This coming Wednesday, May 15, at noon, the Archibald Baxter Memorial Trust will be observing International Conscientious Objection Day (ICOD) at the Baxter Memorial on George St.
There are so many international days for this and that cause that it is easy to get blasé about the reasons behind them.
ICOD was first observed in 1982 by a group of West European objectors to compulsory military service. They intended that this day would be a focus for all those campaigning for a universal right to conscientious objection to military service.
This was important in 1982, because many European countries still had compulsory military training and the right to conscientiously object to military service was severely restricted or lacking.
This day was established, therefore, to generate a space to honour those who resisted war in the face of public and political opprobrium, and to provide support for conscientious objectors who were languishing in prison or being given excessive civil service alternatives.
Ever since that first ICOD, the occasion has been marked by vigils outside prisons or barracks where conscientious objectors (COs) are held or by protests against states where COs are not recognised and/or unfairly treated.
Fortunately, New Zealand has no compulsory military training, and the right to resist war and preparations for war on grounds of conscience has now been well established by the trials and tribulations of all those who conscientiously objected to World Wars 1 and 2 and the war in Vietnam. The right itself, however, still needs to be safeguarded.
They were tortured mercilessly for not putting on the uniform and suffered severe repercussions on their return home. They lost their political rights and could not work in the public service for many years afterwards.
During World War 2, 800 New Zealand COs were detained for the duration in detention camps around the country. On their release they too had to endure the stigma and opprobrium of a society that could see no value in their stand, and that was not inclined to be empathetic to their plight.
So why do modern societies need conscientious objectors?
In the first place COs stand in opposition to the unbridled power of the state. Whether for religious or humanitarian reasons, COs assert that there are limits to state power, and nowhere is this clearer than when states ask their citizens to kill on their behalf .
Conscientious objectors argue that there are some ethical and religious principles which take precedence over the authority of the state. While we can argue over the justice or otherwise of different wars, it is difficult to argue with principles such as "Thou shalt not kill" .
COs are a reminder to states that they operate within principled and normative frameworks, and they had better have some good reasons for overturning them.
Second, COs are willing to suffer for their beliefs. There are very few people these days who are willing to go down that path for any ethical concern.
COs would rather be killed than kill. Over the years many have been killed while testifying to their deepest convictions. Maximilian in AD295, for example, resolved as a Christian not to serve in the Roman army, and was summarily beheaded with the sword his father had intended to give him on taking the oath as a soldier. He was later canonised as St Maximilian.
More than 200 conscientious objectors were shot by firing squad or beheaded by guillotine in Nazi Germany in World War 2.
As recently as 1949 two conscientious objectors were shot by firing squad in Greece. In 1916 35 British conscientious objectors were formally sentenced to death by firing squad, though immediately reprieved. More than 100 British World War 1 objectors still died prematurely as a result of their treatment in prison or the army.
Conscientious objection, therefore, is not for the faint-hearted. Rather it represents a particular kind of heroism in support of ethical and religious belief.
Third, when conscientious objectors establish a right to object, they expand civil liberties and create important spaces for protest and dissent.
Finally, conscientious objectors to war raise some fundamental questions about the nature of the state and whether state systems always have to be based on a monopoly of power and force.
They argue that the peaceable kingdom/nation thrives more on healthy, sustainable and inclusive communities. State systems should, therefore, focus more attention on promoting social wellbeing and vibrant community, rather than enhancing state power by military means.
When civil society actors are active and robust, democracy flourishes and there is resistance to a militarised state.
It is for these reasons that the Baxter Trust and anyone else who wishes to commemorate International Conscientious Objections day will gather in silent vigil. We will remember New Zealand COs and their struggles.
We will share peace poems and writings in the hope that this small commemoration will make a contribution towards a more peaceful world in an age of global violence and turbulence.
— Kevin Clements is chairman of the Baxter Memorial Trust.
