counter-recruitment

Thu

May

2015

Call for Articles for the New Militarisation of Youth Bulletin

New translation available

Submitted by antimili-youth

Countering the Militarisation of Youth Programme (CMoY) at WRI is launching the first issue of its new periodical which will specifically focus on the issues surrounding youth militarisation. In the CMoY bulletin, you'll find articles addressing...

Tue

Oct

South Korea: Appeal court victory for conscientious objectors

Submitted by antimili-youth on Tue, 18/10/2016 - 14:45

Amnesty International

Appeal court judges in Gwangju, south-west Korea, overturned the guilty verdicts of two conscientious objectors, Cho Rak-hoon and Kim Hyung-geun. It is the first time an appeal court has reversed guilty verdicts in a conscientious objectors case.

“The appeal court has sent a clear message that conscientious objection is not a crime. The government needs to act on the ruling and stop punishing young men who refuse military service on grounds of conscience,” said Hiroka Shoji, East Asia Researcher at Amnesty International.

“It is long overdue for South Korea to have an alternative to military service which respects freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”

Tue

Oct

UK: Under-18s in army 'face greater injury, death and mental health risks'

Submitted by antimili-youth on Tue, 18/10/2016 - 13:52

Amelia Hill, The Guardian

Public health charity uses damning report to call for minimum recruitment age to be raised to 18.

Recruiting children aged 16 and 17 into the British army places them at greater risk of death, injury and long-term mental health problems than those recruited as adults, according to a new report.

Sat

Oct

Webinar: Countering the militarisation of youth: examples of resistance

Sat

Aug

Education Not Militarization

Submitted by Gary on Sat, 27/08/2016 - 23:13

Project YANO's video of students sharing their personal goals and talking about the pressure they feel from military recruiters.

Education Not Militarization

Sat

Aug

Call for Articles: Examples of Youth Militarisation in Different Countries/Regions

Submitted by antimili-youth on Sat, 27/08/2016 - 12:22

War Resisters' International is organising the third International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth this year. The week is going to take place between November 14-20 with the participation of groups and individuals from different countries. See our call out here.

Alongside events and actions, this year we are also planning to share examples of youth militarisation, and resistance to it, from different countries via a series of articles. The articles will be published on our website www.antimili-youth.net. If you'd like to write to us about your country and/or community please contact us via cmoy@wri-irg.org.

Mon

Aug

Don't Join the Army

‘Don’t Join the Army’ is a project of Veterans For Peace UK. It is a response to the Army’s consistently misleading and exploitative recruitment campaigns aimed at young people.

Thu

Jul

Rejecting Militarization

Submitted by hannah on Thu, 28/07/2016 - 09:49

Colombia is the only South American nation with an ongoing internal armed conflict where military service is obligatory, requiring all 18-year-old young men to serve for 1 to 2 years - with no option of an alternative civil service. The Collective Action of Conscientious Objectors (ACOOC) is committed to nonviolence and they educate and defend the rights of youth who object to serving in the military. ACOOC works towards demilitarization of society by using creative means such as films and street theatre to highlight the degree of militarization in Colombian society.

Rejecting Militarization

Fri

Jun

Thanks for Your Service, but Don't Tell the Kids About It (We Need Them to Enlist)

Submitted by hannah on Fri, 17/06/2016 - 15:24

By Emily Yates, Truthout | Op-Ed. Find the original article here.

"Excuse me, are you saying negative things about the military?"

Wed

Jun

A Call to Action: International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth

Submitted by antimili-youth on Wed, 08/06/2016 - 10:58

Would you like to take action against the militarisation of youth with many others across the world?

You can join War Resisters' International's week of action, which will be held between 14-20 November for the third time this year. You can join as an individual or as a group.

War Resisters' International is organising the 3rd International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth from 14 to 20 November this year. The week is a concerted effort of antimilitarist actions across the world to raise awareness of, and challenge, the ways young people are militarised, and to give voice to alternatives.

Sat

May

Education Action: Reining in Military Recruiting

Submitted by Gary on Sat, 28/05/2016 - 17:37

by Seth Kershner

In 2012, Kate Connell—a photographer with two children in the Santa Barbara public schools—learned that her son’s freshman seminar had a Marine recruiter as a guest speaker. Her son had challenged the recruiter, saying he didn’t like the way the U.S. military was always bombing other countries. At first, Connell thought, “Oh, it’s great you spoke up for yourself and spoke up for peace.”

Her second reaction was: “Oh, my gosh! The Marines were in his freshman class!”

Connell had a long, but dormant, history as an anti-war activist. When the Gulf War started in 1991, she was living in New York City, and she volunteered with the War Resisters League (WRL). Her main job with WRL was helping active-duty military file for conscientious objector status. Later, she relocated to Austin, Texas, where whe worked with Sustainable Options for Youth, visiting local high schools to stimulate discussions with students about “military myths.”

Pages

Languages

Countering Military Recruitment

WRI's new booklet, Countering Military Recruitment: Learning the lessons of counter-recruitment campaigns internationally, is out now. The booklet includes examples of campaigning against youth militarisation across different countries with the contribution of grassroot activists.

You can order a paperback version here.