Conscientious objection to compulsory military service

Council of Europe-Directorate General of Human Rights. Conscientious objection to compulsory military service Council of Europe Strasbourg, 2002

There are people liable to conscription for military service who, for compelling reasons of conscience, refuse to perform such service, mainly because of the obligation to use arms. Problems may arise whcn a coun­try’s legislation or practice does not allow such people, known as conscientious objectors, to perform alternative civilian service. Although encouraging progress has been made recently in certain Council of Europe member states, the fact remains that we still have a long way to go in this area.
This booklet is designed to make the authorities and the public at large aware of the problems currently raised in Europe by conscientious objec­tion to compulsory military service and of the solutions needed at inter­national and national level.