Conscientious Objection in an all Volunteer Force Essay

Conscientious Objection in an all Volunteer Force - Essay Example Religious values and beliefs are the imperative reasons that caused the army personnel to fight â€Å"war against war† or other military related activities. During World War I and II, the concern of conscientious objectors, became more acute. Many young conscripts often believe that it is immoral and unethical to carry arms and ammunition with them as it is contrary to their religious values. As a result, many young men refuse army services and decide to undertake other civilian services. Sometimes, army personnel who are already working for military services become conscientious objectors when their mind and beliefs make a paradigm shift. In many countries, there is no official permission from military services departments for military personnel to renounce their participation in war times, option to resign this post and work for civilian services. Under these situations, conscientious objectors often confront with punishments, imprisonment, discrimination, prosecution etc. I n essence, a decision to compel an individual to engage in armed combats and serve the military, hampers the integrity and dignity of human beings. However, certain human rights association realized the sensitivity of conscientious objection issue and created relevant legislations to deal with such issue. The next paragraph focuses on few legislative actions which consider the sensitivity of the issue. Military Selective Service Act states comprehensive descriptions regarding the issue of Conscientious Objection. According to the Section 6 of Military Selective Service Act, if a person is not willing to pursue his career in military service due to political, philosophical, religious or social code, he can pursue noncombatant services. He can perform civilian work by maintaining the safety, health or interest. Council of Europe (1967) had passed a resolution that defended those individuals who refused to serve the military for other honest reasons. (Parliament Assembly of the Council of Europe No 337, 1967) Discussion Many authors and practitioners believe that military personnel present opposing views and behaviors to military services not only on the basis of religion, but due to other moral values as well. The study of Milenkovic (2003) states that besides having the religious reasons, more often citizens refuse to work for army services because of political, philosophical, moral, and ethical concerns as well. Current Situation After the Second World War, Roman Catholic countries and traditions especially, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Austria and Portugal legally recognized conscientious objection. On the other hand, countries belonging to communism regimes did not permit the legalization of this act. After the plunge of communism, many European Countries now recognize these acts by allowing conscientious objection and further spread it to other continents and countries. End State Goals In some authors’ point of view, there should be no permission o f the idea of conscientious objection due to numbers of reasons. Every nation aims to consolidate the number of army personnel of their country as it is very constructive and crucial for the security and sovereignty of the whole nation. The larger the number of military personnel, the safer will be the sovereignty of the nation as a whole. Possible Alternate Outcomes for the Current Situation The current situation allows conscientious obj