Wethen, 4 November 2024 – “Today more than ever we must support the Russian conscientious objectors – men who refuse to take up arms and support Vladimir Putin in his war against Ukraine.” Belarusian human rights activist Olga Karach made this call during the conference of the European ecumenical network Church and Peace from 24 to 27 October 2024 in Brussels, on the topic “Resisting War Today – Preparing Collective Nonviolent Alternatives”.
Olga Karach has lived for years in exile in Lithuania and her concerns include the right to conscientious objection in Belarus. For her active commitment she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024.
It is extremely difficult for people in Russia and Belarus, and even also in Ukraine, to assert the human right to resisting war on grounds of conscience. In Russia and Belarus this possibility still exists but it is little known and claiming it entails the risk of persecution and imprisonment. In Ukraine the right to conscientious objection has been suspended and conscientious objectors are threatened with severe punishments.
In February 2023 the European Parliament called upon member states to grant asylum to Russians and Belarusians who are prosecuted because of their protest against the war, and also to deserters and conscientious objectors. However, the European authorities and member countries do not protect conscientious objectors and deserters adequately, was the sobering realisation of participants at the conference, although the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which took effect in 2009, expressly recognises the right to conscientious objection and freedom of speech.
“That this doesn’t happen means two things: exposing people to a risk and discouraging others to resist war, instead of making them welcome‚” said Tracey Martin of the Quaker Council for European Affairs during the conference. “Nonviolence does not only mean developing a direct response to violent conflicts but also breaking the spiral of violence, e.g. by withdrawing from war or supporting people who avail themselves of their right to conscientious objection.” Many Ukrainian men eligible for military service have been included in temporary protection measures for Ukrainians in the EU but now will not be able to have their passports renewed. While being in the European Union, they receive limited protection. However, an application for asylum is generally unsuccessful as persecution in the case of desertion or conscientious objection is not considered a ground for asylum.
Even Russian and Belarusian conscientious objectors do not get asylum as a rule, and instead are regarded with distrust. The participants were horrified to hear that a Russian conscientious objector in Lithuania had not been granted asylum and was sent back to Russia. “That is tantamount to a death penalty,” Baltic participants commented.
The Russian government is cautious about compulsory mobilisation because it fears protests from the population. The recruiting of North Korean soldiers for the Ukraine war makes this clear. In Belarus, too, if a few thousand people refused to do military service, this could change the mood, said Olga Karach. That is why broad support for conscientious objectors is so important, she urged. Together with Connection e.V., the international campaign for conscientious objection and desertion, Church and Peace calls on the European Union and the European governments to guarantee the right to conscientious objection and to grant protection and asylum for conscientious objectors, deserters and war resisters from Russia, Belarus as well as Ukraine.
Press contact:
Antje Heider-Rottwilm, Chair of Church and Peace, +49 172 5162 799