Brussels, 10 December 2015
On International Human Rights Day the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO) publishes its new Annual Report “Conscientious objection to military service in Europe 2015”.
“It remains a scandal that the violation of the human right of conscientious objection to military service continues to be a daily occurrence in several member states of the Council of Europe”, EBCO President Friedhelm Schneider said today. “And it is a shame that members of European institutions seem to resign themselves to this unacceptable state of affairs.”
Monitoring the situation of conscientious objectors in Europe during the last year the report documents a sad continuity of problems on three levels:
EBCO urges the member states of the Council of Europe which still do not respect the human right of conscientious objection to military service to bring their legislation and practice in line with European and international human right standards.
The comprehensive Report on conscientious objection to military service in Europe 2015 can be downloaded from EBCO’s website http://www.ebco-beoc.org/