CCPR/C/117/D/2224/2012
recommended that the State party, inter alia, take all necessary measures to review its
legislation with a view to providing for alternative service.23 Accordingly, the Committee
finds that, by prosecuting and convicting the author for his refusal to perform compulsory
military service due to his religious beliefs and conscientious objection, the State party has
violated his rights under article 18 (1) of the Covenant.
8.
The Committee, acting under article 5 (4) of the Optional Protocol, is of the view
that the facts before it disclose a violation of the author’s rights under articles 7, 10 (1),
14 (7) and 18 (1) of the Covenant.
9.
In accordance with article 2 (3) (a) of the Covenant, the State party is under an
obligation to provide the author with an effective remedy. This requires it to make full
reparation to individuals whose Covenant rights have been violated. Accordingly, the State
party is obligated, inter alia, to impartially, effectively and thoroughly investigate the
author’s claims falling under article 7 of the Covenant, to prosecute any person(s) found to
be responsible, to expunge the author’s criminal record, and to provide him with adequate
compensation. The State party is under an obligation to avoid similar violations of the
Covenant in the future. In this connection, the Committee reiterates that the State party
should revise its legislation in accordance with its obligation under article 2 (2) of the
Covenant, in particular the Military Service and Military Duty Act, as amended on
25 September 2010, with a view to guaranteeing effectively the right to conscientious
objection under article 18 (1) of the Covenant.24
10.
Bearing in mind that, by becoming a party to the Optional Protocol, the State party
has recognized the competence of the Committee to determine whether there has been a
violation of the Covenant or not and that, pursuant to article 2 of the Covenant, the State
party has undertaken to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its
jurisdiction the rights recognized in the Covenant, and to provide an effective and
enforceable remedy when a violation has been established, the Committee wishes to receive
from the State party, within 180 days, information about the measures taken to give effect
to the Committee’s Views. The State party is also requested to publish the Committee’s
Views.
23
24
See CCPR/C/TKM/CO/1, para. 16.
See communications No. 2019/2010, Poplavny v. Belarus, Views adopted on 5 November 2015,
para. 10; and No. 1992/2010, Sudalenko v. Belarus, Views adopted on 27 March 2015, para. 10.
11