Conscientious Objection to Military Service in Brazil

Paola Goulart de Souza Spikes is a federal judge at the Rio de Janeiro Federal Court. She holds a Master of Laws from Universidade Federal Fluminense (2024) and is a PhD Candidate at Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro.

Conscientious Objection in Brazil’s Federal Constitution

The 1988 Brazilian Constitution allows for conscientious objection to military service based on religious belief or philosophical or political conviction unless the objector refuses to perform an alternative service established by law (Article 5, VIII).

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Torah, War, Politics, and the Supreme Court: The 2024 Military Service of Ultra-Orthodox Yeshiva Students Bill

Moshe Jaffe is a constitutional law adjunct professor at the Academic Center of Law and Science in Israel and an adjunct professor at Cardozo School of Law.

Introduction

The tragic events of 7 October and the subsequent war in Gaza have reignited longstanding tension in Israel regarding the drafting of Ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students. This issue has been impacted as well by recent rulings of the Israeli Supreme Court, which have brought the matter back into public debate. This post aims to simplify this extremely complex issue and guide the reader through developments leading to the recent bill currently being considered by the Knesset. Given the brevity of this post, its focus is on recent developments and specifically on the 2024 bill rather than a comprehensive historical review.

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Conscientious Objection to Military Service in Türkiye

Mine Yildirim is head of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee’s Freedom of Belief Initiative in Turkey.

Nearly two decades after the 2006 Ülke v. Turkey[1] judgment of the European Court of Human Right (ECtHR), and findings of the United Nations (UN) bodies such as the Human Rights Committee (HRC or the Committee) and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Türkiye still has not recognized the right to conscientious objection to military service. Punitive measures impacting freedom of thought, conscience, and religion and other fundamental rights for conscientious objectors continue to be integral to national policy. The robust recognition of the right to conscientious objection to military service right under international human rights law, within the scope of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, has provided the basis for the legal struggle to put an end to human rights violations that conscientious objectors have experienced in Türkiye.

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