On April the 1st the United Nations Human Rights Committee adopted its concluding observations on Finland's seventh periodic report on the implementation of the Convention on Civil and Political Rights. Committees' criticism towards the situation of conscientious objectors has further increased compared to previous conclusions issued in 2013.
The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO) echoes the demands of its member organisation in Finland, the Union of Conscientious Objectors (AKL), requiring that the conclusions of the UN Human Rights Committee must be taken seriously into account when preparing legislation on non-military service, e.g. in the on-going work of the Parliamentary Committee to Develop General Conscription.
“EBCO expresses its satisfaction about the concluding observations of the UN Human Rights Committee. EBCO urges the Finish government to stop prosecuting and imprisoning conscientious objectors, and amend the civilian service which is still extremely punitive and discriminatory”, EBCO’s President Alexia Tsouni stated today.
On its concluding observations, the UN Human Rights Committee:
NOTES:
Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee on the seventh periodic report of Finland, 1 April 2021: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/FIN/CCPR_C_FIN_CO_7_44648_E.pdf
The original documents related to the 131st session of the UN Human Rights Committee and the review of Finland, including the submissions made by civil society, such as the AKL's and IFOR's ones: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=2463&Lang=en
Press release of the Finish Union of Conscientious Objectors (AKL), 1 April 2021: “Human Rights Committee: Finland must release the imprisoned conscientious objectors and fix the problems of non-military service”:
EBCO report on conscientious objection to military service in Europe 2020:
https://ebco-beoc.org/sites/ebco-beoc.org/files/attachments/2021-02-15-EBCO_Annual_Report_2020.pdf
For more information and interviews please contact:
Ms Alexia Tsouni, EBCO President, +30 6974461210, tsounialexia@gmail.com