UK government faces growing calls to rule out military conscription

A coalition of UK peace organisations is launching a new petition calling on the UK government to rule out military conscription, or any form of compulsory national service involving the armed forces.

Thirteen peace and faith organisations have come together to organise the petition. It arrives amid growing debate about military recruitment and national service as the UK government ramps up military spending.

Rising talk of conscription

Campaigners say they are concerned that proposals once politically unthinkable are increasingly entering mainstream debate. Commentators and military figures are regularly calling for the reintroduction of some form of conscription. The Conservatives previously proposed a form of national service for young people, while Labour is expanding a military ‘gap year’ scheme.

Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Emma Sangster from ForcesWatch said:

Conscription is now a threat held over young people in the UK. People talk patronisingly of national service being good for young people, as if it didn’t pose significant risks to their physical and mental health, and impose the moral burdens of warfare on them.

She added:

We do not accept that militarised security will bring real human security. We do not accept that young people in this country should be drafted into its service through compulsory measures. It’s hard to believe that anyone would want that for their children and future generations.

Meanwhile across Europe, conscription is on the rise. Serbia is reintroducing military service, while Croatia has recently become the tenth European NATO state where conscription is in force. France is introducing a voluntary form of national service.

In Germany, a new law requires 18-year-olds to register with military authorities, with provisions allowing compulsory measures in future if deemed necessary. This has prompted widespread resistance, with 45,000 schoolchildren participating in recent walkouts and protests.

UK peace campaigners argue that any attempt to reintroduce conscription in the UK would represent a major attack on civil liberties and young people’s freedom.

The petition states:

We reject conscription as a moral affront and an attack on human rights. It deprives young people of choices and opportunity at a vital time in their lives… Joining the armed forces is a political and moral choice that should never be forced on anyone.

It concludes:

With war escalating around the world and record numbers of civilian casualties, now is the time to stand up for peaceful and cooperative approaches to conflict resolution.

Conscientious Objectors’ Day

The petition is launching on International Conscientious Objectors’ Day (CO Day, 15 May). This is an annual event when people around the world stand in solidarity with conscientious objectors, past and present.

Events to mark CO Day are taking place in towns and cities across the UK alongside many others worldwide. There are UK events in Brighton, Edinburgh, Leicester, Manchester, Norwich, Oxford, Sheffield, Wokingham and elsewhere.

The National Ceremony for CO Day in London, where the petition will be announced, will feature testimonies from COs from Russia, Ukraine, the UK and other countries.

As well as opposing conscription, the petition also calls on the UK government to: