Amnesty notes that “Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights guarantee freedom of thought and conscience, which includes the right to conscientious objection to military service. Greece, as a state party to these human rights instruments, is obliged to provide tangible solutions for alternative service, which are non-punitive and non-discriminatory.” It adds that procedures for recognising conscientious objection must be fair, independent and impartial, and argues that the new bill “does not appear to be consistent with Greece’s international obligations”.
Amnesty identifies several provisions of particular concern:
• Article 178, which lowers the age for military registration to 17. The organisation recalls that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommends that information provided to minors must be strictly neutral, not of a recruiting nature, and include clear information on the right to conscientious objection. States must protect children from any promotion of military service or pressure to enlist.
• Articles 225–229, which maintain what Amnesty describes as punitive alternative service, due to its duration, financial burden and geographical restrictions. It stresses that the procedures for recognising conscientious objection remain under military authority, contrary to international standards requiring fully independent, civilian mechanisms.
• Articles 181 and 243, which preserve and tighten the criminalisation of conscientious objection, including when refusal to serve is grounded in conscience. Amnesty warns that repeated prosecution for the same act violates the principle of ne bis in idem, noting that Greece has already faced international condemnation for this practice.
• Articles 220 and 221, which impose restrictions on residence and movement for foreign disobedients. Amnesty argues that these measures amount to disproportionate, retaliatory limitations on political and social rights, incompatible with the legitimate exercise of conscientious objection.
The organisation calls on the Greek authorities to withdraw and revise the problematic provisions and to undertake substantive reform of the framework governing conscientious objection. It urges the government to ensure that:
• alternative service is equal, non-punitive and non-discriminatory
• recognition of conscientious objection is handled by an independent, civilian authority
• criminalisation and sanctions for conscientious objection end
• the political, social and economic rights of conscientious objectors are fully protected
“Greece has an obligation to fully comply with international human rights law and to put an end to practices that violate it, as has been repeatedly stated by international bodies. This bill constitutes a missed opportunity in this direction and requires its substantial revision,” Amnesty concludes.
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