Conscientious objection Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
In general, conscientious objection is a sincere conviction based on one's conscience that prohibits someone from participating in organized violence, especially all forms or certain aspects of war.Conscientious objection is most often based on religious beliefs but can also be on ethical, political or philosophical grounds.
The most common form of conscientious objection is the one to compulsory military service (draft, conscription). Most objectors refuse to go to the army before their call-up, but there are also many cases of objection during the service or even during a war (e.g. in the US and British armed forces in Iraq).
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Situation Today
Conscientious objection exists since the incorporation of forced military service but was not officially recognized until the twentieth century, when it was gradually recognized as a fundamental human right as a part of the freedom of conscience.
But despite the fact that international institutions like the United Nations (UN) or the Council of Europe (CoE) regard and promote it as a human right, conscientious objection still does not have a legal basis in most countries. Among the roughly one-hundred countries that have conscription, only thirty countries have some legal provisions, 25 of them in Europe. In Europe, most countries with conscription more or less fulfill international guidelines on conscientious objection legislation (except for Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Finland and Russia) today. In many countries outside Europe, especially in armed conflict areas (Israel/Palestine, DR Congo), conscientious objection is punished severely.
While conscientious objectors - or short CO's - used to be seen as deserters, traitors, cowards, slackers or simply un-patriotic, their image has changed drastically in the Western world in past decades. Especially in Europe, where objectors usually serve an alternative civilian service are regarded as making an equally important contribution to society as conscripts. Parallel to that, the number of objectors has risen significantly, too: E.g. in Germany from less than one percent of all eligible men to more than fifty-percent in 2003.
Historical Development
The modern idea of conscientious objection has its roots in the Protestant belief that everyone is individually responsible for his deeds before God. Therefore it is not surprising that the first legal provisions were introduced in Protestant Norway in 1900 (Denmark and Sweden followed 1917 and 1921). During the following decades, the other protestant countries in Europe also gradually recognized the right to conscientious objection. Due to the different view on individual guilt and loyalty to the state, the Catholic countries followed fifty years later beginning with France and Luxembourg in 1963.
While the situation in Western Europe improved during the Cold War, the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellite states did not allow conscientious objection, thus ignoring Lenin's opinion on that matter. With the end of the cold war, most Eastern European countries legalized conscientious objection.
A special case has been Greece with its Orthodox tradition, which places loyalty to the state and 'self-defense' above the moral obligation not to kill. It is one of the few European countries with insufficient legislation regarding conscientious objection and alternative service. The most recent European country that recognized the right to conscientious objection was Serbia & Montenegro; in 2003.
During World War II, conscientious objection to military service was a dangerous form of resistance, especially in Nazi-occupied Europe. In the following Cold War it was mostly seen as a political and anti-militaristic statement, which needed some courage and persistence. Nowadays, with the end of the West-East confrontation and the end of conscription in most EU-countries it has largely lost his idealistic function. However, the war on Iraq and the following occupation as well as the situation in Israel show that the topic is still up to date.
This is an Article on Conscientious objection. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Conscientious objection See also
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