Commentary: Russians fleeing to avoid conscription in Ukraine war should be treated as refugees

WHAT THE LAW SAYS

Applying these obligations to the case of Russians fleeing conscription is complicated (recent UK government guidance on asylum seekers fleeing conscription runs to 14 pages) but we can identify at least three overlapping categories of individuals entitled to our protection.

Firstly, a person is entitled to protection if their conscription is extralegal, discriminatory or results in inhuman treatment. Within the occupied territory of Ukraine, it is illegal (and a war crime) for civilians to be conscripted into military operations against their own country, even by the proxy governments in power (like the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic).

There is also growing evidence that the way in which conscription is happening in Russia (like in so many other places) is not just haphazard but targeted. Protesters who demonstrate against conscription have been immediately served with conscription orders and ethnic minorities seem disproportionately at risk of conscription.

Once in the military, some recruits face more than simply the risk from battle. Hazing can be extreme and living conditions are often desperate.

Secondly, a person is entitled to our protection if their conscription will have a substantial possibility of involving them in internationally condemned acts. This includes war crimes and crimes against humanity. From Bucha to Izyum, evidence is emerging of the execution and torture of civilians and prisoners of war.