Whats the problem?

Military recruitment: unethical

UK armed forces recruitment practices are largely unethical

  • The armed forces target recruitment campaigns on disadvantaged young people, failing to properly inform them of the difficulties and obligations of a military career.
  • The UK is the only EU country to recruit 16-year-olds into the armed forces.
  • Recruits under 18 commit themselves to up to 6 year's service before they are adults.
  • Adult recruits commit themselves for up to 4 year's service with a long notice period, and must join the reserves afterwards.
  • Whilst some people join the armed forces for positive reasons, others sign up as a last resort because they can’t find another job.
  • Recruits are not normally informed about their rights to express moral objections to military operations.
  • Armed forces personnel face significant risks during service, including psychological harm, and many struggle to resettle into civilian life.

Unethical military recruitment practices

Recruiting child soldiers

Children as young as 15 years, 7 months can apply for the Army. The UK remains the only EU country to recruit 16 year olds into the military and one of very few EU countries to recruit 17 year olds. The UN and the UK Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights have requested that the UK reconsider its policy of recruitment of children into the military, that ethnic minorities and children of low-income families are not targeted, that parents are included in the process from the outset and that the limited discharge rights for child soldiers are reviewed.

Targeting the young & vulnerable

Non-officer recruitment draws mostly on young people from 16 years of age living in disadvantaged communities, with many recruits joining as a last resort. Increasingly, very young children are being targeted as potential recruits in schools and through the media, games and advertising. Research, and general observation, indicates that children are introduced to the potential benefits of a forces career but not to its risks, and that warfare is glamorised and sanitised

How the military interests and recruits young people

Many recruitment tools capitalise on the impressionability of young people by presenting a glamorous view of armed forces life without the risks, legal obligations  and ethical issues involved.

These include:

  • internet and TV campaigns such as ‘Start Thinking Soldier’
  • recruitment offices and ‘army showrooms’
  • bespoke computer games and access to military hardware in schools and local communities
  • ‘career advisors’, school presentation and youth teams and other free resources offered to schools, youth and community groups
  • the Camouflage Club and Altitude - information websites aimed at under 18s
  • the Cadet forces
  • MoD-sponsored toys and dressing-up clothes aimed at children as young as five. 

We campaign to raise the age of recruitment into the armed forces to 18 years. See more here.

This campaign has the support of organisations concerned with the rights and welfare of children and young people, as well as a high level of public support. Child Soldiers International are also working to raise the age of recruitment.

We also hightlight concerns about the way that young people are recruited, focusing on military activity in schools.

Headteacher Chris Gabbett is one supporter of the campaign to raise the age of recruitment:

I am Principal at Trinity Catholic School in Leamington Spa and I fully support the initiative to raise the enlistment age for the British military from 16 to 18. At the age of 16, our young people are still, in so many ways, vulnerable.  We use the term ‘young adults’ and it is in its own way misleading; they aren’t THAT young and they are DEFINETELY not adults.  Rather, these are children who are still choosing the appropriate pathways to enable them to be consciously, politically and socially fully involved in an adult world.  It is cavalier to offer by means of mitigation the fact that soldiers are not deployed until they are 18, nor to insist that such a pathway offers an alternative to unemployment, lack of education or training.  Schools are now thoroughly equipped to offer a number of aspirational pathways to young people.  Further, a young person who pursues further study to 18 will probably be in a position to make a more informed and mature decision, with deeper aptitude and greater resilience.

Read on recruitment

Submission to the Human Rights and the Scottish Parliament inquiry
April 2018

This submission made by ForcesWatch and Quakers in Scotland to the Scottish Parliament's human rights inquiry details our concerns around the need for regulation and transparent accountability of military activities in schools, the lack of education about peace and human rights, and the continued recruitment of children into the UK armed forces.

We refer to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, recommendations made by the Committee on the Rights of the Child for change in the UK's policy and practice, and support for our concerns by child rights organisations. We make a number of recommendations regarding how the Scottich Parliament can more vigorously support childrens rights in Scotland.

 read more >>
Download the submission
human rights, legislation and policy, military in schools, recruitment age, risks, Scottish Parliament, terms of service
Evidence submitted to the Armed Forces and Veterans Mental Health Inquiry
March 2018

Written evidence submitted by ForcesWatch to the Defence Committee's Armed Forces and Veterans Mental Health Inquiry.

We conclude that:

More independent research, in anonymised conditions, needs to be carried out in a number of areas, including:

  • The relationship between early enlistment (especially junior entry), prior vulnerabilities such as socio-economic disadvantage, and short and long-term health impacts.
  • The connection between military training and mental ill-health.
  • Developmental issues that affect adolescents in particular, for example in assessing and appreciating long-term risk and making an informed decision to enlist.
  • Moral injury and how issues of conscience impact mental health.

Steps should be taken to improve legal procedures by which claims of harassment and bullying are investigated and incidents are reported within the military.

In order to avoid mental health risks to young soldiers, junior entry recruitment of those under 18 should end. There needs to be greater understanding about pre-enlistment risk factors for psychological ill-health such as socio-economic disadvantage and childhood adversity, and a consequent shift away from recruitment marketing that targets vulnerable groups.

 read more >>
download the submission
see the Defence Committee inquiry page
ForcesWatch, PTSD and mental health, recruitment age, risks, UK Parliament, veterans' experience
The First Ambush: Effects of army training and employment
June 2017

This report from Veterans For Peace UK details how the Army's training process has a forceful impact on attitudes, health, and behaviour even before recruits are sent to war. The findings show that military training and culture combine with pre-existing issues (such as a childhood history of anti-social behaviour) to increase the risk of violence and alcohol misuse. Traumatic war experiences further exacerbate the problem.

The report explains that the main purpose of army training is to mould young civilians as soldiers who will follow orders by reflex and kill on demand. It demands unquestioning obedience, stimulates aggression and antagonism, overpowers a healthy person’s inhibition to killing, and dehumanises the opponent in the recruit’s imagination. Recruits are taught that stressful situations are overcome through dominance.

The First Ambush? Effects of army training and employment (70pp) draws on veterans’ testimony and around 200 studies, mainly from the UK and US, to explore the effects of army employment on recruits, particularly during initial training.

 

 read more >>
Read more and download the report
adjusting to civilian life, alternatives viewpoints, legislation and policy, PTSD and mental health, recruitment, recruitment age, risks, terms of service, Veterans for Peace UK, veterans' experience
Does the military give young people a 'leg up'? The armed forces and social mobility
May 2017

In early 2017, the Ministry of Defence, and Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon, praised the social mobility prospects offered by the military. They presented the military as a champion of social mobility for those who enlist in the lower ranks, and for recruits from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds with low educational attainment.

This briefing explores if these claims about social mobility stand up to scrutiny or whether enlisting in the armed forces can have a negative impact upon social mobility, particularly for very young recruits.

 read more >>
Download the briefing
legislation and policy, military in schools, recruitment age, risks, social mobility
Soldiers at 16 - The other side of the story
January 2017

Army adverts don't tell you what being a soldier is really like.

At 17, Wayne Sharrocks joined the infantry. His training made him obey the army completely, until it had control of how he thought and what he did. He says that by the end of his training he could have killed another person right in front of him 'at the flick of a switch' with ‘an insane amount of aggression’. He now thinks army training is 'massively damaging' to the mind of a young person.

After he turned 18 Wayne was sent to Afghanistan. There he saw a friend’s legs ripped off and another friend killed. He was injured in the face. Nothing in his training could protect him or his friends.

He couldn't just ‘switch off’ his army training after he left, he says, which caused him all sorts of problems.

Now Wayne thinks that the army shouldn’t be recruiting 16 and 17 year-olds. While it still does, he believes it's better to wait until you’re 18 before deciding whether to join up.

Find out about Wayne's time in the army in these 3-minute videos:

 read more >>
See all 11 films here
Read more facts about recruitment of young people
adjusting to civilian life, alternatives viewpoints, Child Soldiers International, legislation and policy, PTSD and mental health, recruitment, recruitment age, risks, veterans' experience
The Recruitment of Children by the UK Armed Forces: a Critique from Health Professionals
October 2016

Medact’s report on the long-term impacts of the British military’s recruitment of children under the age of 18, presents evidence linking ‘serious health concerns’ with the policy, and calls for a rise in the minimum recruitment age.

The report’s findings include:

  • Child recruits are more vulnerable to PTSD, alcohol abuse, self-harm, suicide, death and injury during an armed forces career when compared to adult recruits.
  • Military recruitment marketing takes advantage of adolescent cognitive and psychosocial vulnerabilities.
  • The current practices for recruiting children in to the British armed forces do not meet the criteria for full and informed consent.
  • Those recruited as children, upon turning 18, are more likely than adult recruits to end up in frontline combat roles which carry greater risks than other roles.

The UK is one only a handful of countries worldwide to still allow recruitment from age 16, a policy which has been strongly criticised by multiple UN and UK parliamentary bodies, child rights organisations and human rights groups.

 read more >>
Download the report
legislation and policy, Medact, PTSD and mental health, recruitment age, risks
UN observations on UK and childrens' rights
June 2016

The Committee on the Rights of the Child recently reviewed the UK's position on implementing the articles and protocols of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. They made a number of recommendations relating to the armed forces recruitment of under-18s and the military's activities in schools.
See our report for the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
See our article on the UN, child rights and the UK military
human rights, legislation and policy, military in schools, recruitment, recruitment age, United Nations
Soldiers at 16: Sifting fact from fiction
March 2016

Published by Child Soldiers International, this short and accessible booklet addresses questions often raised about under-18s in the armed forces, presenting the facts - based on extensive research - rather than the fiction. Also contains very useful quotes and statistics. Great when talking to your MP or for those thinking of enlisting!

Despite this widespread unease about the policy of recruiting 16 and 17 years olds into the armed forces, a number of common misconceptions still lead many under-18s to leave their education early and enlist. This booklet examines these ‘myths’ in light of the evidence available.

‘The fact that the British armed forces continue to recruit from the age of 16 sets a poor example internationally and impedes global efforts to end the use of child soldiers. The Army surely does not need to make youngsters sign up formally at such a young age – there have to be other, better ways to meet our requirements whilst respecting our human rights obligations.’

Major General (retd) Tim Cross CBE

 read more >>
Download the booklet
See more from Child Soldiers International
Child Soldiers International, legislation and policy, PTSD and mental health, recruitment age, risks, terms of service

See other resources on recruitment practices

Ask your MP to support raising the age of recruitment

See here

Thinking of joining up / already in the forces

Before You Sign Up is a vital resource for those with questions about the consequences of enlisting in the military. At Ease is a voluntary organisation providing advice and information to members of the Armed Forces. For more information on these independent sources of advice and for other things to look at, see our before you enlist page.

also see

British army ads targeting 'stressed and vulnerable' teenagers
08/06/2018 The Guardian

The British army has targeted recruitment material at “stressed and vulnerable” 16-year-olds via social media on and around GCSE results day, the Guardian can reveal.
UK military school audit reveals teenage recruits at risk
15/05/2018 The Guardian

Drive to fast-track late joiners at AFC Harrogate led to issues including skewing staff/student ratios in dangerous activities.
My thoughts exactly: UK army accused of dictating soldiers' press statements
06/05/2018 The Guardian

The army has been accused of manipulating teenage soldiers by spoonfeeding them identikit quotes to be used in local and regional newspaper articles extolling life in the military.
Harrogate abuse court martials
20/03/2018

On the day that the Harrogate abuse court martials were dropped and the press was allowed to comment after reporting restrictions were lifted, there was coverage in almost all the major news outlets. Our comments, and those of partner organisations, were also reported.
SNP adopt #MakeIt18
09/10/2017 Various


A passionate debate was held on Sunday 8 October at the SNP Conference on Raising the Minimum Age of Military Recruitment to 18. The motion was passed!
From the classroom to the frontline – schools must be careful what they teach kids about the army
26/09/2017 The Conversation

This article by Jonathan Parry. Lecturer in Global Ethics at the University of Birmingham, explores the dangers involved in miltary activity in schools and for the youngest recruits. It emphasises the moral risks and the 'moral exploitation' involved.
Academics: Armed forces are no place for 16-year-olds
12/09/2017 Various

A letter to the Guardian (12/09/17) from more than 50 academics has called for the age of recruitment ot the UK armed forces to be raised to 18. It backs a conference motion from SNP Youth in support of this.
British Army targets working class kids
10/07/2017 The Guardian and The Independent

The Army's latest recruitment campaign focuses on low income families from cities with high deprivation levels.
As A Teenage Soldier I Was Numb, Focused On War And Ready To Kill The Enemy
13/06/2017 Huffington Post

"Joining at 16 is massively psychologically damaging and issues of PTSD, suicide and depression are major issues for veterans, and more so for teenage recruits. I think it is hugely important the recruitment age is raised. I now work with Veterans for Peace as a volunteer educating young people on the realities of war and support advocacy group Child Soldiers International, who recently launched its Declare18! campaign, to get governments to raise the age to 18."  By Wayne Sharrocks, former British Army officer
The militarisation of schools
23/01/2017 The Independent

The UK is one of few countries that allow minors to enlist. Despite calls to cease the recruitment of under-18s the Army is digging in to hold its ground.
This is Belonging
23/01/2017 Bella Caledonia

The new British Army advert is astonishing. Organised violence as antidote to anomie.
Army defies child rights campaigners, intensifies intake of 16-year-olds for riskiest roles
24/11/2016 Child Soldiers International press release

Figures released today reveal that the British Army has increased its intake of 16-year-olds in the past 12 months, defying calls from the UN, children’s rights organisations and others campaigning for an end to the recruitment of minors.
Parliament considers military visits to schools petition
23/11/2016 ForcesWatch press release

MSPs will consider what further action to take on a petition from ForcesWatch and Quakers in Scotland calling for increased transparency and scrutiny of armed forces visits to schools this Thursday (24 November).

See more relevant news

Risks

Significant risks

The majority of recent deaths in Afghanistan have been among the infantry. Younger recruits from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to join the infantry so they face the greatest risk. In addition to the risk of death or serious injury, many suffer post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental problems on return and experience other difficulties once back in civilian life, including harmful drinking and addiction, relationship breakdown, and a greater risk of suicide for young men.

Dissatisfaction

An inability to leave the forces legally before several years have elapsed almost certainly contributes to the number of personnel going absent without leave (AWOL). In the last 10 years, between 2000 and 3000 serving personnel have gone AWOL each year, mainly from the army.Those going AWOL risk a criminal conviction and punishment by detention.

Some resort to self harm, taking drugs to get caught and suicide attempts in order to find a way out.

The Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey reports that only about one third of armed forces personnel felt valued. About one fifth were dissatisfied with their job – that is many thousands of serving personnel who are likely to want to leave if they were able to.

read more on risks

Submission to the Human Rights and the Scottish Parliament inquiry

This submission made by ForcesWatch and Quakers in Scotland to the Scottish Parliament's human rights inquiry details our concerns around the need for regulation and transparent accountability of military activities in schools, the lack of education about peace and human rights, and the continued recruitment of children into the UK armed forces.

We refer to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, recommendations made by the Committee on the Rights of the Child for change in the UK's policy and practice, and support for our concerns by child rights organisations. We make a number of recommendations regarding how the Scottich Parliament can more vigorously support childrens rights in Scotland.

 read more >>
Download the submission
human rights, legislation and policy, military in schools, recruitment age, risks, Scottish Parliament, terms of service
Evidence submitted to the Armed Forces and Veterans Mental Health Inquiry

Written evidence submitted by ForcesWatch to the Defence Committee's Armed Forces and Veterans Mental Health Inquiry.

We conclude that:

More independent research, in anonymised conditions, needs to be carried out in a number of areas, including:

  • The relationship between early enlistment (especially junior entry), prior vulnerabilities such as socio-economic disadvantage, and short and long-term health impacts.
  • The connection between military training and mental ill-health.
  • Developmental issues that affect adolescents in particular, for example in assessing and appreciating long-term risk and making an informed decision to enlist.
  • Moral injury and how issues of conscience impact mental health.

Steps should be taken to improve legal procedures by which claims of harassment and bullying are investigated and incidents are reported within the military.

In order to avoid mental health risks to young soldiers, junior entry recruitment of those under 18 should end. There needs to be greater understanding about pre-enlistment risk factors for psychological ill-health such as socio-economic disadvantage and childhood adversity, and a consequent shift away from recruitment marketing that targets vulnerable groups.

 read more >>
download the submission
see the Defence Committee inquiry page
ForcesWatch, PTSD and mental health, recruitment age, risks, UK Parliament, veterans' experience
The First Ambush: Effects of army training and employment

This report from Veterans For Peace UK details how the Army's training process has a forceful impact on attitudes, health, and behaviour even before recruits are sent to war. The findings show that military training and culture combine with pre-existing issues (such as a childhood history of anti-social behaviour) to increase the risk of violence and alcohol misuse. Traumatic war experiences further exacerbate the problem.

The report explains that the main purpose of army training is to mould young civilians as soldiers who will follow orders by reflex and kill on demand. It demands unquestioning obedience, stimulates aggression and antagonism, overpowers a healthy person’s inhibition to killing, and dehumanises the opponent in the recruit’s imagination. Recruits are taught that stressful situations are overcome through dominance.

The First Ambush? Effects of army training and employment (70pp) draws on veterans’ testimony and around 200 studies, mainly from the UK and US, to explore the effects of army employment on recruits, particularly during initial training.

 

 read more >>
Read more and download the report
adjusting to civilian life, alternatives viewpoints, legislation and policy, PTSD and mental health, recruitment, recruitment age, risks, terms of service, Veterans for Peace UK, veterans' experience
Does the military give young people a 'leg up'? The armed forces and social mobility

In early 2017, the Ministry of Defence, and Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon, praised the social mobility prospects offered by the military. They presented the military as a champion of social mobility for those who enlist in the lower ranks, and for recruits from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds with low educational attainment.

This briefing explores if these claims about social mobility stand up to scrutiny or whether enlisting in the armed forces can have a negative impact upon social mobility, particularly for very young recruits.

 read more >>
Download the briefing
legislation and policy, military in schools, recruitment age, risks, social mobility
Is it Counterproductive to Enlist Minors into the Army?

This article, written by Child Soldiers International and published in the Royal United Service Institute Journal, argues that raising the UK enlistment age from 16 to 18 would bring benefits to young people and the British armed forces. The article explains that the UK’s low enlistment age is counterproductive internationally, as it implies to other countries that it is acceptable to use children under the age of 18 to staff national armed forces.  
Read the article
See other resources from Child Soldiers International
Child Soldiers International, legislation and policy, recruitment age, risks, terms of service
The Recruitment of Children by the UK Armed Forces: a Critique from Health Professionals

Medact’s report on the long-term impacts of the British military’s recruitment of children under the age of 18, presents evidence linking ‘serious health concerns’ with the policy, and calls for a rise in the minimum recruitment age.

The report’s findings include:

  • Child recruits are more vulnerable to PTSD, alcohol abuse, self-harm, suicide, death and injury during an armed forces career when compared to adult recruits.
  • Military recruitment marketing takes advantage of adolescent cognitive and psychosocial vulnerabilities.
  • The current practices for recruiting children in to the British armed forces do not meet the criteria for full and informed consent.
  • Those recruited as children, upon turning 18, are more likely than adult recruits to end up in frontline combat roles which carry greater risks than other roles.

The UK is one only a handful of countries worldwide to still allow recruitment from age 16, a policy which has been strongly criticised by multiple UN and UK parliamentary bodies, child rights organisations and human rights groups.

 read more >>
Download the report
legislation and policy, Medact, PTSD and mental health, recruitment age, risks
Soldiers at 16: Sifting fact from fiction

Published by Child Soldiers International, this short and accessible booklet addresses questions often raised about under-18s in the armed forces, presenting the facts - based on extensive research - rather than the fiction. Also contains very useful quotes and statistics. Great when talking to your MP or for those thinking of enlisting!

Despite this widespread unease about the policy of recruiting 16 and 17 years olds into the armed forces, a number of common misconceptions still lead many under-18s to leave their education early and enlist. This booklet examines these ‘myths’ in light of the evidence available.

‘The fact that the British armed forces continue to recruit from the age of 16 sets a poor example internationally and impedes global efforts to end the use of child soldiers. The Army surely does not need to make youngsters sign up formally at such a young age – there have to be other, better ways to meet our requirements whilst respecting our human rights obligations.’

Major General (retd) Tim Cross CBE

 read more >>
Download the booklet
See more from Child Soldiers International
Child Soldiers International, legislation and policy, PTSD and mental health, recruitment age, risks, terms of service
'Commonsense and Understanding': Recommendations from the Defence Committee's Duty of Care report that are still outstanding 10 years on

This report highlights seven recommendations from the Defence Committee’s report Duty of Care: Third Report of Session 2004-05 which have not been partially or fully implemented, and around which substantial concerns remain.

This report goes on to present additional evidence and arguments about the experience of the youngest recruits.

This report then discusses the concept of 'in loco parentis' and 'moral obligation' with regard to the army's duty of care towards young recruits, noting that the Defence Committee were concerned in 2005 that the MoD distinguished too rigidly between legal and moral obligations, with the latter as less important. 

In 2005, the Defence Committee discussed the lack of balance beween training needs and considerations for operational effectiveness, and thus made its recommendations. Ten years on, it is apparent that operational arguments, and current difficulties meeting recruiting targets, continue to prevent the armed forces from reviewing both their position on enlisting under-18s, and their recruitment practices and materials.

 read more >>
Download the report
Deepcut, human rights, legislation and policy, PTSD and mental health, recruitment, recruitment age, risks, terms of service
ForcesWatch submission to Defence Select Committee inquiry on Military Casualties

ForcesWatch's submission to the Defence Select Committee inquiry on Military Casualties draws on our research published in The Last Ambush and concludes that:

  • The continued targeted recruitment of minors from disadvantaged backgrounds deserves to be re-appraised from the perspective of long-term mental health risks that this group faces. 
  • Where possible, we hope that the development of military health research will better specify personnel who face higher and lower risks.
  • Future research could also better account for personnel who show some symptoms of mental ill-health but are not counted as full ‘cases’ of a specific ‘disorder’. 
  • A large number of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are likely to need mental health support services for years to come.  It falls to the state to take prime responsibility for ensuring that the long-term welfare needs of injured veterans are met.  That is an expensive undertaking, which it behoves any government to appreciate and accept before deciding whether to send young men and women to war
 read more >>
Read on parliament.uk
legislation and policy, mental health, recruitment age, risks
The Last Ambush? Aspects of mental health in the British armed forces

This report from ForcesWatch, shows that young soldiers recruited from disadvantaged backgrounds are substantially more likely than other troops to return from war experiencing problems with their mental health. It calls for the policy of recruiting from age 16 to be reviewed so that the greatest burden of risk is not left to the youngest, most vulnerable recruits to shoulder.

Download the full report (PDF 1294kb)

Download the Executive Summary (PDF 268kb)

 read more >>
Read the press release
adjusting to civilian life, legislation and policy, PTSD and mental health, recruitment age, risks, veterans' experience

Ask your MP to support raising the age of recruitment

See here

Thinking of joining up / already in the forces

Before You Sign Up is a vital resource for those with questions about the consequences of enlisting in the military. At Ease is a voluntary organisation providing advice and information to members of the Armed Forces. For more information on these independent sources of advice and for other things to look at, see our before you enlist page.

more info & advice

For more on terms of service and the risks involved with being in the armed forces see guidance.

news on risks associated with the armed forces

The armed forces and special schools
12/06/2018 ForcesWatch comment

Concerns we have raised with the Scottish Parliament about armed forces activities in special schools have been picked up by The Daily Record newspaper.

"The question is why such a massive remit would be given to an organisation whose primary purpose is defence rather than educational, if no ­recruitment outcome was expected?"

UK military school audit reveals teenage recruits at risk
15/05/2018 The Guardian

Drive to fast-track late joiners at AFC Harrogate led to issues including skewing staff/student ratios in dangerous activities.

Harrogate abuse court martials

On the day that the Harrogate abuse court martials were dropped and the press was allowed to comment after reporting restrictions were lifted, there was coverage in almost all the major news outlets. Our comments, and those of partner organisations, were also reported.

Army abuse case failings: it's time for change in the military justice system
19/03/2018 ForcesWatch comment

Three cases involving over 40 claimants and 16 Army instructors have collapsed, raising a number of serious concerns about failings within the military justice system. As a result, serious allegations of abuse against very young recruits have not been tested. We call for changes to the system and question whether a military environment where aggression is fostered will ever be condusive to the wellbeing of young recruits.

A red hand against child soldiers - the UK should be leading the way not dragging its feet
12/02/2018 ForcesWatch comment

Today is the International Day Against the Use of Child Soldiers. Today also sees the start of a court martial of 16 instructors at Army Foundation College Harrogate which trains young recruits aged under 18. They are charged with numerous counts of bullying and abuse.

An inclusive, emotionally supportive British Army? Not yet.
10/01/2018 ForcesWatch comment on the 2018 British Army recruitment advertising campaign

ForcesWatch comment on the 2018 British Army recruitment advertising campaign: We welcome any commitments and improvements the military makes to the welfare of soldiers but caution that the reality of military life is not accurately represented in this new campaign, and that the welfare of recruits into the Army should not be overlooked.

Making it 18 – the SNP votes yes to raising the age of recruitment
16/10/2017 ForcesWatch comment

Douglas Beattie reports on an important campaigning moment.

From the classroom to the frontline – schools must be careful what they teach kids about the army
26/09/2017 The Conversation

This article by Jonathan Parry. Lecturer in Global Ethics at the University of Birmingham, explores the dangers involved in miltary activity in schools and for the youngest recruits. It emphasises the moral risks and the 'moral exploitation' involved.

more news items

ethical dilemmas and conscientious objection

Taking an active part in conflict involves serious ethical questions regarding the justification of killing and the political purposes of military action. The armed forces does not adequately address these concerns during recruitment and for serving personnel.

Active service and exposure to warfare can radically alter a person’s values and beliefs and lead to the development of an objection to further service. Although the armed forces recognise the right of serving personnel to be discharged if they develop a conscientious objection, this right is not set out clearly in legislation, is not mentioned in the terms of service, the process of declaring an objection on moral grounds is very opaque and many, perhaps most, forces personnel are unaware of it.

The system for registering a conscientious objection needs to be far easier to access and the different types of conscientious objection need to be fully recognised.

There is evidence that many more soldiers have objected to recent military activity than officially recorded. Discharges due to conscientious objection are rare with personnel encouraged to suppress their concerns, be discharged on other grounds or find other ways of leaving such as going absent without leave. High profile cases of court martial and detention of those who have refused to obey orders based on moral objections are set to deter others and also hinder understanding of an individual’s right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

ForcesWatch are campaigning to increase awareness of conscientious objection and make the process of applying for it more transparent. See more here.

supporting conscientious objectors

Conscientious objector, Michael Lyons has been released (9 Nov 2011). Michael, a medic in the Royal Navy, was sentenced to 7 months detention on 5 July 2011, for 'wilful disobedience' for not taking part in rifle training while his request for discharge as a conscientious objector was proceeding.

Michael joined up at 18 after seeing a TV advert depicting the Navy providing humanitarian aid overseas. At that age he was unaware of the realities of war. His desire to help people and his growing awareness in current affairs, determined his application to become a conscientious objector.

On 13 Oct 2011, an appeal against Michael's detention was held at the High Court (read press release). Although the appeal was unsuccessful, the judges expressed some concerns about the procedure for conscientious objectors. Michael is still awaiting the full written judgement.

ForcesWatch, along with other groups, have provided support for Michael and his family during his case. Michael also received many, many letters and cards, from people who wished to show their support for him during his detention. He has now left the Navy and looks forward to pursuing a career in the medical services.

read on conscientious objection

Conscientious objection to military service
March 2013

The Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights has published a guide to applicable international standards and jurisprudence relating to conscientious objection to military service.

It is designed as a guide for 'State officials who are responsible for implementing laws, administrative decrees or regulations relating to conscientious objection to military service, as well as Members of Parliament and Government officials who may be involved in drafting laws or administrative decrees or regulations on this subject.'

Additionally, the publication (below) 'is intended to guide individuals who may be called to perform military service and are unsure of what their rights are in this regard, and how and when they can be exercised.'

read more >>
Download the guide here
conscientious objection
International Standards on Conscientious Objection to Military Service
November 2011

Published by the Quaker United Nations Office in November 2011, this short booklet reflects recent changes in international law and practice that indicates that recognition of conscientious objection to military service as a human right is now stronger than ever. The publication in available in English, French or Spanish.

read more >>
Read the publication
See more about conscientious objection on the Quaker UN office website
conscientious objection, human rights, legislation and policy
European Court of Human Rights ruling on rights of conscientious objectors: case of Bayatyan v. Armenia
July 2011

European Court of Human Rights catching up with UN Human Rights Committee

On 7 July 2011, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights finally recognised the right to conscientious objection as a right protected under article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In its judgement in the case of Bayatyan v. Armenia, the court has ruled that states have a duty to respect individuals’ right to conscientious objection to military service as part of their obligation to respect the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion set out in Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

This is the first time that the right of conscientious objection to military service has been explicitly recognised under the European Convention on Human Rights.

read more >>
Read the full judgement
Read the joint statement of Amnesty International, Conscience & Peace Tax International, International Commission of Jurists, Quaker United Nations Office, Geneva, and War Resisters' International
conscientious objection
ForcesWatch briefing on Conscientious Objection
January 2011

The armed forces recognise the right of serving personnel to be discharged if they develop a conscientious objection.  But this right is not set out clearly in legislation, is not mentioned in the terms of service and many, perhaps most, forces personnel are unaware of it.  The system for registering a conscientious objection is opaque and little information about it is easily available.  

A briefing outlining the issues and recommendations of how to make registering a conscientious objection accessible to armed forces personnel.

Download the briefing
Armed Forces Bill 2011, conscientious objection
Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)4 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on human rights of members of the armed forces
February 2010

The Council of Europe Recommendation on Human Rights of Members of the Armed Forces lists rights and freedoms that should be respected and implemented in the Armed Forces, including that, members of the armed forces have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; access to relevant information; the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others; and, enjoy the right to vote and to stand for election.

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Read the full recommendation
Read the Explantary Memorandum
conscientious objection, human rights, legislation and policy
Professional soldiers and the right to conscientious objection in the European Union
October 2008

Tobias Pflüger, MEP

This publication gives a detailed overview of the right to conscientious objection in the countries of the European Union (including candidate countries), and as far as possible of practices regarding this right. It has become obvious that the situation regarding the right to conscientious objection within the European Union is not good. Most countries of the EU are far from conforming with the existing international standards: of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, or the European Parliament.

It looks at the situation country by county. For the UK it concludes that: 

  • The regulations governing the right to conscientious objection are not in the public domain, and information is difficult to obtain by members of the public, and also by members of the Armed Forces.
  • Decision making on an application for conscientious objection in the first instance is by the respective branch of the Armed Forces itself, and not by an independent body. Only the appeal body – the Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objectors – is an independent body.
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Download the report here (pdf)
Download the pages looking at the situation in the UK (pdf)
conscientious objection, legislation and policy

see more on conscientious objection

Who were the conscientious objectors of the first world war?

Guardian Data has extracted details of 654 records from the National Archive to look at who conscientiously objected to the first world war and why

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Look at the data
ForcesWatch submission to Armed Forces Bill 2011

ForcesWatch's submission to the Armed Forces Bill committee raising concerns relating to the human rights of service personnel with the Armed Forces Bill Committee and making a number of recommendations to bring the UK into line with current international standards and improve terms of service.

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Read on parliament.uk
Winter Soldier

winter soldierThe Winter Soldier project, organised by the United States based group, Iraq Veterans Against War, details eyewitness accounts from Iraq and Afghanistan. Much of the testimony focuses on the individual soldier’s experience and how they felt about their participation and actions. Six episodes have been created for web viewing (or can be downloaded), e.g. Broken Soldier which tells the stories of 3 soldiers.
Go to the IVAW website
View the list of episodes
Conscientious Objection Project

This archive and educational materials resource has an extensive collection of materials which tell the stories of the men and women conscientious objectors of the 20th century. It documents their experiences, videos their recollections, promotes their ideals and publishes teaching resources.

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See more about the CO Project

"An armed forces career involves ethical questions associated with the justification of killing, the risk of civilian casualties and the political purposes of military action. In order to make a responsible choice about enlistment, all potential recruits need to have considered these issues before accepting the legal obligations of service, and to continue to do so during their career. In omitting to mention ethical dilemmas, the army recruitment literature and applications process fail to support potential recruits in making an informed decision about enlistment in this respect."

Informed Choice? Armed forces recruitment practice in the United Kingdom

Need advice on conscientious objection?

Details and advice relating to how to register a conscientous objection can been found on our page for those already in the armed forces. This information has been difficult to access, even for serving personnel.

news on conscientious objection

Bringing it up to date: 100 years on from the First World War
16/03/2016 ForcesWatch comment

This article, summarising our work, was first published on the White Feather Diaries website: "Publishing the diaries of conscientious objectors of WWI. To refuse to kill is a cause worth dying for."

Poet Lydia Towsey challenges military influence in schools
06/01/2016 3thehardwaypoets.wordpress.com

Video of the poet Lydia Towsey performing her new spoken-word poem, 'Daisy', which criticises the UK military's influence in schools.

Veterans for Peace UK members discard their war medals in protest
09/12/2015 various

Documentation of recent  Veterans for Peace UK events, especially four members yesterday discarding their war medals outside Downing Street yesterday in a powerful protest agains the UK bombing of Syria.

'Why militarism now? And why target schools?'
01/01/2015 Quaker Voices

'The new tide of militarisation' which Quaker Peace and Social Witness produced in March 2014 was a timely document drawing attention to the ever-present appearance of the military in British society. If militarisation is 'the process by which a society organises itself for military conflict and violence', militarism is the ideology underpinning it. Never entirely absent, from time to time it re-emerges into prominence with increased vigour and purpose. Why now, and why should schools be particularly targeted?

Videos of our Education Campaign worker speaking about our work
01/10/2014 Watford Quakers

Our Education Campaign worker Owen Everett was interviewed for a new short film about conscientious objectors during the First World War, 'Watford's Quiet Heroes: Resisting the Great War'. His full interview, in which he talks about ForcesWatch's three main areas of work scrutinising UK military recruitment and the influence of the military and military approaches today, is available to watch on YouTube (it is also one of the extra features on the DVD, which can be bought here). You can also watch a video of Owen and others speaking on the relevance of the film and the questions it raises to the situation today, as part of a panel at the launch of the film, here. 

The price of pacifism: Refusing to go to war is finally being recognised as a brave act
18/05/2013 Independent

From the Second World War refusenik to the 19-year-old Israeli, Holly Williams talks to five people who risked shame and suffering to take a stand as conscientious objector.

Conscientious objector Joe Glenton on being jailed for refusing to fight
15/05/2013 Metro

Joe Glenton, a former soldier in the British army, has served his country and risked his life in Afghanistan. He’s also been called a coward. The reason? After returning to Britain after his first tour of Afghanistan, he became a conscientious objector (CO) and refused to go back.

see more news on conscientious objection

also see

From the classroom to the frontline – schools must be careful what they teach kids about the army
26/09/2017 The Conversation

This article by Jonathan Parry. Lecturer in Global Ethics at the University of Birmingham, explores the dangers involved in miltary activity in schools and for the youngest recruits. It emphasises the moral risks and the 'moral exploitation' involved.
Read the full article
New critical thinking resources from The Citizenship Foundation
28/07/2015 The Citizenship Foundation

The Citizenship Foundation's new resources focus on facilitating primary school students' critical thinking skills. Discussing the military in this rigorous way would give students a more balanced impression of armed forces life.
Government accused of failing to make progress on improving PSHE in schools
16/07/2015 Schools Week, ForcesWatch

The Education Select Committee has accused the Government of failing to make progress on improving PSHE in schools. PSHE could be a good place for students to take part in informed, balanced discussion on the military.
Read more on the Education Select Committee's recent criticisms of the Government regarding PSHE
Read more about the history of the PSHE debate between the Department for Education and the Education Select Committee
Iraq abuse whistleblower Nick Mercer: 'Schools must teach speaking truth to power'
25/12/2014 The Independent

Children should be given lessons in human rights to give them the courage to blow the whistle on abuses they witness as adults, according to an ex-Army lawyer who went public with his concerns about the mistreatment of Iraqis.
Read the article here
Discussions on PSHE and careers guidance in schools between the Education Select Committee and the Department for Education
17/12/2014 Parliament.uk

The Department for Education and Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE): Ofsted finds 40% of PSHE teaching either requires improvement or is inadequate (it is not compulsory for schools to teach it); the DfE only gives £75,000 for PSHE Association, compared to £millions for ‘alternative provision with a military ethos’; and schools are not adhering to requirement to publish what they cover in PSHE on their websites. DfE and careers guidance: drop in provision since government transferred responsibility to schools; expectation for teachers ‘to signpost pupils towards appropriate sources of independent careers guidance’.   
Read the full PSHE discussion transcript here
Read the full DfE response to the ESC careers guidance report here
Foreign Secretary rejects allegations of torture
13/01/2014 British Forces News

Human rights lawyers have drawn on the cases of more than 400 Iraqis, arguing they represent "thousands of allegations of mistreatment amounting to war crimes of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment".
Read the full article
I wept as I comforted our soldiers maimed in Iraq': How could I tell them Blair's 'just war' was an illusion?
12/11/2011 Daily Mail

"We can best pay tribute to their sacrifices by ensuring that in the future no British sailor, soldier, Marine or airman is asked to lay down their life except for the most urgent and honourable of causes."
Read the full article
How soldiers deal with the job of killing
11/06/2011 BBC online

"We talk about destroying, engaging, dropping, bagging - you don't hear the word killing”. This article explores the effect of killing on people in the military, how many are unable to kill and others live with the effects of having killed for the rest of their lives. Also see The Kill Factor radio broadcasts.
Read the full article
Listen to The Kill Factor on the BBC
The Kill Factor

These BBC radio programmes explore the effect of killing on people in the military, how many are unable to kill and others live with the effects of having killed for the rest of their lives.

 read more >>
Listen to the programmes
Read 'How soldiers deal with the job of killing'

Critical debate

There is concern that some government initiatives, such as Armed Forces Day, seek to manufacture a climate of uncritical national pride in the armed forces in order to garner public support for foreign policy. Unqualified support of the military and foreign policy stigmatises legitimate concerns about how young people are recruited for the armed forces within our communities, and limits debate on alternatives to war. Widespread critical awareness of the risks and legal obligations of an armed forces career is essential if young people are to make an informed, responsible choice about enlistment.

Critical debate: vital

  • Do government projects like Armed Forces Day honour armed forces personnel or seek to manufacture public support for military intervention overseas?
  • Does uncritical support for the military stifle concerns about how young people are recruited and limit debate on alternatives to war?
  • Is it appropriate for the military to be visiting schools when their objective is clearly stated as recruitment and influencing young people and should the military be involved in providing education alternatives?
  • Why is the UK the only EU country to recruit 16 year olds into the armed forces and one of very few to recruit 17 year olds? There is a growing international concensus the only adults should be recruited, yet the Ministry of Defence have denied that there is a need to review this policy.
  • In order to make informed and responsible choices about enlisting, young people and their parents need to be fully aware of the risks and legal obligations of military careers.
  • Armed conflict causes enormous damage to all involved; widespread public debate about the role of the armed forces and their recruitment practices is therefore vital.

 

See more on our work to change the law on recruitment of under-18s into the military and other issues

See more on our Military Out Of Schools campaign

See more on our work looking at the military in society more generally

Militarisation in everyday life in the UK
An event in October 2013 which brought together academics, writers, activists and campaigners who are researching, writing, campaigning on the implications of militarisation of UK society. See more here including background reading and films of presentations.

At a comfortable distance from warfare, our culture easily passes over its horrific reality in favour of an appealing, even romantic, spectacle of war. Yet, over the last decade, most Britons have opposed Western military ventures abroad. This book takes a fresh look at a culture of militarism in Britain, public resistance to it, and the government's prodigious efforts to regain control of the story we tell ourselves about war.  See details & buy book