How can you help stop the intrusion of the military into people’s lives?

Here are five ways to take action:

Campaign for an ordinance for equal access in your school district.

Equal access mandates that for each military recruitment session done in the district’s schools, peace groups are allowed equal time and access to the students to offer alternatives to enlistment. See examples of other successful campaigns and how-to organizing guides. 

Distribute opt-out forms at local high schools.

At the beginning of the school year, parents have the option to opt-out of allowing their children to be contacted by military recruiters. You can download opt-out forms to distribute.

Chile reformed its military service seven years ago, to focus recruitment for military service on volunteers. Ever since, Chile's armed forces were able to fill their ranks entirely with volunteers, although generally a process of conscription was started in October to select potential conscripts as a backup. In October 2008, 70,461 youth were chosen in the "sorteo general" (recruitment lottery) and had to report to the recruitment authorities, but in the end nobody was called up for military service against his will. This was repeated in the following years.

However, in October 2011, the military announced that only 14,127 persons had so far volunteered for military service, compared to 20,431 the year before. The military plans to recruit 11,340 soldiers by spring 2012, and according to the recruitment department they would need 2.5 times the number of volunteers.

CRC/C/SR.1321 5 June 2008 (Summary record)

CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS OF STATES PARTIES (continued)

Initial report of the United States of America under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (CRC/C/OPAC/USA/1, CRC/C/OPAC/USA/Q/1 and Add.1, written replies by the United States of America, document without a symbol distributed in English only) (continued)

1. At the invitation of the Chairperson, the members of the delegation of the United Statesof America resumed places at the Committee table.
…

CRC/C/OPAC/GBR/CO/1

Concluding observations:
UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

Voluntary recruitment

12. The Committee notes that, according to the State party’s declaration under article 3 made upon ratification, the minimum age for voluntary recruitment is 16 years and regrets the fact that the State party indicates that there are no plans to change this.

13. The Committee encourages the State party to consider reviewing its position and raise the minimum age for recruitment into the armed forces to 18 years in order to promote the protection of children through an overall higher legal standard. In the meantime, the Committee recommends that, in recruiting among those persons who have not yet attained the age of18, priority is given to those who are the oldest.

Article 1

States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that members of their armed forces who have not attained the age of 18 years do not take a direct part in hostilities.

Article 2

States Parties shall ensure that persons who have not attained the age of 18 years are not compulsorily recruited into their armed forces.

Explanation

by Lothar Krappmann (member, Committee on the Rights of the Child)

This manual focuses on building the GI resistance movement, and doing so requires an understanding of how veterans are directly impacted by war and militarism. Civilian organizers need this awareness in order to to build relationships and organize effectively in the military community. Below we explore veterans’ experiences with the military.

War

Conference reaffirms existing Union policies which:

1. Call for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
2. Oppose military action or intervention in Iran.

The Global Campaign for Education have reported that over half of the children out of school are now living in countries where there are wars taking place. Conference notes with particular concern the huge refugee crisis within and beyond Iraq’s borders, one consequence of which is the impossibility of education for most learners of all ages.

As part of the work against the militarisation of the education system, several schools in Germany have refused to cooperate with the German Armed Forces and won’t tolerate appearances from them in schools.

Robert Blum Grammar School in Berlin passed the motion of “Schools Without Military” on Thursday the 24th of March 2011 with a 7:1 majority. The motion went as follows:

Robert Blum Grammar School - Schools without Armed Forces

Robert Blum Grammar School refuses to work together with the Armed Forces in regards to education. Included in this refusal is:

- Any cooperation agreements with the armed forces

- The invitation of educational officers to lessons or school activities

- The advertisement of placements in armed forces buildings

Resolution of the GEW National Executive dated 5/6 March 2010

In recent years the Bundeswehr- Armed Forces have been striving for more influence in schools. There have been many incidents where exhibitions of weapons and information events took place in schoolyards and gyms.

Cooperation agreements with State governments (f.i. in North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate …) support the Bundeswehr's aggressive engagement. Although the agreements underline that they are not allowed to promote jobs within the Bundeswehr. They are, however, granted far-reaching opportunities in the field of political education/teaching of politics as well as in professional and vocational education and training of teachers and student teachers. State governments agree to publish learning opportunities offered by the Bundeswehr in their official journals and on their online platforms.

On 27 April the Defence Review Committee appointed by the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans published its Defence Review draft report. The last time South Africa undertook a Defence Review was in the late 1990s and it was in the context of a new democratic dispensation. However, those civil society organizations who participated in the 1996-98 review were disappointed and felt compromised by the final outcome. Although we already feel that civil society’s contribution has already been trivialized, the Ceasefire Campaign has made a submission to the Committee in the hope that the greater militarization the review promotes can at least be tempered.