International Conscientious Objectors’ Day is marked around the world each year on 15 May. This year, London held a ceremony in Tavistock Square, where those who faced death for maintaining the right to refuse to kill were remembered.
Cardiff organised an event with speakers from Movement for the Abolition of War, the Peace Tax Seven and CND. In the US, in the San Francisco Bay area, 14 May saw an afternoon of performance art and short films celebrating growing opposition to war within the military. 15 May began with a rally, followed by a march to a military- recruiting station and nonviolent direct action. Operation Refuse War was a week of workshops, actions and an international conference, held in New York and Washington DC.
In Paraguay, an international seminar took place in Asunción on 10 and 11 May, exploring themes such as “social movements and a critical focus on gender in the struggle”. This was followed by a three-day nonviolence training “with a critical gender perspective”, and a public event.
War Resister’s International launched a book in April titled Women and Conscientious Objection.
Topics: War resisters, Conscientious objection