Summary

In the present report, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights analyses developments since 2017, promising practices and remaining challenges concerning conscientious objection to military service. It is a welcome development that some States have adopted laws and regulations introducing a genuine alternative service of a civilian nature and decriminalizing conscientious objection, leading to the release of imprisoned objectors. However, many individuals seeking to exercise the right to conscientious objection to military service continue to face violations of that and other rights because some States and de facto authorities do not recognize that right or fail to ensure its full implementation in practice.