Civis Human Rights and Peace Newsletter No 2/2010

“Colombia must not attempt to justify a further delay in the legalisation of the right to conscientious objection to compulsory military service,” said Derek Brett from Conscience and Peace Tax International organization. Brett was one of four international experts, from the United States, Great Britain, Germany and Ecuador, invited to the International Seminar on 2nd June 2010 at the University of Los Andes, Bogotá, to discuss the issue of compulsory military service and the right to conscientious objection.

At the end of May, Civis participated in the annual Hammarkullen carnival, one of Gothenburg’s biggest events. The group of Civis Association members campaigned to support conscientious objectors in Colombia, spreading information about young people’s right to conscientiously object to military service.

On June, the 4^th, the seminar “El derecho a la Objeción de conciencia al Servicio Militar Obligatorio, Perspectivas internacionales y nacionales” took place in the city of Barrancabermeja. Historically, the city has severely suffered from the Colombian conflict, as has the whole Magdalena Medio region. The area has a strong tradition of grass-roots organizations that work in the defence of human rights and for peace. The seminar was a collaboration between Civis Association; the youth grass-roots organisation Quinto Mandamiento, which works specifically with Conscientious Objection in Barrancabermeja; Programa de Desarollo y Paz del Magdalena Medio; Espacio de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de DDHH, and the Alcaldia Municipal de Barrancabermeja. It was the first public seminar on conscientious objection to be held in this region with international guests. The seminar included different aspects of conscientious objection, including at regional, national and international levels, judicial issues and the problems that social organizations have to face when working with this topic.

This video is part of Communication Material elaborated by Acooc and Cinep, in 2009 for their campaign for the Conscientious objection in Colombia

Find here useful information about the current situation of the armed conflict in Colombia concerning militarisation and compulsory military service, elaborated by our partner organisation ACOOC (Collective Action by Conscientious Objectors).

No studies, no job, no rights - this can be the overall situation of conscientious objectors in Colombia. Without a "libreta militar" - an identity card proving you have done military service - young people are not allowed to finish their studies and have great difficulties finding a job. But, what are the international standards that have been set in relation to conscientious objection? The answers are here - part of the presentation by Derek Brett, director of Conscience and Peace Tax International (CPTI) in Geneva, Switzerland, held on the 2nd June 2010 in Bogotá Colombia, during the International Conference organized by Civis, Andes, Acooc and Cinep.

What do we mean by the right to conscientious objection to military service and by international standards? Derek Brett, director of Conscience and Peace Tax International (CPTI), explained details during the International Conference which took place on the 2nd June 2010 in Bogotá, Colombia: "The concept of conscientious objection as a right has subsequently been derived from Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was passed by the United Nations in 1948. That article reads that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion."

Brutality, violence and abuse: the picture presented by the media is that violence among young people is increasing in Gothenburg as well as in the rest of the world. The statistics say otherwise, but are inconsistent. What is the true picture? During 2010, the Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg houses the exhibition “I only want respect – young people’s experiences and stories of violence”.