A/HRC/9/24
page 5
conscientious objector, and the different forms of substitute service permitted, are
compatible with the provisions of the conventions quoted above. Therefore, the
Commission must examine the allegations of the petitioner in relation to the alleged
affection of other rights such as the right to education and the right to freedom of
movement caused by the lack of a military identity card.”4
12. In other developments, the Ibero-American Convention on Young People’s Rights, which
entered into force on 1 March 2008, recognizes the right to conscientious objection. The
Convention sets out specific rights for young people between 15 to 24 years of age and
recognizes them as strategic actors in development. Article 12 of the Convention reads, “Young
people have the right to form a conscientious objection against compulsory military service.”
The Convention also includes a commitment of States to create legal instruments to safeguard
this right, and to progressively end compulsory service.5
13. In developments at the national level, there have been a number of judicial decisions
concerning conscientious objection to military service. On 27 June 2007, the Constitutional
Court of Ecuador decided that articles 88 and 108 of the military service law violated the
Constitution. Article 88 provides that all male Ecuadorians who do not present themselves in
order to fulfil their military obligations are considered draft evaders and are subject to sanctions
until they legalize their situation, which frequently is by payment of a “compensation quota” to
obtain military documents. Article 108 requires conscientious objectors to apply to the director
of recruitment of the Ecuadorian armed forces, and, if recognized as conscientious objectors, to
serve in the development units of the armed forces. The Court found that service in the
development units of the armed forces was incompatible with conscientious objection, and also
decided that the director of recruitment could not be an independent and impartial judge to
decide whether someone is a conscientious objector.6
14. On 15 August 2007, the Constitutional Court of Colombia made a decision concerning the
libreta militar. The issue concerned not the legality of the card itself, but about payment for it. In
this regard, article 22 of Law 48/1993 on military service, requires that Colombians who do not
serve in the military pay a “compensation quota” to the Treasury, the value of which is to be
determined by the Government. In its judgement C-621/07, the Constitutional Court found that
the part of the law which authorized the Government to define the value of the quota
unconstitutional, reasoning that the quota was basically a tax or contribution, and that the power
to determine taxes is within the domain of the Colombia Congress and cannot be delegated to the
Government. The decision is of limited scope and does not affect the obligation to carry the
libreta militar.
4
Xavier Aljandro León Vega v. Ecuador, Case 278-02, Report No. 22/06, Inter-Am. C.H.R.,
OEA/Ser.L/V/II.124 Doc.5 (2006) (admissibility).
5
Child Rights Information Network, News Release, 2 April 2008. As of 1 February 2008, the
Convention had been ratified by Costa Rica, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and
Spain.
6
Registro Oficial No. 114, 27 de Junio del 2007 (Ecuador).
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