Colombia is currently at a crucial moment regarding the fundamental right to conscientious objection. Although the Colombian Constitutional Court gave a verdict (C-728) in 2009 regarding conscientious objection, acknowledging that the right to conscientious objection to compulsory military service derives directly from the fundamental right to freedom of conscience, no further advances has been made.
With the purpose of discussing important questions regarding the fundamental right to conscientious objection with national and international experts, the seminars will focus on three main issues. The first will be a critical analysis of the situation after the verdict C-728 /2009. Secondly, there will be a discussion on the challenges and prospects for the regulation of conscientious objection in a broader context, and thirdly, there will be an examination of the different experiences of the application of conscientious objection on a national and international level.
Additionally, in Bucaramanga there will also be a discussion regarding irregularities in the recruitment process for the compulsory military service and the impact of the persistent militarization of the Colombian civil society.
At the seminars, different distinguished experts such as Carlos Gaviria (ex candidate for presidency in Colombia, and ex judge of the Constitutional Court), Francesc Rieira, (MOC, Spain), Juan Carlos Obando (Serpaz, Ecuador), congressmen and members from the Colombian Ombudsman office, among others, will participate.
BACKGROUND:
International experts highlighted already last year that: “Colombia must not attempt to justify a further delay in the legalization of the right to conscientious objection to compulsory military service”. [1] Nevertheless, there is currently only a proposal of a law Project debated in the Congress, which unfavourably combines the fundamental right to conscientious objection regarding compulsory military service with themes such as the right to abortion and same sex marriages.
Conscientious objectors still live with the permanent risk of recruitment by the Armed Forces of Colombia, in one of the frequent “batidas” (checkpoints set up by the military on busy streets or places) where the military assures that young people of recruitment age are carrying the correct documentation. In this way, since the 2009 sentence, there has not been a political debate regarding the military presence of the National Army in the different regions of the country, nor about the consequences of structural militarism when trying to construct a democratic society and deconstruct military structures in the search of a sustainable peace.
It is in this context that the International Seminar"The regulation of the right to conscientious objection - scope and limitations in the context of armed conflict", will take place in Bogotá on 27th October and in Bucaramanga on 28th October 2011.
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