taking his phone, his computer, as well as some documents of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement.
3 August 2023: The World BEYOND War launches a petition to the Ukrainian Government entitled “Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko”.
4 August 2023: The IPB announces its intention to nominate three remarkable organizations with a focus on the right to conscientious objection for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize; the Russian Movement of Conscientious Objectors, the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, and the Belarusian organization “Our House”.
4 August 2023: EBCO, WRI, IFOR and Connection e.V. publish a Joint Press Release in the framework of the #ObjectWarCampaign, entitled “Ukraine: Pacifism is not a crime in democratic states! Drop the charge against Yurii Sheliazhenko, #FreePeaceSpeech”.
4 August 2023: IPB publishes a Press Release entitled “Justice for Yurii Sheliazhenko”.
5 August 2023: EBCO President meets with Yurii Sheliazhenko and his advocate Svitlana Novytska during her human rights monitoring mission in Kyiv.
7-8-9 August 2023: Yurii Sheliazhenko is summoned to interrogation.
7 August 2023: EBCO President meets the Senior Investigator of the Investigative Department of the Security Service of Ukraine, but she is not allowed to attend the interrogation according to the Ukrainian law.
7 August 2023: EBCO publishes a Video Interview with Yurii Sheliazhenko in Kyiv.
8 August 2023: The Senior Investigator of the Investigative Department of the Security Service of Ukraine with the agreement of the Prosecutor of the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office submits a request to the Court on the application of a preventive measure in the form of 24-hour house arrest for 60 days to Yurii Sheliazhenko.
15 August 2023: The investigating judge of the Solomyanskyi District Court of Kyiv in an open court session partially satisfies the request and orders to place Yurii Sheliazhenko under house arrest, prohibiting him from leaving his place of residence in the time period from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. the next day until 11.10.2023 inclusive, excluding the need to leave this home during an air raid and emergency medical assistance. He also imposes on Yurii Sheliazhenko until October 11, 2023, inclusive, the following duties: to come to the investigator, prosecutor, investigating judge, court at every request; to deposit with the relevant state authorities his passport(s) for traveling abroad, other documents giving the right to leave Ukraine and enter Ukraine (if such documents are available); notify the investigator, prosecutor or court about a change of residence and/or work; refrain from communicating with persons identified by the investigator as witnesses. Employees of the National Police, in order to monitor his behavior, have the right to appear in the house where he is under arrest, to demand oral or written explanations on issues related to the fulfilment of his obligations. The decision is subject to immediate execution and can be appealed directly to the Kyiv Court of Appeals within 5 days.
#ObjectWarCampaign: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine: Protection and asylum for deserters and conscientious objectors to military service.
Appeal for donations: https://en.connection-ev.org/StopWarUkraineDonations-form
Spot: https://youtu.be/cxb5Modg9fk
Press release to download
FOR INTERVIEWS please contact:
Alexia Tsouni (English, Greek), European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), ebco@ebco-beoc.org, www.ebco-beoc.org
Semih Sapmaz (English, Turkish), War Resisters’ International (WRI), semih@wri-irg.org, www.wri-irg.org
Christian Renoux (French, English), International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), office@ifor.org, www.ifor.org
Rudi Friedrich (German, English), Connection e.V., office@Connection-eV.org, www.Connection-eV.org
Yurii Sheliazhenko (Ukrainian, English, Russian), Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, yuriy.sheliazhenko@gmail.com, http://pacifism.org.ua/
COMMUNIQUÉ DE PRESSE
17 août 2023
Ukraine : Libérez le pacifiste Yurii Sheliazhenko
et abandonnez toutes les charges retenues contre lui
Le Bureau européen pour l'objection de conscience (EBCO-BEOC), l'Internationale des résistants à la guerre (WRI), le Mouvement international de la réconciliation (IFOR) et Connection e.V. (Allemagne) condamnent fermement le fait que Yurii Sheliazhenko, objecteur de conscience, pacifiste, juriste, défenseur des droits de l'homme bien connu, secrétaire exécutif du Mouvement pacifiste ukrainien, ait été placé en résidence surveillée partielle par le tribunal du district Solomyanskyi de Kiev le 15 août 2023.
Yurii Sheliazhenko est un prisonnier d'opinion détenu simplement pour avoir exprimé pacifiquement ses véritables opinions pacifistes, et devrait être immédiatement et inconditionnellement libéré et toutes les charges retenues contre lui abandonnées. Les autorités ukrainiennes doivent respecter le droit à la liberté d'expression et mettre fin à la répression à l'encontre de Yurii Sheliazhenko et du Mouvement pacifiste ukrainien, qui révèle leur intolérance croissante à l'égard de la dissidence.
Nous rappelons au gouvernement ukrainien que le pacifisme n'est pas un crime dans les États démocratiques. Nous exigeons que les droits de l'homme soient pleinement protégés, y compris le droit à l'objection de conscience au service militaire, qui est inhérent au droit à la liberté de pensée, de conscience et de religion, garanti, entre autres, par l'article 9 de la Convention européenne des droits de l'homme, ainsi que par l'article 18 du Pacte international relatif aux droits civils et politiques (PIDCP), auquel il ne peut être dérogé même en cas d'urgence publique, comme le stipule l'article 4, paragraphe 2, du PIDCP.
Nous condamnons fermement toutes les actions de harcèlement et toutes les tentatives d'intimidation à l'encontre de Yurii Sheliazhenko et du Mouvement pacifiste ukrainien, ainsi que tous les cas de recrutement forcé et même d'enlèvement de conscrits pour les armées impliquées, et toutes les persécutions d'objecteurs de conscience, de déserteurs et de manifestants anti-guerre non-violents en Russie, au Bélarus, en Ukraine et ailleurs.
Nous soutenons l'intention du Bureau International de la Paix (BIP-IPB) de nommer pour le prix Nobel de la paix 2024 trois organisations qui défendent le droit à l'objection de conscience au service militaire : l'organisation biélorusse Nash Dom, le Mouvement pour l'objection de conscience russe et le Mouvement pacifiste ukrainien.
MEMO DE PRESSE - Chronologie:
11 août 2022 : Ouverture d'une procédure pénale à l'encontre de Yurii Sheliazhenko, Secrétaire exécutif du Mouvement pacifiste ukrainien, au prétexte du caractère anti-ukrainien de ses activités de défense des droits de l'homme, notamment le texte de consultation sur l'aide juridique "droit de l'homme à l'objection de conscience au service militaire".
21 septembre 2022, Journée internationale de la paix : Le Mouvement pacifiste ukrainien se réunit et adopte la déclaration intitulée "Agenda de la paix pour l'Ukraine et le monde".
3 août 2023 : Yurii Sheliazhenko, secrétaire exécutif du Mouvement pacifiste ukrainien, est accusé du crime de "justification de l'agression russe" avec pour seule "preuve" la déclaration du 21 septembre 2022, qui condamne pourtant explicitement l'agression russe. Le Service de sécurité de l'Ukraine (ex-KGB) fait irruption dans l'appartement de Yurii Sheliazhenko et mène une opération illégale de perquisition et de saisie, ne trouvant rien de criminel et emportant son téléphone, son ordinateur, ainsi que des documents du Mouvement pacifiste ukrainien.
3 août 2023 : The World BEYOND War lance une pétition au gouvernement ukrainien intitulée "Dites au gouvernement ukrainien d'abandonner les poursuites contre l'activiste pacifiste Yurii Sheliazhenko".
4 août 2023 : L'IPB annonce son intention de proposer trois organisations remarquables axées sur le droit à l'objection de conscience pour le prix Nobel de la paix 2024, dont le Mouvement pacifiste ukrainien.
4 août 2023 : EBCO, WRI, IFOR et Connection e.V. publient un communiqué de presse commun dans le cadre de la campagne #ObjectWarCampaign, intitulé "Ukraine : Le pacifisme n'est pas un crime dans les États démocratiques ! Abandonnez l'accusation contre Yurii Sheliazhenko, #FreePeaceSpeech".
4 août 2023 : IPB publie un communiqué de presse intitulé "Justice pour Yurii Sheliazhenko".
5 août 2023 : Le président du BEOC rencontre Yurii Sheliazhenko et son avocate Svitlana Novytska lors de sa mission d’observation des droits de l'homme à Kiev.
7-8-9 août 2023 : Yurii Sheliazhenko est convoqué pour un interrogatoire.
7 août 2023 : La présidente du BEOC rencontre l'enquêteur principal du département des enquêtes du service de sécurité de l'Ukraine, mais elle n'est pas autorisée à assister à l'interrogatoire conformément à la loi ukrainienne.
7 août 2023 : Le BEOC publie un entretien vidéo avec Yurii Sheliazhenko à Kiev.
8 août 2023 : L'enquêteur principal du département des enquêtes du Service de sécurité de l'Ukraine, avec l'accord du procureur du bureau du procureur de la ville de Kiev, soumet une demande au tribunal concernant l'application d'une mesure préventive sous la forme d'une assignation à résidence de 24 heures pendant 60 jours à Yurii Sheliazhenko.
15 août 2023 : Le juge d'instruction du tribunal du district Solomyanskyi de Kiev, lors d'une audience publique, satisfait partiellement la demande et ordonne d'assigner Yurii Sheliazhenko à résidence, lui interdisant de quitter son lieu de résidence entre 22 heures 00 min. et 6 heures 00 min. le lendemain jusqu'au 11.10.2023 inclus, à l'exclusion de la nécessité de quitter ce domicile lors d'un raid aérien et d'une assistance médicale d'urgence. Il impose également à Yurii Sheliazhenko, jusqu'au 11 octobre 2023 inclus, les obligations suivantes : se présenter à l'enquêteur, au procureur, au juge d'instruction, au tribunal à chaque demande ; déposer auprès des autorités compétentes de l'État son (ses) passeport(s) pour voyager à l'étranger, d'autres documents donnant le droit de quitter l'Ukraine et d'entrer en Ukraine (si ces documents sont disponibles) ; informer l'enquêteur, le procureur ou le tribunal de tout changement de résidence et/ou de travail ; s'abstenir de communiquer avec les personnes identifiées par l'enquêteur comme étant des témoins. Les employés de la police nationale, afin de surveiller son comportement, ont le droit de se présenter dans la maison où il est en état d'arrestation, d'exiger des explications orales ou écrites sur les questions liées au respect de ses obligations. La décision est soumise à une exécution immédiate et peut faire l'objet d'un appel directement auprès de la Cour d'appel de Kiev dans un délai de 5 jours.
#ObjectWarCampaign:
Appel à don : https://en.connection-ev.org/StopWarUkraineDonations-form
Spot : https://youtu.be/cxb5Modg9fk
Communiqué de presse à télécharger
POUR INTERVIEWS , contacts:
Alexia Tsouni (anglais, grec), European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), ebco@ebco-beoc.org, www.ebco-beoc.org
Semih Sapmaz (anglais), War Resisters’ International (WRI), semih@wri-irg.org, www.wri-irg.org
Christian Renoux (français, anglais), International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), office@ifor.org, www.ifor.org
Rudi Friedrich (allemande, anglais), Connection e.V., office@Connection-eV.org, www.Connection-eV.org
Yurii Sheliazhenko (anglais, ukrainien, russe), Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, yuriy.sheliazhenko@gmail.com, http://pacifism.org.ua/
Texte français en dessous
JOINT PRESS RELEASE
Ukraine: Pacifism is not a crime in democratic states!
Drop the charge against Yurii Sheliazhenko, #FreePeaceSpeech
4 August 2023
The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), War Resisters’ International (WRI), the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) and Connection e.V. (Germany) strongly condemn the fact that Yurii Sheliazhenko, Executive Secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, has been formally charged by the Ukrainian government with the crime of “justification of Russian aggression” with sole “evidence” the Statement of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, adopted at the meeting on International Day of Peace 21 September 2022, entitled “Peace Agenda for Ukraine and the World”. What is more, the statement explicitly condemns Russian aggression (https://worldbeyondwar.org/peace-agenda-for-ukraine-and-the-world/).
We are all shocked that the Security Service of Ukraine broke into the apartment of Yurii Sheliazhenko yesterday, August 3rd 2023, and conducted an illegal search and seizure operation, finding nothing criminal and taking his phone, his computer, as well as some documents of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement. We strongly protest about the harassment of Yurii Sheliazhenko, who is summoned to interrogation on August 7th, 8th and 9th 2023.
We remind the Ukrainian government that pacifism is not a crime in democratic states. We demand that the charge against Yurii Sheliazhenko is immediately dropped, and that human rights are fully protected, including the right to freedom of expression and the right to conscientious objection to military service, which is inherent in the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, guaranteed, amongst others, under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as under Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which is non-derogable even in a time of public emergency, as stated in Article 4(2) of ICCPR.
Yurii Sheliazhenko is a well-known conscientious objector, pacifist, human rights defender and lawyer. We strongly condemn all actions of harassment and all attempts of intimidation against him and the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, as well as all cases of forced recruitment and even abduction of conscripts to the involved armies, and all persecutions of conscientious objectors, deserters and non-violent anti-war protestors.
We support EBCO’s request for an urgent meeting with the President of Ukraine in Kyiv on Monday August 7th 2023 to discuss our concerns and recommendations, also in the framework of our joint #ObjectWarCampaign: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine: Protection and asylum for deserters and conscientious objectors to military service.
We also support the petition to the Ukrainian Government which was launched by the World BEYOND War yesterday:
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
And finally we share the press release published by the International Peace Bureau today:
Justice for Yurii Sheliazhenko
FOR INTERVIEWS please contact:
Alexia Tsouni, European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), ebco@ebco-beoc.org, www.ebco-beoc.org
Semih Sapmaz, War Resisters’ International (WRI), semih@wri-irg.org, www.wri-irg.org
Christian Renoux, International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), christian.renoux@univ-orleans.fr, www.ifor.org
Rudi Friedrich, Connection e.V., office@Connection-eV.org, www.Connection-eV.org
Yurii Sheliazhenko, Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, yuriy.sheliazhenko@gmail.com, http://pacifism.org.ua/
COMMUNIQUÉ DE PRESSE COMMUN
Ukraine : Le pacifisme n'est pas un crime dans les États démocratiques !
Abandonnez les poursuites contre Yurii Sheliazhenko, #FreePeaceSpeech
4 août 2023
Le Bureau européen pour l'objection de conscience (BEOC), l'Internationale des Résistants à la Guerre (IRG), le Mouvement International de la Réconciliation (MIR/IFOR) et Connection e.V. (Allemagne) condamnent fermement le fait que Yurii Sheliazhenko, secrétaire exécutif du Mouvement pacifiste ukrainien, ait été formellement accusé par le gouvernement ukrainien du crime de "justification de l'agression russe" avec pour seule "preuve" la déclaration du Mouvement pacifiste ukrainien, adoptée lors de la réunion de la Journée internationale de la paix du 21 septembre 2022, intitulée "Agenda de la paix pour l'Ukraine et le monde“ alors que cette déclaration condamne explicitement l'agression russe (https://worldbeyondwar.org/peace-agenda-for-ukraine-and-the-world/).
Nous sommes tous choqués que le Service de sécurité de l'Ukraine (SBU) ait fait irruption dans l'appartement de Yurii Sheliazhenko hier, le 3 août 2023, et ait mené une opération illégale de perquisition et de saisie, sans rien trouver de criminel et ait saisi son téléphone, son ordinateur, ainsi que certains documents du Mouvement pacifiste ukrainien. Nous protestons vivement contre le harcèlement de Yurii Sheliazhenko, qui est convoqué pour un interrogatoire les 7, 8 et 9 août 2023.
Nous rappelons au gouvernement ukrainien que le pacifisme n'est pas un crime dans les États démocratiques. Nous demandons que les charges retenues contre Yurii Sheliazhenko soient immédiatement abandonnées et que les droits de l'homme soient pleinement protégés, y compris le droit à la liberté d'expression et le droit à l'objection de conscience au service militaire, qui sont inhérents au droit à la liberté de pensée, de conscience et de religion, garanti, entre autres, par l'article 9 de la Convention européenne des droits de l'homme, ainsi que par l'article 18 du Pacte international relatif aux droits civils et politiques (PIDCP), auquel il ne peut être dérogé même en cas de danger public exceptionnel, comme le stipule l'article 4, paragraphe 2, du PIDCP.
Yurii Sheliazhenko est un objecteur de conscience, un pacifiste, un défenseur des droits de l'homme et un avocat bien connu. Nous condamnons fermement toutes les actions de harcèlement et toutes les tentatives d'intimidation à son encontre et à l'encontre du Mouvement pacifiste ukrainien, ainsi que tous les cas de recrutement forcé et même d'enlèvement de conscrits, et toutes les persécutions d'objecteurs de conscience, de déserteurs et de manifestants anti-guerre non-violents.
Nous soutenons la demande faite par BEOC d’être reçu par le président de l'Ukraine à Kiev le lundi 7 août 2023 pour discuter de nos préoccupations et recommandations, dans le cadre de notre campagne commune #ObjectWarCampaign : Russie, Biélorussie, Ukraine : Protection et asile pour les déserteurs et objecteurs de conscience au service militaire.
Nous soutenons également la pétition adressée au gouvernement ukrainien qui a été lancée hier par World BEYOND War : Dites au gouvernement ukrainien d'abandonner les poursuites contre l'activiste pacifiste Yurii Sheliazhenko.
Enfin, nous partageons le communiqué de presse publié aujourd'hui par le Bureau international de la paix : Justice pour Yurii Sheliazhenko.
Contacts presse:
Alexia Tsouni, European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), ebco@ebco-beoc.org, www.ebco-beoc.org
Semih Sapmaz, War Resisters’ International (WRI), semih@wri-irg.org, www.wri-irg.org
Christian Renoux, International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), christian.renoux@univ-orleans.fr, www.ifor.org
Rudi Friedrich, Connection e.V., office@Connection-eV.org, www.Connection-eV.org
Yurii Sheliazhenko, Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, yuriy.sheliazhenko@gmail.com, http://pacifism.org.ua/
IFOR has prepared and submitted to the UN three reports for the upcoming 44th session of the Universal Periodic Review of Colombia, Russian Federation and Turkmenistan. The formal session will take place in November 2023.
IFOR is constantly engaging in advocacy initiatives at the UN to support the full recognition and implementation of the right to conscientious objection to military service. This work is carried on in collaboration and support of local organizations and conscientious objectors.
The report on Colombia, for instance, has been prepared in collaboration with ACOOC, local organization for conscientious objection and FOR Peace Presence a local organization which is actively engaging with human rights defenders and the Peace Community of San José de Apartadò.
In Colombia the right to conscientious objection to military service is not fully implemented and lately the illegal practice of illegal recruitment "batidas" and arbitrary detention has increased.
There is as well a lack of guarantees of the right to due process and the decision-making is still under the control of military authority. Conscientious objectors are victims of several discriminations in their social and political rights.
The report mentions as well the issue of the militarization of the territory and the topic of armed conflict and International Humanitarian Law.
You can read the complete report on Colombia here.
The situation in Russia has deteriorated since the breaking of the current war of aggression in Ukraine. The report submitted by IFOR highlights the obstruction of the exercise of the right to conscientious objection to military service and the practice of raids and roundups to forced recruitment and the consequences of the "partial mobilization" proclaimed last autumn. Additionally it has been registered the arbitrary detention of soldiers who refuse to participate in the war and their ill treatment also in the Ukrainian occupied territories.
In Russia there is as well a severe intensification of the violation of the right to freedom of expression and the harsh discrimination against Jehowa Witnesses.
Read the complete report on the current situation in Russia here.
The submission on Turkmenistan reports on the not recognition of the right to conscientious objection to military service and the consequent imprisonment of conscientious objectors and their ill treatment.
The Universal Periodic Review is a State-driven process, which provides the opportunity for each State to present what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situation in their country and to fulfil their human rights obligations; the State under review will also report on the implementation of the previously accepted recommendations. UN Member States have the possibility to ask questions and make recommendations to the State under review. The UPR Working Group consists of the 47 members of the Council, however any member state can take part in the discussion.
The review is based on information provided by the interested State, independent human rights experts and other stakeholders such as NGOs.
NGOs reports and proposed recommendations can be referred to by any of the States taking part in the interactive discussion during the review; it is therefore of vital importance to engage at the UPR and address specific issues which can be therefore part of the dialogue with the country under review.
IFOR focuses in particular on issues related to conscientious objection and to the militarization of society.
IFOR is currently running a particular conscientious objection project, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT), a grant-making Quaker trust. Among the main aims are research work and redaction of thematic country-based reports to be submitted to the UN for the regular State reviews on human rights.
The right to refuse to kill, although it is a human right, thus universal and non-derogable, it is not recognized in all countries and many objectors are persecuted.
On the occasion of the interactive dialogue with the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation in Ukraine, held at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 31st, IFOR's main representative to the UN Ms. Zaira Zafarana took the floor in the plenary to express IFOR's solidarity with all victims of the current war in Ukraine and expressed great concern for the violations of the right to conscientious objection to military service which is currently suspended in Ukraine, against international standards.
IFOR referred to the case of the first known imprisoned conscientious objector since the breaking of the current war, Vitalii Alexeenko and called on Ukraine for his release. Read more about this case here and here.
The statement mentioned other individual cases such as the ones of Hennadii Tomniuk and Andrii Vyshnevetsky, objectors under trial, the first one, and held in the army at the frontline, the second one.
Of particular concern is also the illegal detention of Russians objectors to war in the occupied territories by Russian forces.
Read more in the related joint press release here.
IFOR focuses on the right to conscientious objection as a key right to advocate. This is one of the root of IFOR since 1914 and one personal committment to exercize the right to peace and the right to life.
IFOR runs a thematic project funded by JRCT which facilitates all the implementation of actions and initiatives to report on this right to the UN, advocate for its implementation at the local level and to provide assistance to conscientious objectors everywhere.
Human Rights Council, 52nd Session
31st March 2023
Item 10: Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in Ukraine Oral statement delivered by International Fellowship Of Recnciliation
Mr. President, Mr. High Commissioner,
International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) thanks [the Office of the High Commissioner] for the oral update.
We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine who are suffering for the ongoing war of aggression by the Russian Federation, which is causing tragedies and violations and an inhumane nuclear threat. War should be abolished.
We stand in solidarity with those who courageously refuse to kill and call on the international community to ensure full legal guarantees of their human right to conscientious objection and to provide them protection and asylumi.
The right to conscientious objection to military service should be protected and cannot be restricted as highlighted in the last OHCHR quadrennial thematic reportii.
The right to conscientious objection in Ukraineiii is currently suspendediv.
We call on Ukraine to release the prisoner of consciencev Vitaly Alexeenko, jailedvi on February 23rd 2023.vii
We appeal for the acquittal of conscientious objector Hennadii Tomniuk.viii
We are greatly concerned for the case of Andrii Vyshnevetsky, a conscientious objector held in the army, at frontline who should be discharged on the grounds of conscience.ix
It has been also reported that Kyiv regional military administration has decided to terminate alternative service of tens of conscientious objectors and had ordered conscientious objectors to appear in military recruitment centre.
We are also concerned abut the forced detention of Russian refusers to war in the occupied territories, as highlighted in our recent joint press release.x
We call on this Council to guarantee the protection of all human rights, including the right to conscientious objection which is inherent in the right to freedom of conscience, thought and religion.
Thank you.
JOINT PRESS RELEASE
Russia: Release all those who object to engage in the war and are illegally detained in the Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine
Brussels, 28 March 2023
The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), Connection e.V. (Germany), the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), and War Resisters’ International (WRI) strongly denounce the reported detention by the Russian authorities of large numbers of soldiers and mobilised civilians in a number of centres in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine, because they refuse to participate in the war. Russian authorities are reportedly using threats, psychological abuse and torture to force those detained to return to the front.
According to VESNA (Движение Весна), “journalists have been able to confirm the existence of 13 such prisons, in which, according to relatives, more than 600 people are being held: 1. Zaytseva, Luhansk province; 2. Zavitne Bazhanya, Donetsk province; 3. Dokuchayevsk, Donetsk province; 4. Perevalsk, Luhansk province; 5. Rubezhnoy, Luhansk province; 6. Kremennaya, Luhansk province; 7. Staromlynovk, Donetsk province; 8. Starobelsk, Luhansk province; 9. Golubovka, Luhansk province; 10. Bryank, Luhansk province; 11. Novtroitsk, Donetsk province; 12. Makarovo, Luhansk province; 13. Amvrosivsk, Donetsk province.”
Detentions in these prisons are unlawful, not being based on any court decision. In that they are based on refusal on grounds of conscience to participate in the "special military operation" they are also arbitrary, as resulting from attempts to exercise the right of freedom of thought, conscience and religion guaranteed in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, (as well as Articles 28 and 59 of the Russian Constitution) and thus constitute a violation also of Article 9 of that Covenant.
In addition, according to VESNA, “mobilised civilians are kept in appalling conditions: they are threatened with torture and execution, they are deprived of the medical help and food. In this way Russian authorities are trying to force them to return to the front, although they have not received proper training nor basic supplies.”
Major western media[i] and independent Russian media[ii] have been reporting for months the detention of Russian soldiers who refuse to continue to participate in the “special military operation” in Ukraine.
The four organisations support the petition “Russia, stop illegal detention! Release conscientious objectors jailed in Ukraine”, which demands from the Russian authorities, including the head of the investigative committee, Alexander Bastrykin, and the Supreme Commander of the Russian Army, Vladimir Putin to:
Check all reports of cases of internal captivity and identify those responsible for the illegal detention of Russian military personnel;
Establish personal data, location of detained military personnel and their state of health;
Take urgent measures to release and protect the life and health of detained military personnel;
Take measures to implement the constitutional right of detained military personnel to replace military service with alternative civilian service;
Take measures to prevent organizing such illegal prisons in the future.
The organisations note that soldiers who cite reasons of conscience among the reasons for refusing to continue to fight should be considered conscientious objectors according to international law. Those who specifically oppose the Ukraine war count as conscientious objectors, whether or not self-defined.
“The imprisonment of conscientious objectors is a blatant violation of their right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, guaranteed under Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is non-derogable in time of public emergency, according to Article 4.2 of ICCPR. All these conscientious objectors are prisoners of conscience and should be released immediately and unconditionally”, Alexia Tsouni, EBCO, stated today.
“We remind the Russian government that they should safeguard the right to conscientious objection to military service, including in wartime, fully complying with the European and international standards”, Rudi Friedrich, Connection e.V., added.
“We also remind the Russian authorities that under the international standards the right of conscientious objection to military service applies no less to professional members of the armed forces than to conscripts, as it has been explicitly recognized, inter alia, by the OHCHR,[iii] the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE),[iv] the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe,[v] and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), of the OSCE.[vi]”, Zaira Zafarana, IFOR, underlined.
“The right to object also applies to selective objectors who believe that the use of force is justified in some circumstances but not in others."[vii], Semih Sapmaz, WRI, stated.
The four organisations note that Alan Mitchell, President of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has stated that “the Russian authorities must take effective steps to prevent torture and other forms of ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in law enforcement establishments, prisons, military detention facilities, psychiatric hospitals, social care institutions and other places of deprivation of liberty, whether within the territory of the Russian Federation or in areas within the territory of Ukraine of which the Russian Federation exercises effective control.”[viii]
The organisations denounce all the cases of forced and even violent recruitment to the armies of both sides, as well as all the cases of persecution of conscientious objectors, deserters and non-violent anti-war protestors.
Sign the VESNA petition here: https://www.change.org/p/russia-stop-illegal-detention-release-conscientious-objectors-jailed-in-ukraine
Support the #ObjectWarCampaign: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine: Protection and asylum for deserters and conscientious objectors to military service
Contact persons:
Alexia Tsouni, European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), ebco@ebco-beoc.org, www.ebco-beoc.org (English, Greek)
Rudi Friedrich, Connection e.V., office@Connection-eV.org, www.Connection-eV.org (English, German)
Zaira Zafarana, International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), zaira.zafarana@ifor.org, www.ifor.org (English, Italian)
Semih Sapmaz, War Resisters’ International (WRI), semih@wri-irg.org, www.wri-irg.org (English, Turkish)
[i] https://www.newsweek.com/multiple-russian-soldiers-detained-refusing-fight-putins-war-1722915
https://www.dw.com/en/russian-contract-soldiers-increasingly-jailed-in-occupied-donbas/a-62701166
https://www.newsweek.com/russian-soldiers-refuse-fight-ukraine-war-detained-1764556
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63916810?xtor=ES-208
[ii] https://theins.ru/news/253550
https://t.me/svobodnieslova/282
https://www.currenttime.tv/a/ukraine-russia-war-russian-soldiers-/31946543.html
https://verstka.media/v-plenu-u-sobstvennoy-armii/
https://en.zona.media/article/2022/11/16/objectors
https://theins.ru/en/politics/260165
[iii] OHCHR, Approaches and challenges with regard to application procedures for obtaining the status of conscientious objector to military service in accordance with human rights standards, (A/HRC/41/23), 24 May 2019, para. 60(c). Available at: https://undocs.org/A/HRC/41/23
[iv] Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assembly, Recommendation 1518 (2001), para. 5.2. Available at: https://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-EN.asp?fileid=16909&lang=en#_blank
[v] Council of Europe, Committee of Ministers, Recommendation CM/Rec (2010) 4 “Human Rights of members of the armed forces”, paras. 42 - 46. Available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/506979172.html
[vi] OSCE, ODIHR, Handbook on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Armed Forces Personnel, 2008, Chapter 10 Conscientious Objection to Military Conscription and Service, 4. Best Practices and Recommendations, p. 85 [second point]. Available at: https://www.osce.org/odihr/31393?download=true
[vii] OHCHR, Approaches and challenges with regard to application procedures for obtaining the status of conscientious objector to military service in accordance with human rights standards, (A/HRC/41/23), 24 May 2019, para. 60(d). Available at: https://undocs.org/A/HRC/41/23
[viii] Council of Europe, Statement from Alan Mitchell, President of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), 31/03/2022. Available at: https://www.coe.int/en/web/cpt/-/-1
***
The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO) was founded in Brussels in 1979 as an umbrella structure for national associations of conscientious objectors in the European countries to promote the right to conscientious objection to preparations for, and participation in, war and any other type of military activity as a fundamental human right. EBCO enjoys participatory status with the Council of Europe since 1998 and is a member of its Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations since 2005. EBCO is entitled to lodge collective complaints concerning the European Social Charter of the Council of Europe since 2021. EBCO provides expertise and legal opinions on behalf of the Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs of the Council of Europe. EBCO is involved in drawing up the annual report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament on the application by the Member States of its resolutions on conscientious objection and civilian service, as determined in the “Bandrés Molet & Bindi Resolution” of 1994. EBCO is a full member of the European Youth Forum since 1995.
***
War Resisters' International (WRI) was founded in London in 1921 as a global network of grassroots organisations, groups and individuals working together for a world without war. WRI remains committed to its founding declaration that 'War is a crime against humanity. I am therefore determined not to support any kind of war, and to strive for the removal of all causes of war'. Today WRI is a global pacifist and antimilitarist network with over 90 affiliated groups in 40 countries. WRI facilitates mutual support, by linking people together through publications, events and actions, initiating nonviolent campaigns that actively involve local groups and individuals, supporting those who oppose war and who challenge its causes, and promoting and educating people about pacifism and nonviolence. WRI runs three programmes of work that are important to the network: The Right to Refuse to Kill Programme, the Nonviolence Programme, and Countering the Militarisation of Youth.
***
The International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) was founded in 1914 in response to the horrors of war in Europe, and has taken a consistent stance against war and its preparation throughout its history. Today IFOR has branches, groups, and affiliates in over 40 countries on all continents, while the International Secretariat is located in the Netherlands. IFOR’s membership includes adherents of all the major spiritual traditions as well as those who have other spiritual sources for their commitment to nonviolence. IFOR has observer and consultative status to the United Nations ECOSOC and UNESCO organisations. IFOR maintains permanent representatives in Geneva, New York and Vienna and at the UNESCO in Paris who regularly participate in conferences and meetings of UN bodies, providing testimony and expertise from different regional perspectives, promoting non-violent alternatives in the fields of human rights, development, and disarmament.
***
Connection e.V. was founded in 1993 as an association advocating a comprehensive right to conscientious objection at an international level. The organisation is based in Offenbach, Germany, and collaborates with groups opposing war, conscription and the military in Europe and beyond, extending to Turkey, Israel, the U.S., Latin America and Africa. Connection e.V. demands that conscientious objectors from war regions should get asylum, and offers counseling and information to refugees and support for their self-organisation.
The International Fellowship of Reconciliation regularly engages in States reviews at the UN, in particular during the Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council and at the Human Rights Committee.
During the UPR review, NGOs have the opportunity to submit a country based report and to actively engage in the pre-session. IFOR submitted a report on the situation of the right to conscientious objection to military service in Finland, last year at the 41st session of the UPR. Later in September engaged at the pre-session together with the Union of Conscientious Objectors from Finland (AKL) whose representative gave a presentation during the pre-session.
A joint advocacy activity at the UN in Geneva and locally in Helsinki followed and 5 countries made specific recommendations to Finland regarding the issue of punitive alternative service, imprisonment of objectors and other during the formal session of the UPR last November.
Click here to watch the 41st UPR of Finland.
The UPR procedure ends with the adoption of the report of the Working Group during the Human Rights Council.
On Monday 27th, the Council adopted the UPR report on Finland and members states and representatives of the civil society had the chance to take the floor. Jyry Virtanen of AKL, spoke on behalf of IFOR to comment on the no acceptance of Finland of the thematic recommendations and encouraging the government to comply with international standards.
Human Rights Council, 52nd Session
27th March 2023
UPR adoption – Finland
Oral statement delivered by the International Fellowship of Reconciliation.
Mr. President,
During the 4th cycle of the UPR, Finland received five recommendations from Costa Rica, Croatia, Luxembourg, Panama and Uruguay to comply with international standards concerning the right to conscientious objection to military service. In particular to ensure an alternative service nor punitive or discriminatory as to its nature and duration1fully under civilian authority; to end the imprisonment of conscientious objectors and extend the possibility to alternative service.
Finland merely noted those recommendations and stated that they are already addressing them2. Unfortunately, these issues are still affecting conscientious objectors and their rights.
The Human Rights Committee raised concerns about the prosecutions and discrimination against conscientious objectors to military service and lack of awareness with regard to non-military service3. Unfortunately, none of the recommendations regarding this matter have been accepted. The Finnish government stated that “the recommendation to take measures to inform the public of the right to refuse military service and to extend this possibility to alternative military service will be taken into account in connection with the possible call-up reform.”4 However, this call-up reform itself does not comply with international standards. The call-up reform is based on recommendations published by a parliamentary committee on the development on conscription and fulfilling national defence obligation. Recommendations given by the committee would further deteriorate equality within the conscription system.
We encourage Finland to fully comply with international standards pertaining to the human right to conscientious objection and urge the government to reconsider the length of the alternative service, to ensure that the civilian service advisory board is fully under the control of civilian authority and free the current total objectors in probation.5
Thank you.
Click here to download the full statement with footnotes.
Click here to watch the Finnish Conscientious objector (from AKL) accredited by IFOR, delivering the statement.
The International Fellowship of Reconciliation participated in the interactive dialogue which took place this morning in the plenary of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights presented a report on the situation of human rights in Belarus in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election and in its aftermath, highlighting several ongoing grievous violations in the country and the high number of political prisoners, including Ales Bialiatski, 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who has been sentenced a few weeks ago to 10 years in prison, together with three of his colleagues, in response to massive protest over 2020 election. Read more here.
IFOR has taken the floor to highlight the concerning militarization of children and youth and the recent amendments to the Criminal code and introduction of death penalty, which will apply to deserters as well.
IFOR has also mentioned as these concerning amendments will affect as well those who engaged in nonviolent blockage actions of military railway transportations supporting Russian army engaging in the war of aggression in Ukraine.
Human Rights Council, 52nd Session
22nd March 2023
Item 4: Interactive dialogue on the OHCHR report on the situation of human rights in Belarus in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election and in its aftermath
Oral statement delivered by the International Fellowship of Reconciliation.
Mr. President, Madam Deputy High Commissioner,
International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) is very alarmed by the increasing militarization in Belarus, and in particular by Belarusian military training programs of children and [the institution of] military-patriotic clubs for children and youth. According to the statistics, in the summer of 2022 over 18,000 children underwent training in militarized patriotic camps, where children as young as 6 have been trained to use firearms, for instance. [Those camps result to be under the patronage of the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Emergency Situations.]
IFOR is also very concerned by the ongoing violations of the human right to conscientious objection to military service [and the conditions of military service itself].
Although in September 2022 it was stated that there would be no mobilization in Belarus, starting from October it has been declared that Belarus would participate in a 'special operation' and joint activities with the Russian militaries started.
On October 12, 2022, the Belarusian parliament adopted in the first reading a draft law which, among other things, updated the grounds for granting the right to defer conscription, reducing the number of persons receiving deferment of conscription.
In August-December 2022, there have been at least six cases of men charged under Article 435, Part 1 of the Criminal Code (evasion of regular call-up to active military service). [One of them was fined 2,240 BYN (approximately 907 EUR)v. On September 29, 2022, a 24-year-old man who wanted to avoid military service and went to Poland was tried. He was detained on his return to Belarus and sentenced to a two-month arrest.
On August 18, 2022, a criminal case was brought against two women in Vitebsk who tried to protect their son and nephew from military service. They have been arrested and face up to seven years in prison.]
On February 21, 2023, the deputies of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly approved in the second reading amendments to the Criminal Code, in particular, they introduced criminal liability for discrediting the army and death penalty for high treason, and thus for desertion.
In May 2022, an amendment to the Criminal Code introduced the death penalty for attempted acts of terrorism. It has been reported a possible link between the adoption of this amendment and similar ones and the so-called phenomenon of “Belarusian railway partisans” who are conducting non-violent actions blocking military railway transportation, mostly Russian.
IFOR calls on this Council to ensure the universality and non-derogability of human rights and urge Belarus to respect children rights and conscientious objectors’ rights and respect General Assembly resolution 77/222 on death penalty, as restated by the High Commissioner Mr. Volker Türk at the opening of this session.
Thank you.
Click here to download the full statement with footnotes.
Click here to watch the Interactive Dialogue and IFOR main representative to the UN, Ms. Zaira Zafarana, delivering the statement in the plenary of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
There is ongoing concern about mobilization in Belarus and involvement in the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
IFOR, together with War Resisters' International, European Bureau for Conscientious Objection and Connection e.V, launched the international campaign #ObjectWarCampaign to appeal to the European institutions and member states to protect those who refuse to engage the current war in Ukraine and fell Belarus, Russia and Ukraine where their human right to conscientious objection to militray sevrice is violated and their life threatened.
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The webinar series launched in February 2023 on “Conscientious Objection to military service in times of war” continues with a new session focusing on Eritrea and the war in Tigray
Webinar #3 will take place on March 23rd at 4 pm Geneva time and will host campaigners of the Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights and Surbana – Voice of Eritrean Refugees.
Conscientious Objection in Times of War – Focus on Eritrea
March 23 rd 2023, 4 pm CET
Interpretation will be provided in English, French, and Tigrinja.
How can we support conscientious objectors and deserters from Eritrea?
In the summer of 2018, Eritrea and Ethiopia signed a peace treaty that ended the no war no peace stalemate emanating from the border war of 1998-2000. Just two years later the conflict in the Ethiopian province of Tigray escalated. Eritrean security forces have been heavily involved in operations in support of the Ethiopian government since the outbreak of the conflict, and have carried out some of the conflict’s worst abuses. Eritrean authorities have conducted waves of roundups in Eritrea to identify people it considers draft evaders or deserters. And the Eritrean military was destroying and raiding Eritrean refugee camps in the north of Ethiopia. The Eritrean dictatorship under Isayas Afewerki uses an army, which is deployed for the aims of the regime through unlimited military service for men and women.
In recent years, we have observed that despite unchanged human rights violations, European governments have increasingly granted Eritrean refugees protection of inferior quality or have even rejected them. Moreover, refugees have been forced to go to the Eritrean embassies and consulates, where they are pressured to pay a 2% tax to their country of origin and to sign a so-called letter of regret, in which they agree to accept any punishment for their escape from Eritrea.
Read here the statement delivered by IFOR at the current UN 52nd session of Human Rights Council on Eritrea.
Speakers
Helen Kidan (Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights)
George Ghebreslassie (Surbana)
Registration
Please use the link here to register.
This is an event organised by International Fellowship of Reconciliation and War Resisters’ International in collaboration with Connection e.V. and is taking place on the occasion of the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
