Lofty Matters

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Wikipedia defines human rights this way:

Human rights refers to the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled. Examples of rights and freedoms which are often thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in culture, the right to food, the right to work, and the right to education.

With this in mind, I would like to explore the right to conscientiously object to bearing arms.

In recent years, more people are refusing to participate in the war and occupation in Iraq. They are applying for conscientious objector (CO) status. This would allow them exemption from participation in war. The US government is denying most of these recent petitions. This effectively denies these Americans the freedom of thought, conscience and religion as guaranteed them by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. These men and women are becoming prisoners of their own conscience.

At this writing, it has become known that the US Government is even going so far as to aggressively pursue soldiers who have gone absent without leave (a crime punishable by a maximum sentence of death by firing squad).

Simple internet searches will bring up story after story of young soldiers and their individual, yet similar, experiences with pursuing CO status in the US.

Here’s one just for the sake of example:

Kevin Benderman spent a year in Iraq when he decided to file for Conscientious Objector status. He was appalled by things he witnessed about military activities in Iraq (such as his unit commander’s order to shoot Iraqi children if they continued to throw pebbles at soldiers). When he returned he went AWOL and was court-martialed in January 2005.

He was sentenced to fifteen months in prison and dishonorably discharged. He was released in August 2006 and since then has been speaking with the media.

The Center on Conscience and War estimates that there have been several hundred CO applications since 2003. A person who refuses to serve and goes AWOL can be dishonorably discharged, court-martialed and then sent to prison. Hearings often take up to two years and most are denied.

From Amnesty International:

“The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. When it is apparent that a person has been denied the right to exercise these freedoms, and has subsequently been forced into military duty or unjustly imprisoned, Amnesty International will adopt him or her as a prisoner of conscience, a person imprisoned solely for the peaceful expression of their beliefs.”

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