Programme of principles of Militærnægterforeningen (MNF), the Danish organization of conscientious objectors
The primary goal of MNF is to minimize the existence of mechanisms that cause war.
- MNF is against all sorts of preparatory war mobilization.
- MNF does not believe in the military as the solution to problems of economic, social, cultural, and ecological origins. Instead, MNF believes in the effects of economic and social equalization.
- MNF works to create and sustain a critical antiauthoritarian consciousness among people.
- MNF supports preferably non-violent forms of action and has chosen non-violence as the means to our ends. However, MNF cannot fit the most stringent description of pacifism in general, as we are able to understand and relate to the need for civil disobedience and struggle to rid people of suppression and militarism to institute social and economic democracy.
- MNF believes in people taking responsibility for their own actions as an essential condition for the promotion of a peaceful world without suppression and the use of force. Hence we translate the idea of individual freedom into a focus on the responsibility of the individual.
- All emergency measures are to be of civil nature, including the "civil" emergency preparedness.
- MNF wants to abolish the military and thereby also the draft.
Disarmament
MNF wishes to work with other countries towards a total disarmament. MNF is against any production of war material and equipment. In the process of abolishing the military, the military is to be reoriented into a system focused on purposes civil nature.
- The money spent on the military should be spent on education, health, conflict solving, socio-economic equalization to the benefit of the weakest groups of society - on a local as well as a global level, and on better ways of aiding the developing countries, including assistance to their process of demilitarization.
- As it is, the money spent on the military ought instead to be spent on the transformation of the civil service of the conscientious objectors into a meaningful and relevant training in peaceful conflict solving.
Conscientious Objection
Conscientious objection is recognized as one of the fundamental human rights (article 18 in the United Nations' declaration of the human rights).
- MNF wants to promote conscientious objection, which is seen as the individual's way to minimize militarism, as a means of antimilitarist action.
- MNF wants to promote industrial objection, i.e. the right to waive working with development, production, export, and/or transportation of weaponry.
- MNF recognizes the right to total objection as an antimilitarist form of action, pointing out the waste of human and material resources in maintaining the military.
- MNF hopes to strengthen the international antimilitarist work.
- MNF supports deserters and conscientious objectors from areas that do not recognize the right to conscientious objection as well as areas in a state of mobilization, war, or situations ressemblant to war.
Passed on the general assembly of Militærnægterforeningen, February 20, 1999
Take part in the debate
Our program of principles may be viewed as the basis for a discussion of militarism as a means of conflict solving. How do you see our principles?
If you want to make a comment or you have any suggestions in connection with the wording of the principles listed above, we would very much like to hear from you. You can write to us at either MNK@FRED.dk or at Militærnægterforeningen, Dronningensgade 14, 1420 København K.