The authors of this United Nations publication are Asbjørn Eide, of the Peace Research Institute of Oslo and Norwegian Institute of Human Rights, and Chama Mubanga-Chipoya of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, both also of the United Nations Working Group on the Rights of Minorities.
The best and worst aspects of the book are the same thing The problems with this book are that it is dense, and somewhat dry and legally technical. Also, the strong points of this book are that it is dense, and somewhat dry and legally technical. Reading it could be something of a slog, but there is a massive amount of information packed into its relatively few pages.
As noted in the introduction, conscientious objection--the refusal to participate in something based on conscience, rather than slacking--has been used almost exclusively in relation to military service, "to the extent that 'to military service' is implied, unless specific reference is made to some other form of objection." (p.2). A fast review of the history of conscription and conscientious objection is included.
This book is less than 90 pages, and so is a whirlwind tour, outlining the subject and preparing the reader to search other places for detail. It is made up of three sections covering international human rights law, conscientious objection/alternative service aspects of some national laws. and protection of conscientious objectors under international refugee law. It can be used as an introduction to these topics, or as a compact summary for those with more background.
References are included in the basic text and footnotes, so there is no bibliography or reference list as such.
In the first section, conscientious objection is described as a derivative right, based on interpretations of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. The text of resolution 1997/77 is included, and the authors point out that these resolutions are not legally binding, but that they do have "undeniable moral force and provide guidance to States in their conduct."
An odd omission in the second section is that, on page 54, the book describes the qualifications in two countries for conscientious objector status, stating that having a gun license/permit is disqualifying, without mentioning that many Mennonites would therefore not qualify (some are hunters)--even though the book mentions the peace churches several times and the Mennonites are among them.
When reading the third section, there may be readers who are surprised to learn that some conscientious objectors can be granted asylum as refugees from persecution.
The book seems to have been written for those who already know some legal terminology. An example of possibly unfamiliar vocabulary would be on page 21, where it is stated that the "right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. . . is a non-derogable right." This means that that even during a state of emergency, governments must honor those rights. The meaning can be derived from the context, but it does not state explicitly that "non-derogable means this and that."
Of course, over time, legal provisions change, and a few items in this book are out of date; for example, the 28 June 2018 ruling of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Korea and the 1 November 2018 ruling of Korea's Supreme Court in favor of conscientious objectors, and the legal changes following upon that decision, post-date the book's publication. This volume is a useful compendium of law at the time of its writing, and the basic concepts will likely remain valid even as details change. It is also useful as a brief, compact historical document.
I would recommend this highly for anyone interested in this topic who already has a good legal vocabulary, or is willing to learn some of this vocabulary so that they can get at the information in this volume.
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