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Sat
05
May

Take action to #freeKoreanCOs

CO day in Seoul, 2017

Every year on 15th May we celebrate International Conscientious Objection Day.

This year War Resisters' International is focusing on South Korea, the country that imprisons more conscientious objectors than the rest of the world put together. Right now there's over 250 young people in jail, with 18 months sentences. But there's good news. Currently, there's no substitute service in South Korea, so if you don't want to go to the army, you go to jail. But the current President pledged to change this in his election manifesto, and the National Human Rights Commission of Korea has voted repeatedly to recommend that the South Korean government institute an alternative service system. See a recent news story here: wri-irg.org/en/story/2017/south-korea-growing-hopes-conscientious-objectors

Thu
26
Apr

South Sudan: More than 200 child soliders released

Two hundred and seven child soldiers have been released by armed groups in South Sudan, part of a series of planned discharges that should see nearly 1,000 children return home over the coming months. 

The move, facilitated by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), follows the release of 300 children by armed groups in early February.

The discharge took place in Bakiwiri, a rural community in Western Equatoria state.

The children will now undergo medical screenings and receive counselling and psychosocial support as part of the reintegration programme, said UNICEF. Once home, they will also have access to vocational training as well as age-specific education services in schools and accelerated learning centres.

Sun
15
Apr

UK: Defence contractors hand universities £40m

Britain’s universities are taking tens of millions of pounds from some of the world’s biggest defence contractors to help develop the next generation of military hardware. The close relationship between academia and the defence sector is credited with helping sustain tens of thousands of jobs in the UK but it is causing unease among some scientists, even as other sources of funding for universities dry up.

In the past three years alone, 15 universities with renowned engineering departments have received almost £40m in grants from the contractors, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act. Many of the companies distributing the grants are involved in both civilian and military aerospace sectors and their work has led to spin-offs that benefit the wider public.

Tue
03
Apr

JROTC Cadet Nik Cruz

JROTC Cadet abs School Shooter Nik Cruz

Pat Elder

Cadet Private First-Class Nik Cruz was talking to America when he posted his photos on Instagram. Nik takes us inside his world. He wanted us to see his development from a fairly normal kid to a serial killer. Cruz is a product of American culture and he has a message for us, although we may not want to hear it. Cruz’s odyssey from ostracized youth to serial killer is noted for its adherence to a well-documented script. Cruz is the prototype. He is general issue.

Looking through a gun sight

Cruz uploaded this image to his Instagram account.

English translation unavailable for .
Fri
09
Mar

Young people are reviving the spirit of resistance in Eritrea

Hanan Mohamed Saleh, writer and educator

Overnight Eritreans begun repeating one name: Haj Musa Mohamed Nur, whether in support or opposition to him. He became a household name both at home and abroad after the Diaa Al Islam School uprising on the 31st October 2017. The school’s students and their mothers marched from Akhria, where the school is located, to Liberation Avenue in the centre of Asmara, where the Ministry of Education sits. The demonstration and student resistance on that day became a historic event for a people accustomed to 26 years of submission with all government edicts implemented without any discussion or opposition. This uprising is the first popular movement to rebel against repression and the arbitrary edicts forced on them.

Fri
02
Mar

Florida Gunman Nikolas Cruz Knew How to Use a Gun, Thanks to the NRA and the U.S. Army

Extended web-only discussion with Pat Elder, the director of the National Coalition to Protect Student Privacy, a group that confronts militarism in the schools. He is the author of “Military Recruiting in the United States.” The gunman who fired on students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a 19-year-old white former student named Nikolas Cruz, was a member of the Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program, known as JROTC. Cruz also took part in a four-person JROTC marksmanship team at the school which had received $10,000 in funding from the NRA. “[The NRA] realize that if they can start linking the children with the guns at age 13 in the high schools, it’s a win-win proposition for them and for the sellers of weaponry,” says Elder.

Fri
09
Feb

Activists countering youth militarisation gather in London

In February, activists from different European countries met in London as part of a War Resisters' International training on countering youth militarisation and its gendered dimensions.

The gathering was held on 2-4 February, and included activists from AKL (Union of Conscientious Objectors) and Committee of 100 from Finland, Nesehnuti from Czech Republic, DFG-VK and BSV from Germany, Movimento Nonviolento from Italy, Centre Delàs from Catalonia, and the Peace Pledge Union and ForcesWatch from the UK.

Sat
06
Jan

Dozens of Israeli teens: 'We refuse to enlist out of a commitment to peace'

 Haggai Matar, +972 Magazine

‘Testimonies of former soldiers teach us that the reality of occupation does not allow one to make a difference from within. The power to change reality does not lay with the single soldier — but with the system as a whole.’

Sixty-three Israeli teenagers have published an open letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu on Thursday, declaring their refusal to join the Israeli army due to their opposition to the occupation.

Fri
15
Dec

International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth held for the fourth time

In 20-26 November 2017, many activists from around the world took action against the militarisation of young people in their countries, cities and towns. This was part of a global action: the International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth.

Initiated by War Resisters' International, the week was held for the 4th time this year. Throughout 20-26 November, groups from South Korea, Greece, Israel to the USA and many other places, organised their autonomous actions, workshops, vigils and other events. Touching upon various issues, activists raised awareness on, and challenged, those many ways young people's minds and bodies are recruited into war and violence.

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