News

Conscientious objection is a right under international law

For the first time the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations has unequivocally stated that conscientious objection to military service is a right protected by international human rights law. The decision came about as the result of a case brought to the Committee by two South Korean conscientious objectors. South Korea has compulsory conscription with no alternative for COs and the two men, both Jehovah’s Witnesses – who, like Quakers, are pacifist –argued that their right to the free expression of their religious beliefs was being denied. After their case was turned down by every South Korean court they applied to, the men, Yeo-Bum Yoon and Myung-Jin Choi, took their argument to the United Nations. The result was a landmark judgment: the Human Rights Committee, which oversees and interprets the relevant treaty (the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) stated

that South Korea’s practice of denying any alternative to military service and imprisoning those who refused to perform it violated their rights under Article 18 of the Covenant. It also ordered the Korean government to compensate the men and to ensure that this does not happen again. As reported on the BYM website, the whole story goes back over 10 years, when Rachel Brett (Human Rights Representative at QUNO Geneva) did some human rights training in South Korea, and mentioned the right of conscientious objection in response to some of the issues being raised. At the time this was so far outside the South Korean experience that it seemed incomprehensible, but the issue was picked up by the American Friends Service Committee’s Quaker International Affairs Representatives in the region. This led to a conference on conscientious objection in Seoul,

at which Rachel spoke, reinforcing the links between QUNO and the local lawyers’ organisation working on conscientious objection. The subsequent strategy for taking cases to the Human Rights Committee, which cases to take, how to prepare and submit them, and so on, were worked on collaboratively. The result is hugely important for South Korean conscientious objectors, but also for conscientious objectors worldwide, as this is the first time the Human Rights Committee has made such a ruling. Neither the European nor the Inter-American Human Rights bodies have yet done so, but both are likely to be influenced by the Human Rights Committee’s decision. A full analysis of this case appeared in a briefing paper produced by the Quaker United Nations Office, Geneva. It is available for download from www.quno.org

See letter page 9

Crime can be cut by 14 per cent, Howard League’s research shows

The Howard League for Penal Reform is campaigning for more use of ‘community programmes’ to help create a safer society. The League’s research shows that if such programmes are well-resourced and targeted, they can cut crime by up to fourteen per cent. The League launched the ‘Community Sentences Cut Crime’ campaign a year ago and is now asking supporters to sign up to an email petition to the prime minister to support and promote community sentences and programmes working with offenders. Their research points to the real benefits of helping offenders to take responsibility and make amends for their actions. The League’s involvement with local communities has shown that community sentences can engage positively with victims and often have local support – particularly when they involve unpaid work. For

the majority of non-dangerous offenders on short custodial sentences, alternative community sentences are more likely to reduce the seriousness and frequency of offending. Well-resourced and well-structured programmes help to bring down the rate of re-offending and repair the damage done by crime. By improving community sentences nationwide the League hopes to protect the public more effectively from crime. The aim is not to replace prison, which can be used for violent and serious offenders who are still dangerous, so much as to provide an alternative where, similar to Circles of Support and Accountability, offenders are encouraged to address their behaviour and to start trying to remedy it. The petition can be found on the Downing Street website, at www.petitions.pm.gov.uk/Comm-Sentencing/

the Friend , 27 April 2007 3