Commissioner for Human Rights

Similarly, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) also states that conscientious objection to military service comes under ICCPR Article 18 and has recognised “the right of everyone to have conscientious objection to military service as a legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion”. The OHCHR also notes in its Conscientious Objection to Military Service guide that Article 18 is “a non-derogable right .. even during times of a public emergency threatening the life of the nation”. In 2022 the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention stated (WGAD-HRC50) that “the right to conscientious objection to military service is part of the absolutely protected right to hold a belief under article 18 (1) of the Covenant [the ICCPR], which cannot be restricted by States.” The Working Group also stated that “States should refrain from imprisoning individuals solely on the basis of their conscientious objection to military service, and should release those that have been so imprisoned.” Russia (as the Soviet Union) ratified the ICCPR in 1973. สล็อต