UK Government faces growing calls to rule out military conscription

Source: Peace Pledge Union

Today, a coalition of British peace organisations is launching a new petition calling on the UK government to rule out military conscription, or any form of compulsory national service involving the armed forces.

The petition, organised by a coalition of thirteen peace and faith organisations, comes amid growing debate about military recruitment and national service as the UK government ramps up military spending.

Campaigners say they are concerned that proposals once seen as politically unthinkable are increasingly entering mainstream debate, with commentators and military figures regularly calling for the reintroduction of some form of conscription. The Conservatives have proposed a form of national service for young people, while Labour are expanding a military 'gap year' scheme.

Speaking on behalf of the coalition of peace organisations, Emma Sangster from ForcesWatch said: "Conscription is now a threat held over young people in the UK. People talk patronisingly of national service being good for young people, as if it didn't pose significant risks to their physical and mental health, and impose the moral burdens of warfare on them."

She added: "We do not accept that militarised security will bring real human security. We do not accept that young people in this country should be drafted into its service through compulsory measures. It's hard to believe that anyone would want that for their children and future generations."

Meanwhile across Europe, conscription is on the rise. Serbia is reintroducing military service, while Croatia has recently become the tenth European NATO state where conscription is in force. France is introducing a voluntary form of national service.

In Germany, a new law requires 18-year-olds to register with military authorities, with provisions allowing compulsory measures in future if deemed necessary. This has prompted widespread resistance, with 45,000 schoolchildren participating in recent walkouts and protests.

British peace campaigners argue that any attempt to reintroduce conscription in the UK would represent a major attack on civil liberties and young people's freedom.

The petition states: "We reject conscription as a moral affront and an attack on human rights. It deprives young people of choices and opportunity at a vital time in their lives... Joining the armed forces is a political and moral choice that should never be forced on anyone."

It concludes: "With war escalating around the world and record numbers of civilian casualties, now is the time to stand up for peaceful and cooperative approaches to conflict resolution."

The petition is being launched on International Conscientious Objectors' Day (CO Day, 15th May), an annual event when people around the world stand in solidarity with conscientious objectors, past and present.

Events to mark CO Day are taking place in towns and cities across the UK - in Brighton, Edinburgh, Leicester, Manchester, Norwich, Oxford, Sheffield, Wokingham and elsewhere - alongside many others worldwide.

The National Ceremony for CO Day in London, where the petition will be announced, will feature testimonies from COs from Russia, Ukraine, the UK and other countries.

As well as opposing conscription, the petition also calls on the UK Government to "assert and uphold the rights of conscientious objectors, ensuring protection for those who refuse to participate in the armed forces."

It will be handed in to both 10 Downing Street and the Ministry of Defence.

The participating organisations are: Anglican Pacifist Fellowship, Conscience: Taxes For Peace Not War, Fellowship of Reconciliation, ForcesWatch, Movement for the Abolition of War, Network for Peace, Pax Christi, Peace & Justice (Scotland), Peace Pledge Union, Quakers in Britain, The Right to Refuse to Kill Group, War Resisters' International and Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) is one of the UK's oldest pacifist organisations, founded in 1934. PPU members pledge not to support war and to work for the removal of the causes of war. The PPU's work includes promoting peacebuilding, challenging militarism, providing educational resources on peace and distributing the white poppy in memory of all victims of war.
For more information see: www.ppu.org.uk.

The Peace Pledge Union is not linked to any political party and PPU members include supporters of several parties and none.

Events to mark International Conscientious Objectors' Day today, 15th May, and other work supporting and commemorating conscientious objectors, can be found at : www.CO-Day.org, a webpage supported by a coalition of peace organisations including the PPU.