Military Service Workshop on Mandatory Conscription

It was the first of its kind: a workshop convened by the peace and human rights community to discuss military conscription in the Republic of Korea (South Korea). In March 2001 approximately fifty people gathered at a retreat center outside of Seoul to exchange views and devise common strategies. Organizers in South Korea worked hard to ensure a broad spectrum of participants, bringing together activists from an array of movements: the women's movement, peace, human rights, rights for the disabled, rights for gays and lesbians. Guests from Taiwan and Colombia brought an international perspective to this invitation-only event.

At the center of the room, dressed in black, sat eight Korean women, all of whom had lost family members to peace-time accidents in the Korean military. These eight women gave tangible testimony to the costs of military culture in Korea. By the end of the of the first break, Chen Pi E, more commonly known as Huang Ma Ma, was sitting in the middle of the group of Korean mothers. Huang Ma Ma, who lost her son in mysterious circumstances while he was serving in the Taiwan Navy, was showing her photo album of demonstrations, marches, and other actions. These women clustered together sharing stories was only one of the seeds of solidarity planted by this path-breaking workshop. "I am glad to meet other mothers in my situation," Huang Ma Ma said, "but I am sad that there are so many of us."

Over the last two years, the question of obligatory military service has increasingly become a topic of public debate in the Republic of Korea. For many years, such dialogue was implicitly prohibited by the National Security Law, which forbids any publications or activities in support of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea.) Many South Koreans are concerned by what they see as the unique situation of the divided Korean peninsula: a persistent and dangerous threat posed by North Korea. Because of this threat, they believe that the role of the military is paramount, and that the military system deserves universal social support. Some South Koreans also believe that it is each man's patriotic duty to serve in the military, as their fathers and grandfathers served before them.

Recently, however, a number of opportunities for public discussion have occurred: young men questioning their duty to serve; challenges regarding preferential treatment for veterans; and the possibility of troop reductions because of lessened tensions with North Korea. Equally important, the election of the "Human Rights President," Kim Dae Jung in 1997 and the June 2000 summit between the leaders of North and South Korea have changed the environment in South Korea, ushering in an era of less restricted dialogue.[i] As a result of these changed circumstances, some Korean activists became interested in learning about a law Taiwan passed in 1999 that introduced alternative service options. Taiwan is eager to share its accomplishments with others in East Asia.

This workshop created a space where, for the first time, activists could discuss different aspects of Korea's mandatory military service system. The Korean organizers sub-titled the conference "Dare to Discuss the Conscription System." Although the activists present might have thought about military issues at a personal level, this was the first time activists from all fields came together to share their experiences, resources, and dreams for change. The workshop ended with a commitment to unite in a common struggle.

Several international resource people added greatly to the discussion. Legislator Chien Hsi-Chieh, who played a key role in the passage of the new Alternative Service Law in Taiwan, discussed the strategy they had used. Huang Ma Ma talked about her struggle to improve the human rights of conscripts in the military. Ricardo Pinzón Contreras, a Mennonite conscientious objector (CO) who leads the Colombian organization Colectivo por la Objecion de Conciencia (Conscientious Objection Group) shared his vision of the centrality of non-violent struggle in breaking the cycle of violence.

Over the course of a day and half, paper presentations were followed by passionate question and answer sessions. For ease in understanding, this report is written thematically rather than in chronological order. The report first reviews some of the issues regarding obligatory military service, and then looks at Taiwan's alternative service law. Then it focuses on the fundamental concern of human rights within the military, including the death of conscripts during peace time service. The recognition of conscientious objectors, the UN Human Rights System, and the philosophy of non-violence completes the sections summarizing papers and the question-and-answer sessions. This report concludes with a look at next steps planned by workshop participants.

Obligatory Military Service and Alternative Systems

Administration of Mandatory Conscription Systems, Special Exemptions[ii]

Mandatory military service is commonly promoted as a means of guaranteeing equality. However, one of the biggest problems with mandatory military service is inequality in obtaining exemptions. Sometimes there is inequality written into the law, as in Colombia, where conscripts with a high school degree serve one year and conscripts with no high school degree -- the majority of whom come from rural areas -- must serve 18 months to two years. Colombian law states that those healthy enough to serve enter a lottery to determine who must enlist. In practice, only 40% of those who have completed secondary education actually serve, and the majority of the enlisted have not completed secondary education. This is in part possible because the wealthy can buy military service records, which eliminates the requirement to serve. Participants were surprised that such unequal service requirements could exist within the law itself. As Ricardo explained, it is possible for both militaristic and economic reasons. "First of all" he said, "the army can do whatever it wants. Secondly, many of the poor do not protest this. It is good economically for them to serve; they see it as a good job opportunity."

But whether or not the law codifies inequity, any exemption system is open to corruption. In Korea, for example, a conscript's health check-up determines his assignment in the military. If a Korean recruit does not pass the highest grade of physical fitness, he is considered to be unavailable for active duty. He is then assigned to the riot police or given a desk assignment.

Choi Jung Min described how some conscripts are sent to work in large enterprises as part of the "Military Service Special Case System." Under the law, such enterprises can employ conscripts at little or no cost to themselves. These low-cost workers are in such high demand that those companies with licenses to employ conscripts will over-estimate their need, then "rent" the workers to smaller industries unable to employ them legitimately. Sometimes working conditions are very harsh. Many participants in the workshop felt that soldiers who work in the enterprises are exploited. If the conscript complains about the illegal situation he risks being sent back to active duty. Since he is a member of the military, he is also not free to join a labor union.

Even so, such a position is considered to be better than active service, and a total exemption is considered best of all. The system is open to corruption with the sons and nephews of powerful politicians more likely to be granted a bad health evaluation and thereby winning exemption or a desk job. In fact, a saying calls those who receive full exemptions "the sons of God", and those who end up doing active army service "sons of Satan." According to Kim Chang Soo, from Korean National Congress for Reunification, . the reluctance to serve indicates a morale problem that persists throughout the armed services; even professional soldiers have been known to state their desire to retire from the army as soon as possible. Legislator Chien explained that there is a similar morale problem in Taiwan. Young people don't want to be in the military. They try to avoid the army by being too fat or too thin, or cutting off a finger. After finishing high school or entering the university, conscripts have to wait six months before entering the army, which is also bad for morale. And once in the army, morale remains low. The suicide rate of conscripts in Taiwan is four times higher than people not serving.

The Republic of Korea's "Point System"

In Korea, one of the main complaints made by conscripts is that military service is a waste of time. They do not make money while serving, their entry in the job market is delayed, and they loose their ability to think critically while under the military regime. The military tries to address such losses through a "point system" that facilitates the entry of veterans into the job market. Veterans receive compensation in the form of "points" that affect not only their salary but also their prospects for advancement. For example, veterans receive three to five "free points" on civil service exams for lower-ranking (rank 7 and 9) civil service jobs. Since competition for civil service jobs is very high, even this small addition of points can have a huge effect. Furthermore, the effect is sustained through the first several ranks of civil service.

Because the point system gives such a great advantage to men entering the civil service, some activists have viewed it as unfair favoritism. Traditionally, activists did not address conscription issues. "In general," Jung Kang Ja from Womenlink… explained, "military service in Korea has been regarded as a 'Holy duty'. Few groups have raised the issue until very recently because it was considered a 'dangerous issue'." But then women began to focus on the "points system." In 1999, four women and one member of a disabled rights group bravely filed a legal suit calling the system unconstitutional because it violates the equal rights of those who cannot serve in the military. Rallies jointly organized by women's groups and a disabled group were held in front of the offices where the civil service exams are administered. In addition, women's groups and disabled groups co-hosted effective public forums on this issue bringing together disabled activists, peace groups, women's groups, youth groups and women scholars.

In December 1999 the Constitutional Court ruled that such treatment of veterans disadvantages women and the disabled. It was determined that to give veterans bonus points on civil service exams was a violation of the human rights of women and the disabled, and those bonus points were eliminated. The outcome of the court decision was immediate and far reaching. For example, no men passed a civil service exam for teachers that took place early in 2000, indicating that men had relied on the bonus points in order to qualify previously.

The court decision angered three constituencies: veterans who had already served, the mothers of conscripts, and conscript-aged men who don't want to serve. These veterans felt that their contribution to the security of South Korea should be recognized and honored. Some of the mothers of conscript-aged sons angrily called and emailed women's groups, saying "Leave the country" and "Take your Women's Movement to another country!" Some conscript-aged men, angry about being forced to serve, feel that at the very least they deserve to be compensated. Now even this compensation is being threatened. The response of the conscript-aged men was particularly virulent. They deluged the websites of women's organizations with obscene, violent, and threatening messages. One women's group had been overwhelmed, indeed even frightened, by the huge volume and violent tone of the messages they received. There were horrific threats: staff received photos of themselves and their families with messages such as "we know who you are and where you live." Since many women in the women's movement are graduates of Ewha, Ewha websites also received attacks.

Groups for the differently-abled were also under attack. Korean law mandates that 2% of grade 7-9 civil service jobs go to differently-abled people. Angry people erroneously conflated this with the issue of the points system, saying, 'You already have the quota. You are asking for too much!'

Women's groups were discouraged and demoralized by the violent threats and "cyber- attacks." They wanted to make alternative suggestions, but their ideas were routinely dismissed, with their critics claiming, "You don't have anything to say about the military, because you don't serve in the military." The group Womenlink believes that the discussion needs to move in a new direction, beyond equal job opportunity. Women's groups can gradually take on the conscription system and raise the peace issue. The movement should be step by step.

Other Calls to Revise the System in Korea

Workshop participants detailed other pressures on the current conscription system. As Kim Chang Soo pointed out in the keynote address, the changing nature of warfare is affecting the nature of the draft, in NATO countries as well as East Asia. In a volatile international system, there is no basis for a conscription system. Conscription can't serve self-defense needs, because in high-tech modern warfare, conscripts aren't well trained enough to increase self-defense capacity. Modern weapons need more intensive training.

Furthermore, in Korea the conscription system does nothing to enhance people's loyalty. In fact, the feeling of current conscripts is the reverse – the system induces resentment. In addition, the cost of monitoring and using human resources is high, and continues to rise. Currently 70 % of the army budget is spent on human resources. After discharge from the army, conscripts still have to report three times a year to serve in reserve troops. This inefficient use of human resources perpetuates cost as well as management challenges.

In both Taiwan and the ROK, as elsewhere, population growth translates into more conscript-age people than the military can usefully deploy. The size of the South Korean military is limited to 700,000 people, but with population growth, there is oversupply. Kim Chang Soo pointed out that in NATO countries, the army is 1% of the population. Experts estimate that the combined North Korean and South Korean forces total 2,000,000. Using the NATO guideline, troops could be dropped to 1 million. Chang Soo envisions a scenario in which a unified Korea fields 600,000 troops. The ROK would field 300,000, made up of 160,000 professional soldiers and 140,000 voluntary soldiers. As Kim Chang Soo pointed out, Korean law needs to change in order to find a balance between supply and demand. Most importantly, people shouldn't do military service against their will.

Furthermore, there are several openings that may allow new discussions to take place. Last year many surveys took place regarding reform of the military system and reducing forces. The size of the Korean Army is controlled by the Mutual US/ROK Defense Agreement – without the agreement of the US Army, the ROK cannot reduce the size of its forces. However, the June Summit and changing views of security in East Asia may provide a new opening to negotiate with USFK regarding a reduction in ROK troop size.

As noted above, the need to balance supply (the number of conscript-age men) and demand (the number of forces needed for self-defense) is also a problem faced by Taiwan. However, there is a big gap between recognizing the problem of over-supply, and actually making changes. "When I first talked about changing the military, people thought I was crazy, tilting at windmills like Don Quixote," Legislator Chien joked. "People raised all sorts of concerns. The general feeling is that we need lots of soldiers – as many as 700,000 – to protect us from China. But in fact, we only need 400,000 to 450,000."

Legislator Chien agrees with Kim Chang Soo: It's not the size of the army that counts; it is the technology. "We have 380,000 professional army personnel," he explained. "China has 8 million. The Ministry of Defense has acknowledged that with the current size of our army we can sustain a war for only 3 days. Japan's Self Defense Forces are only 230,000, but their capacity to wage a war is said to be three times that of Taiwan's capacity." For people working to introduce the alternative service law, it was important to frame the discussion of changes to the obligatory military service law within the context of improving national security. The first step, therefore, was for legislators and academics to meet with the Ministry of Defense and convince them that the number of troops could be reduced without decreasing security. Legislator Chien said, "Our national defense is definitely secure, and as we replace conscripts with professional soldiers, it will be even more secure. The money we will save through cutting down the size of the army can be used to hire more professional soldiers."

Once the Ministry of Defense was willing to consider changes in the law, it was necessary to canvass and build support within civil society for the passage of an alternative service law. Legislator Chien helped to craft an alliance of 15 groups to push for passage of the alternative service law, including women's groups, differently-abled groups, and labor groups. As Legislator Chien explained, activists in Taiwan have been inspired by the experience of a professor of law, Dr. Chen Shin-Min. When Dr. Chen attended classes in constitutional law in Germany one of his professors, Dr. Heinrich Scheuller, was blind. Each day, Dr. Scheuller was assisted to the class room by a young man. Dr. Chen assumed this young man was the professor's son, and was deeply impressed by the demonstration of filial duty. However, Dr. Chen later learned that this young man was not Dr. Scheuller's son: he was an alternative service conscript assisting the professor as part of his duties. Dr. Chen was very impressed that such disciplined young men were available to provide service for the community. Therefore, he shared with activists and legislators in Taiwan his enthusiasm for an alternative service law that supports such contributions to social welfare. One slogan urges conscript-age men to "Put your Strength to Use."

However, this inspirational story did not mean that passing the law in Taiwan was easy. As Legislator Chien explained, "We included cutting the army size as part of a general disarmament package that gained a lot of attention and support. We used the Internet to disseminate information, and made up a cartoon booklet, which discussed general disarmament, shortening the period of conscription, and including demographics which showed that the population is aging. It also introduced ways that alternative service would contribute to society. In this way, we began to actively lobby for passage of the bill."

One of the problems was that Taiwan's constitution mandates that all male citizens are obligated to serve in the army. It was therefore necessary to include the alternate service law as a special chapter under the conscription law as a different kind of military service. Thus the alternative service doesn't violate the constitution.

The new law was passed in the summer of 1999, and became effective in July 2000, when the first alternative service conscripts were trained. After a physical examination, conscripts who want an alternative service position instead of a military position enter a lottery to win a place in the alternative service corps. The winners of the first lottery then enter a second lottery to determine their actual position. At the time of the second lottery, the conscripts furnish proof of their skills, such as skills in delivering social services. In the first lottery last summer, 9066 men applied for 5000 available positions. Five thousand alternative service positions will be added per period until there are a total of 20,000. Legislator Chien said, "The most important thing is equality; that is why we use a lottery system."

Recognition of conscientious objection is not central to the new law. However, a special part of the conscription law does address CO beliefs. Rather than entering the general lottery, COs petition to have their status recognized. Applicants who win recognition of their CO status are automatically granted alternative service positions. So far, all CO applicants have had their applications accepted.

During discussions prior to the law's passage, people raised the concern that the quality of the soldiers would drop, because the children of the educated elite would be the ones to choose alternative service. They were also afraid that young men would choose alternative service thinking it would be easier than regular military duty. To address both these concerns, alternative service is longer than military service. The term of regular service is 22 months. Alternative service is 28 months. Since conscientious objectors don't have to enter the lottery system, they serve the longest of all, 33 months.

Shortly before our conference in Korea, a public hearing was held in Taiwan to review the alternative service system. Everybody present celebrated the fact that Taiwan has successfully implemented this policy. A few concerns were raised that will be addressed in future months. These concerns include management of servicemen's life, such as health problems and basic medical skills when working at nursing homes, problems when the service unit doesn't match up with the conscript's professional skills, complaints about working hours and holidays and so on. In addition, communication between servicemen and their supervisors needs to be improved. However, everybody feels these problems will be resolved in due course. One of the deepest impacts of the alternative service system has been to introduce greater democracy into the system.

During the question-and-answer period, one of the participants challenged the different periods of service included in the Alternative Service law, which appear to be out of line with UN standards. He said, "First of all, alternative service is not open to everybody, and secondly, it's longer than military service. From the UN perspective the period for COs is so long it almost looks like revenge! Furthermore, all the positions for alternative service are inside the government." Legislator Chien had time to respond only to the last element of the question, saying, "In the future, we want to open up more positions within the alternative service, so that it is easier to get placements."

Human Rights in the Military

We learned through this event that the loss of life during peace time service is a sensitive topic. Presentations were made about the situation in South Korea and in Taiwan. Afterwards, the presenter from Korea asked that her presentation not be included in the report. In deference to this presenter, her comments have been omitted. Instead, the report relies on newspaper articles regarding the situation in Korea. We remain very grateful to the Korean presenter for sharing her story with conference participants. We are also grateful to the presenter from Taiwan for her presentation, and for allowing us to share her story within this report.

The loss of life during peacetime service dominated the discussion of human rights in the military. One of the most powerful parts of the weekend was the presentations on this topic. The session began with a moment of silence in memory of those who have died in the military. This sobering memorial set the tone for the discussion.

In Korea, every year dozens of conscripts are killed in accidents, suicides, and murder at the hands of their superiors. Most of these deaths are classified as suicide, which wields a double blow to surviving family members. First they must struggle with the terrible loss. Then they must struggle with the idea that their beloved family member took his own life. Finally, in December 1998, a group was formed to challenge the prevalent military verdict of suspicious deaths as "suicide." One hundred members, all of whom have lost sons, brothers, or other family members to military violence, joined the group.

In an April 1999 Korea Times article, Song Sang-un explained that in 1998, the military told her that her son, Chon Mi-duk, had shot himself to death in an Army barracks while serving out his compulsory military duty. But Song didn't believe it. "He had no reason to commit suicide. He had a bright future and many other reasons to survive the 26 months of mandatory military service," she explained. Song said that the military obstructed her attempts to have a full investigation of all the facts about her son's death. She charged that "military investigators always announce a soldier's death to be suicide, because when a death is found to be a murder, their higher-ups in the command line, up to the division commander, will be punished." In 1999, reinvestigations by the military of 13 deaths were confirmed by the military as suicides, but the Association did not accept the results. "The military didn't even reinvestigate my son's case. They just showed me the old record and tried to make me believe he shot himself to death," Song claimed.

The situation in Taiwan is similar, in that the military often refuses to take responsibility for violence within its ranks. Huang Ma Ma, from the Human Rights Association for Military Personnel of Taiwan, shared her sad story with workshop participants. She told the participants in the workshop, "My son was on board a ship for 52 days. He kept calling me and telling me that others were picking on him. The supervisor said he would handle it, but my son continued to call me, saying, 'Mother you have to come save me, Mama come and save me.'"

"Five senior soldiers threatened to throw him overboard one night. The day after that, his supervisor called and asked, 'How is your son?' The next day, he called again: 'Your son is missing. He ran away. When he arrives at your house, you have to turn him in.' But he never showed up. On the seventh day, fishermen from China found my son's body, and delivered it to the Red Cross in China. I went to China to pick up his body. I asked the Taiwanese military to send somebody with me, but they were not willing. "

Huang Ma Ma told the hushed workshop participants, "I never saw my son again. The investigating doctor explained that they had to cremate his body right away. All they gave me was his ID, and a tiny photo. I stared and stared at that photo, but I couldn't see a thing. Finally a member of the Control Yuan of Taiwan suggested that I enlarge the photo. Once I had the photo enlarged, I found out that his death wasn't as the military had claimed. He was wearing army clothes, not civilian clothes. He hadn't run away. There is a 7 inch steel needle in his skull. There are signs of beating all over his body. Why? The military refused to answer my questions. " As Huang Ma Ma came to this part of her story, she exhibited the picture of her son's battered body.

Despite the grief and sorrow embedded in Huang Ma Ma's story and the stories told about South Korea, the discussion on human rights in the military turned out to be invigorating and inspiring. This was because these mothers show a great deal of determination to improve the system. Huang Ma Ma explained, "Like the mother who has spoken before me, at first I was enraged. I thought that all the officers involved should be shot. Then I decided to look for other mothers who suffered like me. There are almost 500 deaths a year in the military. I should gather other mothers together and seek justice!"

Huang Ma Ma found it difficult to win allies in her work. She said, "All the other mothers refuse to come forward with their cases. All they do is hide out and curse. They are afraid of the Department of Defense." But that didn't stop Huang Ma Ma. One of her first actions was to produce wallet-sized "human rights cards," which she handed out to new conscripts at railway stations. The cards encourage the conscripts to be aware of their human rights in the military. She explained, "The military was against me; they were angry. They didn't want people to pay attention to what was actually happening inside the military." In the beginning, the military took away the cards. However, Huang Ma Ma argued with them persuasively: "Why do you take away the cards? You've promised to improve human rights in the military; you shouldn't take away the cards. In fact, you should also distribute the cards to the conscripts' parents!"

One of the breakthroughs in Huang Ma Ma's work was winning a meeting with Mr. Chiang Chong-lin, then the Minister of Defense. In March 1998, she learned through a friend that the Minister would be attending a meeting at the Legislative Yuan. So she demonstrated in front of the Legislative Yuan until he agreed to see her. In the end, they met for over two hours. Huang Ma Ma explained, "I stated my personal willingness to relinquish my grudge for my dear son's life in exchange for improvements in human rights in the military system, and a decrease in the number of deaths. I demanded a legal channel to file complaints, the establishment of an organization with civilian participation to review military policy and practice, and the establishment of life insurance for conscripts."

The Ministry is responding to Huang Ma Ma's demands. Accidental life insurance policies for NT$ 2,000,000 for military personnel became effective in July 1998, and were increased to NT$3,000,000 in July 1999. There are now "parents days" at bases, and opportunities for conscripts to familiarize themselves with the bases where they will be stationed. RCAMP (the Rights Assurance Committee for Military Personnel), which has civilian participation, was written into the revised National Defense Law passed in January 2000. Statistics support the effectiveness of the work: the number of annual deaths dropped from 408 in 1995 to just over 270 in 1999.

In both Korea and Taiwan, it is difficult to determine the causes of peacetime deaths. Upon the death of a soldier, the body is immediately cremated. When an incident or accident happens, there is always a delay before the family is notified. Although the family rushes to the scene of the death, by the time they get there, all evidence has been destroyed. The military tries to prevent parents from visiting the barracks and tries to prevent them from talking to witnesses. Huang Ma Ma's group is demanding immediate notification of deaths. In Korea, the military authorities claim that many of the deaths in the military are suicide, and in Taiwan, peacetime deaths are blamed on suicide or emotional problems.

In both countries, it can be very difficult to challenge the verdict. Huang Ma Ma explained that if the family questions anything, then the military refuses to investigate. In Korea the military's approach is: "You made your son kill himself; you should be ashamed he killed himself." It is up to each parent to fight for the truth about her son's death.

Huang Ma Ma remains suspicious of efforts to co-opt their goals. In 1997, the Democratic Progressive Party established a mother's group, and asked Huang Ma Ma to convene it. However, Huang Ma Ma felt the group was too vulnerable to political manipulation, so she withdrew. Instead, she continued to work with her own two-person organization.

During the question-and-answer period, somebody asked how Huang Ma Ma's work relates to the introduction of Alternative Service. Huang Ma Ma explained that the two approaches to changing the mode of military service are closely related. "There have been so many deaths in peacetime since the conscription system was adopted, it's as though there has been an actual war. Allowing for alternative service is an important change in the conscription system."

Other aspects of human rights in the military were discussed. For example, Lim Taehoon, a leading gay human rights activist in Korea, spoke about the treatment of gay men. While there is no official stance on the human rights of gays in the military, homosexuality in the Korean military is generally treated as an illness or disease. If a man says that he is gay at the time of enlistment, he might be sent for a psychiatric test. Lim Taehoon asked about the rights of gays in the military in other countries. Ricardo responded that in Latin America, the culture makes it very difficult for a man to identify as gay. He said, "Because of the machismo culture, there is no official recognition of gays by the ministries of defense in Latin America." In Taiwan as well, there are no laws that address the rights or lack of rights of gay people in the military. "However," said Legislator Chien, "the military law is manipulated to exclude gay men." Both Legislator Chien and Huang Ma Ma knew of men who were discharged for being "too feminine."

Sometimes the military's legal system is responsible for violations of human rights. Huang Ma Ma told about the case of ammunition stolen from Tao-yuan Air Base in October 1999. Three young soldiers and two civilians were brutally tortured until a confession was extracted. However, these confessions were false, and eventually the actual perpetrators were arrested. Huang Ma Ma and a colleague pressed for an investigation of the incident, and the eight officers responsible for the torture were detained. As Huang Ma Ma explained, they have heard stories about such torture many times. For them it was a breakthrough to be able to publicize evidence of the torture.

Sexual violence in the military in Korea was also discussed. Since the army is an institution of secrecy, not much is known about sexual violence within the ranks. In addition, female soldiers are afraid to report sexual harassment and rape. Yet military hospitals do report some cases. Senior male officers harassing female soldiers of a lower grade seems to be a significant problem. A survey shows that 193 to 231 cases annually have been recorded in the years 1998, 1999 and 2000. These numbers include almost 100 rapes annually in 1998 and 1999. These two years showed 40 and 43 violent sexual crimes as well.

Conscientious Objection and Non-Violence

"Before I joined the army I had seen information on COs, but didn't really understand it. It wasn't until I was in the army that I figured it out. After I got out of jail, I learned more about COs in other countries, and then I thought,' So now I know – I am a CO'."

Workshop participants discussed several aspects of conscientious objection and non-violence. Lee Daehoon, a member of Chamyeoyeondae (People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy), provided some history about the CO movement worldwide. He explained that some pacifist beliefs are religiously based, as he shared in a story at the beginning of his address. As the story goes, the nephew of a conscientious objector had recently completed his service in the air force. The nephew complained that pacifists receive an undue share of attention. "Aren't we all Christians?" the young man asked his uncle. The CO countered by asking his nephew to imagine Jesus Christ seated in the cockpit of an F-104 bomber, heading to bomb a city.

Religiously-based conscientious objection to bearing arms was initiated by Mennonites and spread to other denominations such as Quakers during the two world wars, Lee Daehoon explained. During the Vietnam war and the cold war era, the US and NATO countries began to recognize conscientious objection based on secular reasons as well. Now the right to be a CO is recognized in most European countries. In 1991, Amnesty International expanded the definition of conscientious objection to include objection to direct and/or indirect war or violence, and declared imprisoned COs to be prisoners of conscience. Denmark was one of the first countries to recognize COs. Germany has an exemplary law; men can apply for alternative service positions based on religious, political, or social reasons. The alternative service system is in effect in peacetime and war time. In 1991, the number of people applying for alternative service, 150,000, matched the number of conscripts in active military service. Young men do not have to serve as policemen, because that is also considered a violent profession. Lee Hyun Sook from Women Making Peace pointed out that Germany also has an ombudsman appointed by parliament who reviews the army from the outside and protects the human rights of soldiers.

However, Lee Daehoon explained that the road to recognizing COs wasn't easy in European countries, "People think 'Germany is a developed country in a peacetime era, so it is easy for them to have a strong alternative service and CO program.' But you have to remember that the alternative service program was developed during the cold war, through the sacrifices of many people."

As described above, the new Alternative Service Law in Taiwan recognizes COs. Before the law was passed, in Taiwan, conscientious objectors were treated as "conscientious prisoners," and were jailed for three years. However, in some cases COs were called up again after they were released from jail. If they refused to serve again, they ended up serving multiple jail sentences. Now they serve two years and 8 months in the alternative service.

Latin American activists, as Ricardo Pinzón explained, have been working on recognition of CO status for about a decade. COs are recognized under the law only in Brazil and Paraguay. In fact, although a law has been passed in Brazil, no means of implementing the law have been established. No other countries in Latin America have exemptions written into law.

In Colombia, the conscription system has been around for 100 years. Article 18 of the 1991 constitution states that the freedom of conscience is guaranteed, and that no one will be forced to act against their conscience. However, no legislation has been passed to protect COs . In Colombia, there are three categories of COs: 1) Deserters: soldiers who have left the military, and are illegally not returning to their posts. 2) Underground COs: people who never joined the military, and are in hiding to avoid arrest and punishment. 3) Men who have declared themselves COs and are either in prison, or are awaiting arrest and prosecution. According to the law, there is supposed to be an alternative service option of working in the environmental or education departments, but nobody has been able to exercise this option. In practice, all captured COs are punished.

The CO movement in Colombia began in the 1990s, with help from Catholic and Protestant organizations. As Ricardo explained, the main goals of his organization, Colectivo por la Objecion de Conciencia, are to win legal recognition for COs and to enlighten the public about their beliefs. Together with other organizations, they hold an annual conference on CO issues in Latin America. In Latin America, women are exempt from serving in the military, but they have played a crucial role in changing the military. Mothers who lost their sons in the military are actively giving support to COs. Non-violence is the basis of the collective's methodology. "We are fighting for basic human rights," said Ricardo. "The UN Charter states that every citizen is granted the right not to be forced to act against his will. All people should have the right to refuse conscription based on their religious or ethical beliefs." Lee Hyun Sook asked how many COs are religiously motivated, and how many are COs for other reasons. Ricardo responded that this is very difficult to say, because so many COs are underground. In fact, it is not even possible to say how many COs there are.

A peace-activist-based CO movement in Korea is also relatively recent. As one CO participant explained, while he knew he didn't want to serve in the military, he didn't have a framework to describe his beliefs. When he refused to serve, he went to jail, where he was stigmatized as a traitor. He said, "Before I joined the army I had seen information on COs, but didn't really understand it. It wasn't until I was in the army that I figured it out. After I got of jail, I learned more about COs in other countries, and then I thought, 'So now I know – I am a CO.'" The panelists had heard of approximately 50 CO cases.[iv] There are no rules for determining the punishment of those who refuse to serve after entering the military. Therefore, most are sentenced under the rule for deserters, and serve between 6 months to three years.

So far, COs in this man's situation have not formed a group to address their situation, although they have worked in various human rights committees. As this CO explained, "It is hard for us to form a single group, because each person has different motivations for not wanting to serve in the military."[v]

Another CO participant felt that real change will have to come from the soldiers and the officers themselves. He agreed that soldiers need a hot-line, saying, "We have lawyers for a democratic society; now we need lawyers for a democratic military." He also promoted establishing a court process for recognition of CO status. As he pointed out, there is now more public control over the riot police, and more public access to the process of reforming conscription. He sees an opening for carrying the dialogue further.

This CO explained his personal perspective on the army. He said, "Given the inhumanity of this army -- the suicides and the deaths, --- it doesn't seem like my army. It seems like the army of an occupier." He also pointed out the extent of militarization in Korea, with bases all around Seoul, and even around Paeju (where the conference was held.) People take the sight of soldiers for granted; they don't realize just how much Korea is militarized.

He also raised the question of a group of people who hadn't attended the conference: the high school students who had viciously attacked the disabled and women's organizations that had filed the court case regarding the point system. He felt that their anger was misdirected. "Who did they attack?," he asked. "They didn't attack conscription offices. Instead they attacked women's organizations and disabled organizations."

This reveals the complexity of the issues, and the need for greater cooperation. As Choi Jung Min, from Solidarity for Peace and Human Rights, …(whose uncle died under suspicious circumstances while serving in the military), pointed out, "Those who serve in the military and those who can't serve in the military are both victims, with emotions of being either exploited or excluded. Violence in society is passed down, from men to women, from abled to disabled, from straight to gay." Choi Jung Min told the story of a third CO, one of the first people to raise the issue, who was stigmatized by everybody. "The problem with making the case public is that the debate becomes very antagonistic, with all sides attacking one another. Because of the volatility of the debate, there is no discussion about how to develop or improve the system."

In fact, Choi Jung Min found in discussions with COs that the decision not to serve in the military does not always come easily. "The belief in the freedom not to serve clashes with the feeling of duty to serve. It is challenging for COs to determine how to address their conscience, and their desire to fulfill their duty by serving in the military."

Choi Jung Min mentioned a large group of COs not present at the meeting, Jehovah's Witnesses, who have been refusing to serve in the Korean military for three generations.[vi] However there hasn't been much communication between Jehovah's Witnesses and NGOs. Choi Jung Min said that the case of Jehovah's Witnesses is complicated by the reaction of other Christian churches in Korea, who say that Jehovah's Witnesses are not a true church.

Lee Daehoon encouraged the group to acknowledge many traditions of conscientious objection, especially selective objection. In Korea, for example, some Koreans refused to fight in the Korean war. Many African American men, particularly Muslims, refused to fight in the Vietnam war because they viewed it as an attack on colored people. Some people object to using a particular type of weapon, such as nuclear weapons, biochemical weapons or depleted uranium. Some people agree to military service, but object to participating in mass killing. In some countries, people bear witness to their conscientious beliefs by refusing to pay the portion of their tax which would go to support the military. Lee Daehoon told of a particularly interesting case in the United Kingdom, in which a group of mothers destroyed computers in a nuclear submarine base that could be used to deploy nuclear weapons. They successfully argued in court that their consciences demanded that they refuse to support weapons of mass destruction. When asked whether or not destroying machines is itself violent, they responded that violence against machines is always justified if they are used to kill people.

With Kim Dae Jung the self-declared "Human Rights President," Lee Daehoon saw an opening to press the Republic of Korea to observe international human rights standards, and recognize COs. The UN first recognized the right to refuse to bear arms for conscientious reasons as a human right in 1987. In 1998, in the Commission on Human Rights resolution1998/77, such rights were given greater definition and clarity. The resolution asks states to establish impartial bodies to review individual cases of conscientious objection, to provide conscientious objectors with alternative service positions of a non-combatant or civilian character, in the public interest and not of a punitive nature; and states that conscientious objectors should not be imprisoned. Riot police might not be considered non-combatant under the resolution. Lee Daehoon emphasized that Korea, as a member state, has the obligation to guarantee recognition of conscientious objection. He suggested that "first of all, we could notify the relevant U.N. human rights agencies that Korea does not follow the international human rights standards. Then we could exert pressure upon the government by putting this case under international scrutiny." It might be a particularly powerful measure to report this violation of human rights to the UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance. This would enable the Special Rapporteur to visit Korea, and investigate the situation.

Non-violence

Non-violence forces people to think about their basic beliefs, to question the assumption that in order to serve their country they have to bear arms, or that in order to be attractive to girls, they have to be in the army. We think that love and nonviolence could be the key to solving the problems in the conscription service.

Non-violence is central to the belief of many COs, and this conference gave an excellent opportunity to discuss strategies of non-violence. For Ricardo Pinzón, Colombia's violent history and his decision to advocate for non-violence are intertwined. As he explained, after 500 years of Spanish rule, Colombia has inherited the history of an invaded country – violence, rapes, military domination and violence against civilians. In Colombia, 50% of the people have some connection to the guerrillas. Since 1987, over 35,000 civilians have been murdered or 'disappeared.' Two million people have been displaced by the war. The power of Colombian paramilitaries is as great as the power of the US military, which has been guiding them and funding them. Drug trafficking is backed by paramilitary forces. "Paramilitary groups, guerrillas, and the military itself are all disgracing my country," said Ricardo.

Some participants were almost incredulous that a non-violent approach could bloom in such a violent setting, and pressed Ricardo to describe how he adheres to a non-violent philosophy. Ricardo explained that non-violence is necessary to break the cycle of violence. "The CO and non-violent movement is essential for confronting the para-militaries. Militarism and machismo pervade Colombian society. Non-violence forces people to think about their basic beliefs, to question the assumption that in order to serve their country they have to bear arms, or that in order to be attractive to girls, they have to be in the army." He concluded, "We think that love and nonviolence could be the key to solving the problems in the conscription service."

To share more of the Latin American non-violence movement, two conference participants translated from Spanish into Korean Me Declaro Desertor, ("Declaring Myself a Deserter"), a poem by Colombian CO Hugo Cuevas Moore. The poem explains why Moore is a conscientious objector and "an enemy of the institution of training death, of shot bullets, of organized violence." Many participants copied over this eloquent testimony to non-violence.

Legislator Chien shared his own story about how he came to embrace non-violence. "I was one of the ones who said that we must use violence to break the KMT," he admitted. "But teaching really changed my perspective. I realized that my goal was a peaceful and democratic society, and non-violence was a better way to achieve that goal. Violence is one of the principal weapons held by those who are in power; if we use violence against them, they can use violence against us. Don't give them this excuse to exercise violence."

Legislator Chien commented on one of the most famous incidents in South Korea's struggles for democracy. "I believe that the Kwangju uprising was worse because activists used violence, giving the army legitimacy to use violence in response," he said. "When Martin Luther King, Jr. was surrounded by barbed wire, he pulled it away with his bare hands; this was publicized by the media. The movement to abolish Taiwan's criminal law is rooted in non-violence. Riot police must have training in non-violence. We are not afraid of violence when we have love and courage on our side."

Follow-up Plans

In order to have a positive outcome from this precious meeting, we need to figure out who does what, and how. We need to be responsible for this issue, and we need to organize solidly among ourselves. If we aren't careful, then youths will declare themselves COs one by one, and they will be jailed.

Committed to ensuring that concrete follow-up plans would be generated in the final session, the steering committee members had drawn up a general outline late Saturday night to guide Sunday afternoon's discussion. This outline was enthusiastically filled out during the course of the lively two-hour discussion (see below).

There was a great deal of interest in pursuing the topic of conscientious objection. Participants felt that the recent investigation of Nogunri, coinciding with an investigation into Korean army massacres of Vietnamese, provides an opening for NGOs to do this type of work. Participants were also inspired by Germany, where many German people felt that non-violence and alternative systems were necessary to undo the harm caused by Nazism.

During the course of the afternoon, the conversation returned repeatedly to using the UN Framework. Jung Gyung-Lan of Women Making Peace reflected on the recent positive experience of another NGO effort, saying, "We used the UN structure to work on the issue of wartime military sexual slavery – when we began using the UN legal framework, we were able to use international pressure. We should use a similar approach on CO issues."

The UN Commission on Human Rights granted CO status in a non-voting unanimous agreement and participants want to take advantage of this. Lee Daehoon showed a copy of "A Conscientious Objectors Guide to the UN Human Rights System," a step-by-step handbook to using the human rights system, commissioned by the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva.[vii] This handbook is being translated into Korean by Solidarity for Peace and Human Rights (SPR), and will be available to Korean activists in May 2001. The handbook will guide activists in their pursuit of UN assistance.

For example, if activists want to focus on the abuse of human rights, Lee Daehoon explained that they need to establish a record of human rights abuses committed by the Korean government and the Korean military: incidents of harsh torture with figures and descriptions of the cases, including names. This report should be brought to the UN Commission on Human Rights, as an alternative (shadow) report to the government's. "If we do this, then the Korean government is forced to respond," said Lee Daehoon. "If the ROK government report differs greatly and cases continue to pile up, then NGOs can request that a UN representative visit the ROK and investigate." One of the primary tasks of following up on CO work would be to gather examples to indicate that the ROK is in violation of the UN Charter and treaties.

Lee Daehoon promoted a broader plan of action. He said, "We need to get the public's attention, and to introduce the concept of CO as a human rights issue. Introducing the idea of conscientious objection through a human rights approach is more likely to get the media and public opinion on our side. We can make booklets about this issue to distribute to religious institutions, because this idea is very much related with religious pacifist teachings." Several people agreed, such as Lim Taehoon, who said, "I think we also need to disseminate this information as widely as possible. I commit to doing this as an individual." Han Hang Go from PSPD also committed to continue to report on corruption within the Ministry of Defense.

As the action plan was filling up, Legislator Chien cautioned the group not to focus exclusively on UN or popular measures. "You will find the outcome is different from your dreams," he said. "The government's first concern is national security, and you have to frame the issue in those terms -- frame a convincing argument that reducing the number of people in the military will not have a negative impact on national security. When high technology weapons are suggested as a replacement for soldiers, it is essential to say that high technology weapons are for a deterrent only; they are not for aggressive use. In Taiwan, for example, if we reduce our defense budget and use that money to develop the western provinces of China, it could increase our overall security."

Legislator Chien suggested a strategy session based on the URM Christian Foundation formula, in which activists would analyze where and how to focus efforts to change the law. In a three-day workshop, activists would draw up a chart of the players crucial to changing the structure of the military. In the next step, they would evaluate the relative strengths and influences of each of the players as a way to determine where to focus their energy. For example, if the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Interior are about equal in influence within the government, it might be worthwhile to focus on the Minister of the Interior in the first stage, to build up allies who are in favor of a change in the law. On the other hand, if the Minister of the Interior won't have much influence on changing this particular law, then it wouldn't be useful to focus energy on this person, even if she is usually an ally in your work. As people shift their opinion, move them into the appropriate column, and recalculate the odds of success.

The audience applauded this method of strategic planning. After the conference, some people asked to learn more about it.

The discussion about human rights within the military was also quite passionate. Lim Taehoon felt that it is important to pay attention to all aspects of human rights of soldiers within the military. "Human rights groups should all work together to guarantee the rights of the soldiers. We could make a human rights charter and say we won't send our sons to the military until the following rights are observed. We must demand an education for our sons about their rights in the military."

Kim Chang Soo gave an impassioned plea for solidarity, saying, "In order to have a positive outcome from this precious meeting, we need to figure out who does what, and how. We need to be responsible for this issue, and we need to organize solidly among ourselves. If we aren't careful, then youths will declare themselves COs one by one, and they will be jailed. We need to listen to groups of families of victims and learn from their experiences. We need to work in solidarity with the Jehovah's Witnesses, as they are the biggest COs in the business."

Kim Chang Soo also discussed the high school aged resisters. Because of the cyber-violence directed at women's groups, this group had been alienated from the majority of social change NGOs. As Kim Chang Soo explained, "Regarding the formation of a CO network, there is already a community of COs. However, we didn't invite them to this workshop, because of the history of the violent division over the Points issue. But on the Thursday before the workshop, they called to apologize, and said they wanted to participate. It was too late to include them this time. But we need to begin to cooperate with them as well."

In fact, the loosely organized CO network mentioned by Chang Soo was recently under attack, when the Military Service Bureau initiated an investigation of three web pages against conscription. The Bureau, judging them to be engaged in revolutionary activities, threatened to arrest the website hosts. The sites closed down voluntarily before they could be shut down by the Bureau. Such actions on behalf of the Bureau reminded participants of the need to proceed very cautiously when discussing dissemination of materials.

The meeting concluded with a high level of enthusiasm. Participants felt rightfully proud of the role they had played in discussing these topics, in an open and proactive manner, for the first time. As this report is being written, participants continue to look toward the future. Papers presented at the workshop are being translated into English for possible future use as background materials for building a UN case. Taiwanese and Korean participants are discussing a follow-up trip to Taiwan, for Koreans to learn in depth about the Alternative Service law, and to study Taiwanese tactics for addressing human rights in the military. An open forum on conscientious objection is planned in Korea for late May. And one young man recently declared himself a CO, and has contacted NGOs for assistance. This new CO case demonstrates more than anything the timeliness of the workshop, and the bravery of the participants for taking on this important mission of peace.

[i] Dialogue is not entirely unrestricted, as can be seen by the number of Koreans still in jail for National Security Law Violations. Recently, in a well-publicized case, Korean American Song Hak-sam was arrested for his role in publishing a book by Japanese Korean Kim Myong Chol regarding North Korean views on reunification.

[ii] Participants spent some time determining similarities and differences. All three countries have obligatory military service, although Taiwan has recently passed an alternative service law that is administered by the military. Korean men must serve for two years; Taiwanese men from 22 months to 33 months depending on the type of service, and Colombian men from 1 year to 2 years depending on their level of education. Although some observers might see similarities between the circumstances of "Divided Korea" and the "One China," in fact some Taiwanese activists would like to ensure an independent political system for Taiwan, while many Korean activists would like to see the two Koreans reunited. While activists in both Taiwan and South Korea have struggled for the democratization of their societies, they were not currently facing the depth of violence and displacement in Colombia today.

[iii] Because of the volatility of the topic, I did not include the names of the three COs who spoke.

[iv] Some case studies are being translated, and will be available in English in a few months.

[v] Commented Choe Gui Hung in an aside, "My friends don't say 'how can we change the military?' They say 'how can we get out of it?'"

[vi] According to Jae-Kwan Chun, the director of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Korea, who was not present at the conference, over 10,000 Korean Jehovah's Witnesses have been jailed for being COs, and over 1400 are currently in prison.

[vii] Emily Miles, A Conscientious Objectors Guide to the UN Human Rights System, (London: CONCODOC (Conscription and Conscientious Objection Documentation), War Resisters International, 2000). This handbook is also being translated into Spanish, and is available from War Resisters International (e-mail: warresisters@gn.apc.org, web address: http://www.gn.apc.org/warresisters) or the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva, (e-mail quno@mbox.unicc.org web address: http://www.quaker.org/quno)

AGAINST	Strength	NEUTRAL	Strength	FOR	Strength
MOD	XXXXXXXXX	M of Interior	XXXXXXX	HR NGO	X
Dep. MOD	XXXXXX	VP	XXXXXX	Peace NGO	X



Total Against	16	Total Neutral	14	Total For	2