This project examines conscientious objection to military service as a ground for international protection in the context of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Dina Bolokan, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Global Migration Centre (GMC) and the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP), analyses how international refugee law, human rights law, and domestic asylum practices in Germany, France, and Switzerland address asylum claims by Russian conscientious objectors refusing participation in the war.

The project’s central aim is to conduct a comparative socio-legal analysis of asylum rulings in the three countries, highlighting how legal systems differently interpret and legitimise war refusal. Special attention is given to intersectional injustices—such as epistemic injustice (the dismissal of asylum seekers’ testimonies) and ontic injustice (structural harms tied to gendered roles, such as the expectation that men must serve in the military).

Methodologically, the research uses critical discourse analysis of asylum decisions (2023–2025) involving Russian draft evaders from marginalised backgrounds. The analysis will explore how legal concepts, evidence, and silences shape rulings. Ultimately, the project aims to offer a nuanced understanding of how liberal democracies interpret Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (freedom of conscience) in wartime, and to develop tools for promoting more equitable legal recognition for conscientious objectors.

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