A/HRC/41/23 in the military, became a Jehovah’s Witness and was summoned in 2018 for reservist training. His request for an exemption was rejected by the military commissariat, as was his appeal to the senior military authorities. 34 (c) Selective conscientious objection 26. Selective conscientious objection35 is distinct from an objection to participation in any way, military action or armed forces, and accepts the legitimacy of some military action. A selective conscientious objector will object on grounds of conscience to a particular conflict or weapon use. Very few States currently recognize selective conscientious objection. 36 The General Assembly implicitly recognized one type of selective objection in its resolution 33/165, in which it called upon Member States to grant asylum or safe transit to another State to persons compelled to leave their country of nationality solely because of a conscientious objection to assisting in the enforcement of apartheid through service in military or police forces. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief have also taken up cases of selective conscientious objectors (E/CN.4/2005/6/Add.1, opinion No. 24/2003; A/HRC/23/51, case No. USA 34/2012). (d) Non-discrimination on the basis of the grounds for conscientious objection and between groups 27. The reasons for an individual’s conscientious objection are varied and may not be limited to religious beliefs; conscientious objector status must therefore be available for all regardless of the basis of their conscientiously held objection. For example, it must not be limited to specifically named religions, nor limited to religious objection. The Human Rights Council recognized in its resolution 24/17 that conscientious objection to military service derived from principles and reasons of conscience, including profound convictions, arising from religious, ethical, humanitarian or similar motives. 28. In its general comment No. 22, the Human Rights Committee unequivocally stated that there should be no differentiation among conscientious objectors on the basis of the nature of their particular belief. In an obiter dictum, the Committee expressed the opinion that the State party should give equal treatment to all persons holding equally strong objections to military and substitute service, and recommended that the State party review its relevant regulations and practice with a view to removing any discrimination in this respect (CCPR/C/48/D/402/1990, para. 9.4). 29. In Finland, applicants can give religious or ethical reasons for the objection. The Human Rights Committee has expressed concerned that the preferential treatment accorded to Jehovah’s Witnesses was not being extended to other groups of conscientious objectors (CCPR/C/FIN/CO/6, para. 14). It expressed similar concerns in relation to Greece with regard to reports indicating discrimination based on different grounds of objection to service (CCPR/C/GRC/CO/2, para. 37). 30. In its submission, the Russian Federation indicated that, under the Alternative Civilian Service Act, three categories of citizens were entitled to replace military conscription with alternative civilian service: persons whose convictions were in conflict with the performance of military service; those whose faith was in conflict with military service; and persons belonging to indigenous minorities who lead a traditional way of life and who engage in traditional agriculture or a traditional craft. In Kyrgyzstan, conscientious objection to military service is limited to members of registered religious organizations whose teaching prohibits the use of arms. The Human Rights Committee has called upon Kyrgyzstan to ensure that any legal amendments provide for conscientious objection in a manner consistent with articles 18 and 26 of the Covenant, bearing in mind that article 18 also protects freedom of conscience of non-believers (CCPR/C/KGZ/CO/2, para. 23). In 34 35 36 8 Ibid. See OHCHR, Conscientious Objection to Military Service, p. 20. Ibid, p. 58.