A war resister is a person who resists war. The term can mean several things: resisting participation in all war, or a specific war, either before or after enlisting in, being inducted into, or being
conscripted
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...
into a military force.
History, evolution and etymology of the term
Early usage of the term "war resister" is found in the name of the
War Resisters League
The War Resisters League (WRL) is the oldest secular pacifist organization in the United States.
History
Founded in 1923 by men and women who had opposed World War I, it is a section of the London-based War Resisters' International. It continues ...
which was formed in 1923 by men and women who had opposed
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The
War Resisters League
The War Resisters League (WRL) is the oldest secular pacifist organization in the United States.
History
Founded in 1923 by men and women who had opposed World War I, it is a section of the London-based War Resisters' International. It continues ...
is a section of the London-based
War Resisters' International
War Resisters' International (WRI), headquartered in London, is an international anti-war organisation with members and affiliates in over 30 countries.
History
''War Resisters' International'' was founded in Bilthoven, Netherlands in 1921 unde ...
which was founded in
Bilthoven
Bilthoven is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Bilt. It has a railway station with connections to Utrecht, Amersfoort and Baarn. It is home to the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health a ...
, Netherlands in 1921 under the name "Paco".
In 1975, the
Committee on South African War Resistance, an organisation of exiled
conscientious objectors
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
, pacifists, anti-militarists and deserters from the
South African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...
(SADF), was formed in the aftermath of
Operation Savannah
Operation Savanna (or Operation Savannah) was the first insertion of SOE trained Free French paratroops into German-occupied France during World War II.
This SOE mission, requested by the Air Ministry, was to ambush and kill as many pilots as ...
and the
Soweto uprising the following year. Its aim was to raise international awareness about the role of the SADF and to provide support to objectors in exile.
In 2008 and 2009, the
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...
officially adopted the term "war resister" to include those who are not necessarily opposed to all war, but who selectively refused to participate in the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
.
This practice was also adopted by various media in Canada at various times.
On January 24, 2010, the term "War Resisters" was the name of a nine-minute documentary on
Global Television Network
The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...
television program
16:9 (TV series).
Carolyn Jarvis
Carolyn Michelle Jarvis (born July 20, 1979) is a Canadian television journalist, currently the chief correspondent for Global's newsmagazine program ''16x9''. Jarvis was born in North York, Ontario and grew up in Richmond, British Columbia. Sh ...
interviewed war resisters
Robin Long
Robin Long is one of several U.S. Army deserters who sought asylum in Canada because of his opposition to the Iraq War and became the first of those to be deported to the United States after being rejected for refugee status. He was deported fro ...
and Rodney Watson, and
Canadian Member of Parliament Gerard Kennedy
Gerard Michael Kennedy (born July 24, 1960) is a Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as Ontario's minister of Education from 2003 to 2006, when he resigned to make an unsuccessful bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of C ...
on his
Bill C-440 regarding Iraq war resisters in Canada.
On November 9, 2010, Canadian writer Peter Smollett referred to people opposing
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
as "war resisters." Among the people he mentioned were
Albert Goodwin
Albert "Ginger" Goodwin (May 10, 1887–July 27, 1918), nicknamed Ginger for his bright red hair, was a migrant coal miner who advocated for workers' rights and promoted the cause of unions in British Columbia, Canada. Angered by the working ...
and
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...
.
Terminology and semantics of the term
War resisters have been referred to using various related terms: "
deserter
Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...
", "
conscientious objector
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
", or "
refugee
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. ". However, it is important to recognize that each of those terms has a very specific meaning in
legal English
Legal English is the type of English as used in legal writing. In general, a legal language is a formalized language based on logic rules which differs from the ordinary natural language in vocabulary, morphology, syntax, and semantics, as well ...
, whereas each of those terms carries a broader
semantic meaning in
Standard English
In an English-speaking country, Standard English (SE) is the variety of English that has undergone substantial regularisation and is associated with formal schooling, language assessment, and official print publications, such as public service a ...
.
Legal English
International law
In
international law
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
, specifically the ''Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status'' of the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
(UNHCR), there is discussion of "refugee status after desertion" as being legitimate under international law. The Handbook states:
“171. Not every conviction, genuine though it may be, will constitute a sufficient reason for claiming refugee
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. status after desertion
Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ar ...
or draft-evasion. It is not enough for a person to be in disagreement with his government regarding the political justification for a particular military action. Where, however, the type of military action, with which an individual does not wish to be associated, is condemned by the international community
The international community is an imprecise phrase used in geopolitics and international relations to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world.
As a rhetorical term
Aside from its use as a general descriptor, the term is ...
as contrary to basic rules of human conduct, punishment for desertion or draft-evasion could, in the light of all other requirements of the definition, in itself be regarded as persecution.”
Canadian law
The federal law-making body of Canada is the
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...
. The term "war resister" is used in the official documents of the Parliament of Canada: On November 22, 2007, a
Canadian Parliamentary Committee "commenced its study of Iraq war resisters" This Committee work resulted in a motion which also used the term "war resisters"
and which was passed twice by the
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Common ...
:
on June 3, 2008 and
on March 30, 2009. After the motion passed the first time, the media began to use the term "war resister," also.
There was some controversy when the Canadian Supreme Court refused to hear the appeals of two American army deserters, Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey, whose requests for refugee status were denied. Both had deserted to Canada in 2004 after learning they were to be deployed to Iraq. The high court, as usual, gave no reasons for its refusal.
Earlier the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal upheld the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) findings that the two did not qualify as Convention refugees.
[
] Both faced court martial and up to five years in jail as deserters if returned. Lawyer Faisal Kutty argued that the IRB and the court appear to have danced around the politically sensitive issues and existing case law. Their arguments that they did not want to participate in an illegal war and that they would be punished for acting on their conscience was rejected by the IRB. The adjudicators held that they were not conscientious objectors (because they were not opposed to wars in general); the U.S. was willing and able to protect them; and that their treatment would not amount to persecution.
Paragraph 171 of UN Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Convention Refugee Status provides that where the type of military action with which an individual does not wish to be associated is condemned by the international legal community as contrary to rules of human conduct, punishment for desertion could be regarded as persecution.
In denying both claims, the adjudicators opined that the legal status of the war in Iraq had no bearing on the analysis of paragraph 171. This determination was one of the issues on which the matters were appealed to the Federal Court, but Justice Anne Mactavish, noted in separate decisions (Hughey v. Canada
006F.C. 421 and Hinzman v. Canada
006F.C. 420) that this question was not an issue before her and did not have to be decided.
The duo's lawyer, Jeffrey House, says the decisions at both levels were also based on the erroneous view that American jurisprudence gives war resisters the right to seek a remedy if they question the legality of a war. In fact, he argues that this is not true. The leading case on the “political questions doctrine” which revolves around whether people can challenge the legality of war based on their conscience and international law was turned down by the United States Supreme Court in Callan v. Bush. Given this situation, the U.S. is not in a position to provide protection to resisters, notes House. House himself was a war resister.
The existing case law from the Federal Court of Appeal, Al-Maisri v. Canada
995
Year 995 ( CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Japan
* 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies.
* 3 June: Fujiwara no Michikane gain ...
F.C. J. No. 642, appears on point and yet was rejected by Justice Mactavish as being of “limited assistance.” The case involved a Yemeni who was denied status by the IRB. Al-Maisri acknowledged he was prepared to fight for Yemen to protect it from aggression, but was not prepared to fight for Iraq against Kuwait. Yemen was an Iraqi supporter. The Court of Appeal held that “non-defensive incursion into foreign territory” was within the ambit of paragraph 171 and overturned the IRB decision. “What is wrong for Saddam Hussein should be wrong for the Americans as well,” says House, a Vietnam-era draft dodger.
Justice Mactavish held that the legality of the conflict is irrelevant when analyzing paragraph 171 when “one is considering the claim of a low-level ‘foot soldier’.” Yet, Al-Maisri was also a ‘foot soldier.’ Justice Mactavish admitted that “given the decision of the Court of Appeal in Al-Maisri, it is fair to say that the issue is not entirely free from doubt,” and proceeded to certify this question, which gave the two an automatic right of appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Authorities in Canada and the U.S closely monitored the politically sensitive case. Indeed, the case became the proverbial public relations “hot potato” for the U.S. At the initial hearing, a former U.S. Marine testifying in Hinzman's support stated that American soldiers in Iraq routinely violated international law by killing unarmed civilians, including women and children. Affidavits from two international law professors confirming the illegality of the war and reports from Human Rights Watch and the International Committee of the Red Cross documenting the abuses and violations were also filed.
See also
*
Antimilitarism
Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes (espec ...
*
Canada and Iraq War resisters
During the Iraq War, which began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq, there were United States military personnel who refused to participate, or continue to participate, in that specific war. Their refusal meant that they faced the possibility of pun ...
*
Committee on South African War Resistance
*
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
*
Deserter
Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...
*
Draft dodger
Draft evasion is any successful attempt to elude a government-imposed obligation to serve in the military forces of one's nation. Sometimes draft evasion involves refusing to comply with the military draft laws of one's nation. Illegal draft ev ...
*
List of anti-war organizations
In order to facilitate organized, determined, and principled opposition to the wars, people have often founded anti-war organizations. These groups range from temporary coalitions which address one war or pending war, to more permanent structured ...
*
List of Iraq War resisters
Some soldiers of the coalition forces have refused to participate in the Iraq War. The following is a list of the more notable military personnel who have refused to participate in the Iraq War, broadly categorized by the reasons they themselve ...
*
List of peace activists
This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usually work ...
*
Non-aggression principle
The non-aggression principle (NAP), also called the non-aggression axiom, is a concept in which aggression, defined as initiating or threatening any forceful interference (violating or breaching conduct) against either an individual, their propert ...
*
Peace movement
A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peac ...
*
Peace Pledge Union
The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) is a non-governmental organisation that promotes pacifism, based in the United Kingdom. Its members are signatories to the following pledge: "War is a crime against humanity. I renounce war, and am therefore determine ...
*
Plowshares movement
*
Refusal to serve in the Israeli military
Refusal to serve in the IDF is when citizens of Israel refuse to serve in the Israel Defense Forces or disobey orders on the grounds of pacifism, antimilitarism, religious philosophy, or political disagreement with Israeli policy such as the occupa ...
*
South African resistance to war South African resistance to war has a long tradition, and a history that includes conscientious objectors, pacifists, deserters and draft dodgers, as well as those whose objections are based upon the notion of "just war" as opposed to unjust or ille ...
*
Tax resistance
Tax resistance is the refusal to pay tax because of opposition to the government that is imposing the tax, or to government policy, or as opposition to taxation in itself. Tax resistance is a form of direct action and, if in violation of the tax ...
*
War Resisters International
War Resisters' International (WRI), headquartered in London, is an international anti-war organisation with members and affiliates in over 30 countries.
History
''War Resisters' International'' was founded in Bilthoven, Netherlands in 1921 unde ...
*
War Resisters League
The War Resisters League (WRL) is the oldest secular pacifist organization in the United States.
History
Founded in 1923 by men and women who had opposed World War I, it is a section of the London-based War Resisters' International. It continues ...
*
War Resisters League Peace Award Since 1958, the War Resisters League, the pacifist group founded in 1923, has awarded almost annually its War Resisters League Peace Awardhttps://www.warresisters.org/wrl-peace-awards to a person or organization whose work represents the League's c ...
*
War Resisters Support Campaign
References
Further reading
*''Northern Passage: American Vietnam War Resisters in Canada'', by John Hagan, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2001.
{{DEFAULTSORT:War Resister
Anti-war movement
Conscientious objection