All articles

Sun

Jan

2025

Moscow Activist Detained, Taken to Military Enlistment Office During Police Raid

Submitted by Gary

Thu

Sep

Scottish Parliament asks for more information on military visits to schools after hearing from ForcesWatch

Submitted by hannah on Thu, 22/09/2016 - 16:52

ForcesWatch comment

Things have really moved on since ForcesWatch and Quakers in Scotland lodged a petition earlier this year with the backing of over a thousand signatures at the Scottish Parliament concerning military visits to state schools.

Back in March we asked Holyrood to ensure ‘guidance is provided to schools', ‘information is collected to provide public monitoring’ and ‘parents/guardians are consulted’ when it comes to visits by the military.

This reflected the work done with the Welsh Assembly in 2015 when Assembly Members in Cardiff agreed to support, in principle, greater oversight, guidance and balance in relation to how the armed forces operate in secondary schools. This decision was made in recognition of the unique nature of an armed forces career.

Sat

Aug

Education Not Militarization

Submitted by Gary on Sat, 27/08/2016 - 23:13

Project YANO's video of students sharing their personal goals and talking about the pressure they feel from military recruiters.

Education Not Militarization

Sat

Aug

Call for Articles: Examples of Youth Militarisation in Different Countries/Regions

Submitted by antimili-youth on Sat, 27/08/2016 - 12:22

War Resisters' International is organising the third International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth this year. The week is going to take place between November 14-20 with the participation of groups and individuals from different countries. See our call out here.

Alongside events and actions, this year we are also planning to share examples of youth militarisation, and resistance to it, from different countries via a series of articles. The articles will be published on our website www.antimili-youth.net. If you'd like to write to us about your country and/or community please contact us via cmoy@wri-irg.org.

Tue

Aug

Soldiers' Mothers of St. Petersburg introduce mobile app "Draftee Online" to help draftees

Submitted by hannah on Tue, 02/08/2016 - 11:34

The Android application "Draftee Online" is an aid to any draftee, whether he intends to do army service or has the right to an exemption.

The app provides advice based on the rich experience of the lawyers at the human rights organization Soldiers' Mothers of St Petersburg, who help draftees to figure out the most pressing and complex questions of the military draft, and to defend their rights independently.

"Draftee Online" is set up so that a young person who suffers a violation of the law can find a case related to his own situation and receive concrete recommendations as to the actions he can undertake to protect his rights.

The application describes the most frequent situations that draftees encounter, as well as giving templates of the necessary declarations and complaints.

The application unites a large number of useful functions, which every draftee should have at the ready:

Thu

Jul

Rejecting Militarization

Submitted by hannah on Thu, 28/07/2016 - 09:49

Colombia is the only South American nation with an ongoing internal armed conflict where military service is obligatory, requiring all 18-year-old young men to serve for 1 to 2 years - with no option of an alternative civil service. The Collective Action of Conscientious Objectors (ACOOC) is committed to nonviolence and they educate and defend the rights of youth who object to serving in the military. ACOOC works towards demilitarization of society by using creative means such as films and street theatre to highlight the degree of militarization in Colombian society.

Rejecting Militarization

Thu

Jul

Forced recruitment and peace

Submitted by hannah on Thu, 28/07/2016 - 09:02

Colombia is the only South American nation with an ongoing internal armed conflict where military service is obligatory, requiring all 18-year-old young men to serve for one to two years - with no option of an alternative civil service. A military identification card is required to work in the public sector. Julián Ovalle and Alejandro Parra, of the Collective Action of Conscientious Objectors, describe their personal experience with forced recruitment and how it can be a nightmare for someone who has a fundamental objection to military service.

Forced recruitment and peace

Thu

Jul

Venezuela: NGOs introduce action for partial annulment and constitutional protection against obligatory military registration

Submitted by hannah on Thu, 14/07/2016 - 11:05

On Wednesday 13th July, non-governmental organizations such as the Venezuelan Program of Education-Action in Human Rights (VPEAHR), Laboratory of Peace (LP), Center of Justice and Peace (CJP), Civil Human Rights (CHR), Public Space (PS) and the Center of Human Rights of the Andrés Bello Catholic University (CHR-ABCU) went to the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court with the goal of introducing an action for partial annulment of unconstitutionality along with an action for injunctive relief against articles 35, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 44, 45, 46, 47, 50, 51, 52, 76, 82, 83, 85, 97, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104 and 105 of the Law of Obligatory Military Registration and Enlistment for the Integral Defense of the Nation, published in the Official Gazette Number 40.440, dated 25th June, 2014, which establishes obligatory of enrollment in Military Registration for all natural and legal persons.

English translation unavailable for .

Fri

Jul

Conscientious objection declaration: Thailand's first CO

Submitted by hannah on Fri, 08/07/2016 - 12:10

We're supporting Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, ‪‎Thailand‬'s first conscientious objector. He'll be appearing in the next edition of The Broken Rifle [subscribe here: http://lists.wri-irg.org/sympa/subscribe/wri-info]

Watch Netiwit's declaration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuPOtZGkyTw

Conscientious objection declaration: Thailand's first CO

Fri

Jul

WATCH: The militarism of Israel's youth movements

Submitted by hannah on Fri, 08/07/2016 - 11:15

Discourse on the soldiers, heroism and sacrifice increases on Memorial Day. But where these values come from? Some boys and girls who grew up to be soldiers, were educated in youth movements. What is the connection between youth movements and the army?

Source: Israel Social TV

WATCH: The militarism of Israel's youth movements

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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.