press release

(UPDATE on Ruslan Kotsaba case:The trial took place online on 8 April 2021. Since two judges didn’t show up it was postponed to May 17th.)

OPEN LETTER To:     Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, zvern@gp.gov.ua 13/15 Riznytska St., Kyiv, 01011, Ukraine, fax (+38) 044 280 26 03

The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection and the Association of Greek Conscientious Objection submitted yesterday (25/03/2021) a joint contribution to the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) documentation on Greece in the 3^r

In this joint submission, the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection and the Association of Greek Conscientious Objection provide information under section (a) Contributions to UPR documentation by “Other Stakeholders”, including civil society and national human rights institutions of the 3rd UPR cycle: contributions and participation of "other stakeholders" in the UPR.

Brussels, 25 March 2021

“The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection publishes today its Annual Report on Conscientious Objection to Military Service in Europe 2020, in honour of Jean Van Lierde (1926-2006) who was born on 15^th February, the most famous Belgian conscientious objector and first EBCO President”, EBCO’s Vice-President Sam Biesemans stated today.

“After decades of lobbying and campaigning, it’s now a reality! Nuclear weapons have now become illegal under international law. This is a ground breaking step towards a world free of nuclear weapons!”, Alexia Tsouni, EBCO president stated today.

The retrial of Ukrainian journalist, pacifist and conscientious objector Ruslan Kotsaba started yesterday, and what is more, he was attacked by a far-right mob and sprayed with a fire extinguisher with the mob chanting “Death to the enemies! Ukraine above all!”

On 5 January 2021 sixty Israeli teenagers published an open letter addressed to top Israeli officials, in which they declared their refusal to serve in the army in protest of its policies of occupation and apartheid.

OPEN LETTER  To:  Court Stadtrayongericht Kolomyja, Gebiet Iwano-Frankiwsk 78200 Kolomyja, Hruschewskyj-Prospekt 29 E-Mail:inbox@kmm.if.court.gov.ua  

Cc:    Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, hotline@ombudsman.gov.ua 

Office of General Prosecutor, zvern@gp.gov.ua  Security Service of Ukraine, callcenter@ssu.gov.ua  

À l'occasion de la Journée internationale des Droits de l'Homme, le 10 décembre 2020, l'Union Pacifiste de France (UPF), le BEOC-EBCO et la WRI-IRG co-organisent la première du documentaire "Maurice Montet: objecteur de conscience et pacifiste intégral".

Vous pouvez vous joindre à cet événement en ligne le vendredi 11 décembre à 18h00, heure de Paris, en cliquant sur le lien Zoom suivant:

EBCO held its General Assembly 2020 today (this time online due to the COVID-19), bringing together conscientious objectors and activists from national and international organisations in a number of countries: Belgium, Cyprus (both from the Republic and the northern part), Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Catalonia/Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

On the 7th of September 2020 the Grand Chamber panel of the European Court of Human Rights rejected the request to refer the case of Dyagilev v. Russia (no. 49972/16) to the Grand Chamber, thus rendering thejudgement of 10 March 2020 final.

Greece brings a civilian to stand trial before a military court, and what is more, he is a conscientious objector, whose application to serve civilian service was rejected by the Ministry of Defence.