Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Landmark judgment by the European Court of Human Rights

Case of reservist conscientious objector Murat Kanatlı v Türkiye

(03.05.2024) The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), War Resisters’ International (WRI), the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), and Connection e.V. welcome the landmark judgement of 12^th March by the European Court of Human Rights in the case Kanatlı v Türkiye (application no. 18382/15). Murat Kanatlı is an EBCO Board Member and Co-coordinator of the Initiative for Conscientious Objection in Cyprus.

Two years after the start of the war: PRO ASYL and Connection e.V. criticise asylum rejections of Russian refusers

(21.02.2024) Two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) continues to reject Russian refusers and obliges them to return to Russia. Connection e.V. and PRO ASYL are alarmed by the BAMF’s reasoning, which ignores the risk for Russian refusers of being recruited in a war that violates international law.

Russians refusing to go to war

What are the chances of protection and asylum?

(20.02.2024) Connection e.V. and PRO ASYL have repeatedly called for a change in the decision-making practice of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) with regard to deserters and military draft evaders, especially those from Russia. In an analysis published a year ago, it was stated that deserters from Russia could be granted protection, but not the vast majority of military draft evaders who had already evaded recruitment in Russia. The government repeatedly pointed out that the BAMF’s decision-making practice should be reviewed.

Dates of the week of action in December 2023

Protection and asylum for all those from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine who refuse military service

(02.12.2023) These are the planned actions and events of the action week: Bonn, Herford, Frankfurt/M., Tampere, Hamburg, Vienna, Münster/W., Düsseldorf, Cologne, Bremen, Lübeck, 4 webinars, Rostock, London, Berlin, Schwerin, Göttingen, Freiburg, Trier, Kassel, Athens, Mainz, Potsdam, Karlsruhe, Halle (Saale), Naumburg, Löbau. The list is updated regularly.