On December 6, 2021, the UN Human Rights Committee published its decision on the individual appeal of the conscientious objector Lazaros Petromelidis, finding multiple violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by Greece.
According to Amnesty International, “Lazaros Petromelidis was first prosecuted after he declared his conscientious objection in March 1992, at a time when Greece did not recognize the right to conscientious objection. In 1998 he refused to do the alternative service he was offered, as it was seven and a half times longer than the military service he would otherwise have had to perform. Since then, he has been regularly receiving call-up papers to serve in the military and has been repeatedly charged with insubordination because of his refusal, as a conscientious objector, to serve in the army.”
In all, from 1992 to 2014 the conscientious objector was charged five times with insubordination, detained in at least four cases and sentenced to two fines in lieu of imprisonment.
Upon examination of the case, the UN Human Rights Committee ruled that there were multiple violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) by Greece
The Commission also noted that Greece, “should review its legislation with a view to ensuring the effective guarantee of the right to conscientious objection under article 18 (1) of the Covenant, for instance, by providing for the possibility to undertake alternative civilian service that is not punitive and discriminatory in nature.”
The UN Committee on Human Rights recently asked Greece to provide information on measures taken to comply with the Committee’s previous recommendations. The Committee also asked about what had been done to compensate those who had been convicted and punished for conscientious objection before 1998. Greece received similar recommendations regarding conscientious objections in the third round of the Universal Periodic Review, which involves a review of the human rights records of all UN Member States.
Greece is obligated to ensure the effective exercise of the right to conscientious objection, providing for the possibility to undertake alternative civilian service that is not punitive and discriminatory in nature.
However, in this case, the UN Committee on Human Rights ruled that there had been multiple violations by Greece of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in the punitive manner in which the Greek state dealt with the conscientious objector Lazaros Petromelidis.
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