ICJ welcomes European Court of Human Rights judgment affirming right to conscientious objection to military service

The ICJ and other human rights groups welcomed the ground-breaking judgment issued by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Byatayan v. Armenia on 7 July. It affirms that states have a duty to respect individuals’ right to conscientious objection to military service as part of their obligation to respect the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.  The organizations had submitted a third-party intervention in the case.