Comment, analysis, news

Army to increase security at London 2012 Olympics

Up to 6,000 troops could be drafted in as security guards at the 2012 Olympics in London, as officials reassess the manpower needed to cover next year's Games, it has emerged.

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How soldiers deal with the job of killing

"We talk about destroying, engaging, dropping, bagging - you don't hear the word killing”. This article explores the effect of killing on people in the military, how many are unable to kill and others live with the effects of having killed for the rest of their lives. Also see The Kill Factor radio broadcasts.

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St Pauls poppy installation remembers child soldiers

An installation of poppies in St Paul's Cathedral marks the continued involvement of children in war, despite its practice being declared illegal by the UN.

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High drop out rate and imprisonment of teenage soldiers calls MoD policy into question

High drop-out rate of teenage soldiers hides unfair detention of some young recruits detained in military prisons for attempting to leave

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MPs criticise Ministry of Defence for continuing to send children to war

The MoD is criticised for lowering standards since WW1 and despite thousands of planned redundancies, it still recruiting children at twice the cost of adults.

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Remembering the meaning of remembrance

The intervention of Prince William and Downing Street to compel FIFA to allow the England team to wear poppies during a match rather belies the royal statement that the poppy has 'no political' connotations. In fact, wearing the red poppy has never been free of political values, not least because it reinforces the view that war is acceptable, however regrettable.

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UK sent ‘children’ to Iraq and Afghanistan despite Government ban

The children were sent to 'operational theatres' between April 2008 and March 2010. Campaigners against use of child soldiers demand ministers end 'outdated practice'.

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Imprisoned Navy conscientious objector to appeal conviction in High Court

Navy medic Michael Lyons, a conscientious objector convicted of disobedience, who was detained in July, stripped of his rank and dismissed from the service, will be at the High Court 13 October to appeal his conviction. A recent European ruling recognises conscientious objection for first time as human right.

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European Court of Human Rights affirms the right to conscientious objection to military service

The European Court of Human Rights, in a ground-breaking judgment in the case of Bayatyan v. Armenia, has ruled 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 set out in Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

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Back in the trenches?

Within the same week, the UK conscientious objector Michael Lyons was detained for 7 months and a landmark ruling in favour of conscientious objection was made by the European Court of Human Rights.

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