Latvia

Previous reports: 2024 | 2023/24

Principal EBCO concerns

• No recognition of the right to conscientious objection during military service or for military personnel.

Based on replies by the Ministry of Defence of Latvia to EBCO’s questionnaire:

Developments

The Ministry reports that there are “informal discussions” about expanding the civilian institutions where the alternative service can be performed.

Conscription provisions and procedures

Conscription was reintroduced in 2023 and became compulsory on 1 January 2024.²

Most servicemen are males between the ages 18 and 19. The statistics are following:

• 2023: 253 persons (all volunteers);

• 2024: 561 persons (498 volunteers / 63 conscripts);

• 2025: 949 persons (773 volunteers / 176 conscripts).

There is no possibility in the National Defence Service to sign up for a second period. However, after 6 months of service, soldiers can sign up for the professional military service.

Reserve service

Each year, a selected number of reserve soldiers are called up for a two-week reserve soldier’s exercise. Although the exercise is considered mandatory, reserve soldiers will not face any sanctions if they fail to attend these exercises. At the same time, all Latvian adult citizens may voluntarily apply for a three-week reserve soldier’s exercise and learn the necessary skills for state defence.

Conscientious objection provisions and procedures

In 2024 the Conscription Control Commission received and approved 1 application for alternative service. However, the applicant was later fully exempted from the performance of alternative service duties due to health conditions.

In 2025, 3 applications were submitted for alternative service. Two of the applications were rejected as “unfounded”, one because “during the application review meeting, the applicant expressed dissatisfaction with the sudden change of his life plans rather than with the pacifistic beliefs mentioned in the application” and the other because “the applicant had misconceptions that people with Christian faith could not perform military service, moreover, it became clear that the applicant had not developed a strong religious conviction.”

The remaining one application is still under consideration, as not all required information has been received. None of these decisions were appealed in court.

Conscientious objection during and after military service

No recognition of the right to conscientious objection exists for servicemen after they are conscripted or for military personnel to be released.

The Ministry reports that no such cases have been recorded.

1. Military expenditure figures are estimates published by SIPRI (The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) in April 2026.↩︎
2. Cf. EBCO Annual Report 2024 for details on the provisions for the military service: https://ebco-beoc.org/latvia/2024↩︎