{"id":17006,"date":"2013-06-09T13:47:00","date_gmt":"2013-06-09T20:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006"},"modified":"2023-02-10T15:36:05","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T23:36:05","slug":"the-invention-of-a-human-right-conscientious-objection-at-the-united-nations-1947-2-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006","title":{"rendered":"The Invention of a Human Right: Conscientious Objection at the United Nations, 1947-2-11"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Jeremy K Kessler<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"164\" height=\"230\" src=\"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/columbiahumanrtslawrev.jpg\" alt=\"Columbia Human Rights Law Review\" class=\"wp-image-17097\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Columbia Human Rights Law Review<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Abstract<\/strong><br>The right of conscientious objection to military service is the most startling of human rights. While human rights generally seek to protect individuals from state power, the right of conscientious objection radically alters the citizen-state relationship, subordinating a state&#8217;s decisions about national security to the beliefs of the individual citizen. In a world of nation-states jealous of their sovereignty, how did the human right of conscientious objection become an international legal doctrine? By answering that question, this Article both clarifies the legal pedigree of the human right of conscientious objection and sheds new light on the relationship between international human rights law and national sovereignty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Kessler JK. <a href=\"https:\/\/scholarship.law.columbia.edu\/faculty_scholarship\/2242\/\">The Invention of a Human Right: Conscientious Objection at the United Nations, 1947-2-11<\/a>. Columbia Hum R Law R. 2013;44(753-791. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jeremy K Kessler AbstractThe right of conscientious objection to military service is the most startling of human rights. While human rights generally seek to protect individuals from state power, the right of conscientious objection radically alters the citizen-state relationship, subordinating a state&#8217;s decisions about national security to the beliefs of the individual citizen. In a &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The Invention of a Human Right: Conscientious Objection at the United Nations, 1947-2-11&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,559,659],"tags":[1859,1903,1660,1860],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-17006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-journal-article","category-law","category-philosophy","tag-conscription","tag-jeremy-k-kessler","tag-military-analogy","tag-military-service"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\r\n<title>The Invention of a Human Right: Conscientious Objection at the United Nations, 1947-2-11 - Protection of Conscience Project Library<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Clarifying the legal pedigree of the human right of conscientious objection, international human rights law and national sovereignty.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Invention of a Human Right: Conscientious Objection at the United Nations, 1947-2-11 - Protection of Conscience Project Library\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Clarifying the legal pedigree of the human right of conscientious objection, international human rights law and national sovereignty.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Protection of Conscience Project Library\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/consciencepro\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-06-09T20:47:00+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-10T23:36:05+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/columbiahumanrtslawrevog.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"338\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Project Administrator\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/columbiahumanrtslawrevog.jpg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@consciencpro\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@consciencpro\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Project Administrator\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=17006#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=17006\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Project Administrator\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/263d102b35e3f7822db6d548b2555098\"},\"headline\":\"The Invention of a Human Right: Conscientious Objection at the United Nations, 1947-2-11\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-06-09T20:47:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-10T23:36:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=17006\"},\"wordCount\":151,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=17006#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/columbiahumanrtslawrev.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"conscription\",\"Jeremy K Kessler\",\"military analogy\",\"military service\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Journal Articles\",\"Law\",\"Philosophy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=17006#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=17006\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=17006\",\"name\":\"The Invention of a Human Right: Conscientious Objection at the United Nations, 1947-2-11 - Protection of Conscience Project Library\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=17006#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=17006#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/columbiahumanrtslawrev.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-06-09T20:47:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-10T23:36:05+00:00\",\"description\":\"Clarifying the legal pedigree of the human right of conscientious objection, international human rights law and national sovereignty.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=17006#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=17006\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=17006#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/columbiahumanrtslawrev.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/columbiahumanrtslawrev.jpg\",\"width\":164,\"height\":230,\"caption\":\"Columbia Human Rights Law Review\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=17006#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Invention of a Human Right: Conscientious Objection at the United Nations, 1947-2-11\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Protection of Conscience Project Library\",\"description\":\"Service, not Servitude\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Protecton of Conscience Project\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/projectlogo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/projectlogo.jpg\",\"width\":1123,\"height\":1376,\"caption\":\"Protecton of Conscience Project\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/consciencepro\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/consciencpro\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/263d102b35e3f7822db6d548b2555098\",\"name\":\"Project Administrator\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2f23b26a3373f72c4b33841a689bb10155dcc572564e51c5b3bb99d75ffbd2b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2f23b26a3373f72c4b33841a689bb10155dcc572564e51c5b3bb99d75ffbd2b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2f23b26a3373f72c4b33841a689bb10155dcc572564e51c5b3bb99d75ffbd2b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Project Administrator\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.consciencelaws.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Invention of a Human Right: Conscientious Objection at the United Nations, 1947-2-11 - Protection of Conscience Project Library","description":"Clarifying the legal pedigree of the human right of conscientious objection, international human rights law and national sovereignty.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Invention of a Human Right: Conscientious Objection at the United Nations, 1947-2-11 - Protection of Conscience Project Library","og_description":"Clarifying the legal pedigree of the human right of conscientious objection, international human rights law and national sovereignty.","og_url":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006","og_site_name":"Protection of Conscience Project Library","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/consciencepro","article_published_time":"2013-06-09T20:47:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-02-10T23:36:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":338,"url":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/columbiahumanrtslawrevog.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Project Administrator","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/columbiahumanrtslawrevog.jpg","twitter_creator":"@consciencpro","twitter_site":"@consciencpro","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Project Administrator","Estimated reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006"},"author":{"name":"Project Administrator","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#\/schema\/person\/263d102b35e3f7822db6d548b2555098"},"headline":"The Invention of a Human Right: Conscientious Objection at the United Nations, 1947-2-11","datePublished":"2013-06-09T20:47:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-10T23:36:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006"},"wordCount":151,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/columbiahumanrtslawrev.jpg","keywords":["conscription","Jeremy K Kessler","military analogy","military service"],"articleSection":["Journal Articles","Law","Philosophy"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006","url":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006","name":"The Invention of a Human Right: Conscientious Objection at the United Nations, 1947-2-11 - Protection of Conscience Project Library","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/columbiahumanrtslawrev.jpg","datePublished":"2013-06-09T20:47:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-10T23:36:05+00:00","description":"Clarifying the legal pedigree of the human right of conscientious objection, international human rights law and national sovereignty.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/columbiahumanrtslawrev.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/columbiahumanrtslawrev.jpg","width":164,"height":230,"caption":"Columbia Human Rights Law Review"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=17006#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Invention of a Human Right: Conscientious Objection at the United Nations, 1947-2-11"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/","name":"Protection of Conscience Project Library","description":"Service, not Servitude","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#organization","name":"Protecton of Conscience Project","url":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/projectlogo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/projectlogo.jpg","width":1123,"height":1376,"caption":"Protecton of Conscience Project"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/consciencepro","https:\/\/x.com\/consciencpro"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#\/schema\/person\/263d102b35e3f7822db6d548b2555098","name":"Project Administrator","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f23b26a3373f72c4b33841a689bb10155dcc572564e51c5b3bb99d75ffbd2b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f23b26a3373f72c4b33841a689bb10155dcc572564e51c5b3bb99d75ffbd2b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f23b26a3373f72c4b33841a689bb10155dcc572564e51c5b3bb99d75ffbd2b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Project Administrator"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.consciencelaws.org"],"url":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17006"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17099,"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17006\/revisions\/17099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17006"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpost_folder&post=17006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}