Month: January 2011

The Armed Forces: time for change

by

The present recruitment age of sixteen is too young to enter full time military training. If you are not old enough to vote, buy a pint in a pub, to ride a motorbike or even to buy fireworks are you not also too young to join the army?

The punch of the automatic weapon into my shoulder was simultaneous with a shrill whistle of bullets, breaking the silence. It is the only time I have fired an automatic weapon with live ammunition. I was fifteen, a member of Blundell’s School, Combined Cadet Force, training at Lympstone Commando Centre in Devon. I felt much older than my years. We aimed at concentric circles on the bodies of black and white human shapes in front of a bank of sandbags. The bullets disappeared into them. I felt both a loss of innocence and an uncomfortable sense of physical power. It still informs my thoughts about under-eighteen-year-olds in the army today.

The present recruitment age of sixteen is too young to enter full time military training. If you are not old enough to vote, buy a pint in a pub, to ride a motorbike or even to buy fireworks are you not also too young to join the army?… Read more

At least 1,000 UK soldiers desert

by

More than 1,000 members of the British military have deserted since the start of the Iraq war, the BBC has learned.

More than 1,000 members of the British military have deserted since the start of the Iraq war, the BBC has learned.

Figures for those still missing are 86 from 2001, 118 from 2002, 134 from 2003, 229 from 2004, 377 from 2005, and 189 for this year so far.

The news comes as Parliament debates a law that will forbid military personnel from refusing to participate in the occupation of a foreign country.… Read more

British conscientious objector refused recognition

by

Michael Lyons, a medical worker in the British navy, was denied recognition as conscientious objector on 17 December 2010 as the Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objection met for the first time in 14 years.

Michael Lyons, a medical worker in the British navy, was denied recognition as conscientious objector on 17 December 2010. Michael Lyons joined up in 2005, aged 18. Since then he has stopped to think more about his work, partly prompted by researching information about the war in Afghanistan after being told some months ago that he would be deployed there in 2011. He applied for conscientious objection after reading of the “enormous under-reporting of civilian casualties in the conflict I was about to enter“, according to the Buxton Advisor. However, his application for CO status, a few months ago, submitted via his commanding officer, was turned down. Thanks to information from the military counselling group At Ease, he found that he had a right to appeal against this decision to an Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objectors (ACCO) – an official body outside the Ministry of Defence which was last convened in 1996.… Read more

Fox urged to uphold conscientious objection in Armed Forces Bill

by

Defence Secretary Liam Fox is being urged to uphold the right of armed forces personnel to be given a discharge if they develop a conscientious objection.

Defence Secretary Liam Fox is being urged to uphold the right of armed forces personnel to be given a discharge if they develop a conscientious objection.

The call comes as Fox presents the Armed Forces Bill to the House of Commons today. Forces Watch, a network concerned with ethical issues around the armed forces, says that the Bill is an opportunity for politicians to demonstrate their commitment to the human rights of forces personnel.

They add that the process of declaring a conscientious objection must be brought “out of obscurity”.

In theory, the law grants troops the right to apply for discharge if they develop a conscientious objection. But Forces Watch pointed to evidence that many personnel are unaware of this right and that the procedures for applying for it are unclear and poorly publicised.

The issue came to the fore last month, when Michael Lyons, a medical worker in the navy found that he could no longer participate in the war in Afghanistan after becoming aware of what was happening there.

His application for conscientious objection was turned down and he only discovered he had the right to appeal by consulting At Ease, an organisation which advises serving personnel.… Read more

Parliament urged to end UK’s recruitment of ‘child soldiers’

by

Children and young people’s rights groups are calling for a change in the law to end the recruitment of 16 and 17-year-olds into the UK armed forces.

Children and young people’s rights groups are calling for a change in the law to end the recruitment of 16 and 17-year-olds into the UK armed forces. Their call comes ahead of the second reading of the Armed Forces Bill, which the Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, will present to the House of Commons tomorrow (10 January).

The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, together with War Child, UNICEF UK, the Children’s Society, and the Children’s Rights Alliance for England today insisted that the Bill be amended to end the “outdated practice” of recruiting soldiers aged under 18.

Amnesty International UK and the United Nations Association have given their backing to the call.

So far, Liam Fox and the Ministry of Defence are resisting the pressure to raise the age of recruitment to 18, but some question how long they can keep to this position.

The UK is one of a diminishing number of countries that still recruit under-18s into the armed forces, and one of fewer than 20 countries which recruit from the age of 16.… Read more

Fox urged to recognise conscientious objection in Armed Forces Bill

by

Defence Secretary Liam Fox is being urged to uphold the right of armed forces personnel to be given a discharge if they develop a conscientious objection.

Defence Secretary Liam Fox is being urged to uphold the right of armed forces personnel to be given a discharge if they develop a conscientious objection.

The call comes as Fox prepares to present the Armed Forces Bill to the House of Commons today (10 January).(1) ForcesWatch said that the Bill is an opportunity for politicians to demonstrate their commitment to the human rights of members of the forces by bringing the process of declaring a conscientious objection out of obscurity.(2)

They highlighted the example of Michael Lyons, a medical worker in the Royal Navy who found that, after becoming aware of what was happening in Afghanistan, he could no longer participate in the war there. His application for conscientious objection was turned down and he only discovered he had the right to appeal by consulting At Ease, an organisation which advises serving personnel.(3)

Mr Lyons gave a strong defense of his position at a hearing of the Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objection (ACCO) last month. Despite this, ACCO has advised Liam Fox to refuse to discharge Mr Lyons and a final decision from the Defence Secretary is awaited.… Read more