On 23-29 November this year, activists from across the world are taking action against the militarisation of young people in their countries, cities and towns.
Join us this November in the International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth with your own nonviolent actions... + continue reading
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Introduction to Countering the Militarisation of Youth
From the moment we are born, in many cultures children and young people are exposed to the military and military values around them. We call this the militarisation of youth. Militarisation of young people goes far beyond overt recruitment from the armed forces. It includes the presence and influence of the armed forces in education, social media, public military events such as street parades and memorial, military-themed and violent video games and across many other forms of entertainment and fashion.
This website is part of a project to identify and challenge the many ways in which young people around the world are encouraged to accept the military and military values as normal, and worthy of their uncritical support. For more info, visit About Us.
Countering the Militarisation of Youth is a project of War Resisters' International.
Featured Content
An interview with Sofia Orr - Nineteen-year-old Sofia Orr was jailed for refusing to enlist in the Israeli military. In an interview with Jacobin, she explains the disturbing authoritarianism of an Israeli society that has rallied behind the massacre in Gaza.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, Israeli society has been caught up in a... + continue reading
Edward Hasbrouck / Antiwar.Blog - Contrary to earlier reports, the U.S. Senate has joined the House of Representatives in moving toward a foolhardy attempt to ‘automatically’ register all draft-eligible U.S. citizens and residents for a possible military draft, by extracting and aggregating information obtained from other Federal... + continue reading
On December 11, 2022 the New York Times printed its lead story titled, “ Thousands of Teens Are Being Pushed Into Military’s Junior R.O.T.C.”
The New York Times reviewed over 200 public records requests and found schools in Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Oklahoma City and Mobile, Alabama were automatically enrolling... + continue reading
Recent Content
Updated: 07/04/2022 - 23:38
Many young men in Syria's southern Daraa province are refusing to join the Assad regime's military forces and now fear for their fate as a conscription deadline approaches.
Young men...
+ continue reading Updated: 20/01/2022 - 15:25
Two former child soldiers reflect on their experiences during Sierra Leone's brutal civil war and their lives since.
Updated: 24/12/2021 - 01:30
Dozens of Kurdish parents and activists protested outside the United Nations offices in Qamishli, Syria, on Sunday against the recruitment of children by local military groups.
The demonstration took place after several teenage girls were...
+ continue reading
Countering Military Recruitment
WRI's new booklet, Countering Military Recruitment: Learning the lessons of counter-recruitment campaigns internationally, is out now. The booklet includes examples of campaigning against youth militarisation across different countries with the contribution of grassroot activists.
You can order a paperback version here.
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