Teenage soldiers given right to discharge
Quakers have been central to a campaign that resulted in a change to government policy last week, as a minister announced that teenage soldiers will be given the right to discharge at any time before turning eighteen.
Under-18s discharge rules to change
The Ministry of Defence is set to make it easier for personnel under the age of 18 to leave the armed forces, it has been announced.
‘MoD unfairly imprisons teenagers’
Teenage soldiers have been unfairly detained in military prisons due to a failure from the MoD to effectively implemenent discharge policies, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers has said.
Joint Human Rights Committee report state that Armed Forces Bill gives opportunity for debate on service of under-18s
The report from the JHRC on the Armed Forces Bill 'raises a number of significant human rights concerns in connection with the Bill' and 'calls on the Government to clarify the arrangements for the discharge of under-18s from the Armed Forces and to amend the service commitment made by under-18s to bring it in line with the commitment made by recruits of other ages.'
Campaigners welcome new right to leave the armed forces for under-18s
ForcesWatch press release
The government has today promised to give teenage soldiers the right to leave the armed forces up until age 18 if they are unhappy. ForcesWatch and other NGOs have been campaigning on this and other issues relating to under-18s in the armed forces as the Arned Forces Bill does through parliament.
Court martial raises fears over forces personnel’s right to conscience
British sailor denied right to conscientious objection as world marks CO Day
ForcesWatch press release
Only a few days after International Conscientious Objectors’ Day on Sunday (15 May), a member of the Royal Navy with moral objections to the war in Afghanistan will be tried for ‘wilful disobedience’.
Navy medic may face 10-year sentence for ‘disobedience’: Plight of conscientious objectors highlighted by man who refused rifle training
A Royal Navy medic with ethical objections to the Afghanistan war could face up to 10 years in prison after refusing to undergo rifle training. The Navy will hold a preliminary court-martial hearing against Michael Lyons on Friday.
Campaigners see the court martial as the Navy's attempt to deter other service personnel opposing military duty on grounds of conscience, religion or freedom of thought.
Child soldiers ‘jailed’ for going AWOL despite MoD policy
Channel 4 News
Armed forces report reveals MPs’ confusion over recruitment of under-18s
ForcesWatch press release
The report by the House of Commons Committee on the Armed Forces Bill has rejected proposals to raise the minimum age of recruitment to 18. But ForcesWatch, an NGO that submitted evidence to the Committee, suggests that the wording of the report reveals a lack of clarity over the law in this area, even among MPs and senior military personnel.