Conscription of people with disabilities

Although people with disabilities are generally exempt from military service,[1] conscription of people with disabilities has occurred on various occasions historically.

History

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, more than 480 people with intellectual disabilities were conscripted into the military of Imperial Japan.[2]

Project 100,000 was a disability draft under the Johnson Administration. Men who had previously been rejected from military service due to physical or mental disabilities were re-classified and sent to the frontlines in the Vietnam War.[3]

Modern times

Numerous Ukrainians with disabilities have been drafted over the course of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[4][5][6] The Ukrainian Defence Ministry amended the criteria for medical exemptions, reclassifying people with tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, thyroid disease and HIV to be fit for military service.[7] On 22 October 2024, Ukrainian president Zelenskyy sign a decree which dissolved the medical examination commissions for determining the severity of disabilities that qualified for military exemptions.[8] On 8 July 2025, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights published a report which acknowledged "systemic and documented human rights violations under martial law" which included the conscription of people with disabilities.[9]

According to an unnamed Ukrainian brigade commander who spoke to Deutsche Welle on condition of anonymity, some people who had been drafted showed up to the training center with edentulism and tuberculosis.[10] According to a solider who identified himself as "Kyrylo" to Deutsche Welle, he saw homeless people with swollen legs, drug addicts and alcoholics being drafted. "Kyrylo" also told DW that the medical exam is "often just a formality and in some places, it doesn't even happen" though he also mentioned that a "more thorough medical examination" would be carried out at a training center.[11] According to another soldier who identified himself as "Oleksandr", he saw people with epilepsy and schizophrenia being drafted. "Oleksandr" also reported that in 2024, a man with schizophrenia was assigned to a brigade in the Ukrainian Marine Corps and was later identified as having schizophrenia during basic training.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ Unfit for Service: Physical Fitness and Civic Obligation in World War. National Park Service
  2. ^ "＜旧陸軍＞知的障害者も徴兵 大戦中、４８０人以上（毎日新聞）" [More than 480 people with intellectual disabilities were conscripted during the [1937] war]. Mainichi shinbun (in Japanese). 2005-09-19. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  3. ^ Hsiao, Lisa (1989). "Project Project 100,000: The Great Society's Answer to Military Manpower Needs in Vietnam". Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  4. ^ Musumeci, Natalie. "Ukraine needs new troops so badly it is taking people's passports and tried to recruit a mentally disabled man". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  5. ^ "Disabled Ukrainians complain of getting draft notice; military stresses need for timely data updates". english.nv.ua. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  6. ^ "Mobilization in Ukraine - when people with disabilities are called up - all the latest news today – 112.ua". 112.ua. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  7. ^ "Defense ministry amends rules exempting Ukrainians from mobilization on health grounds". The Kyiv Independent. 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  8. ^ "Zelensky signs decree to liquidate medical examination commissions amid corruption scandal". The Kyiv Independent. October 22, 2024.
  9. ^ "Council of Europe Report Documents Systemic Human Rights Violations Under Martial Law in Ukraine". Stories Framing the Globe. Retrieved 2025-09-04.
  10. ^ "Why are mentally ill soldiers being drafted in Ukraine?". Deutsche Welle. 19 July 2025. Retrieved 23 March 2026. A Ukrainian brigade commander told DW about his experiences with the recently drafted. He spoke on condition of anonymity. "I actually had the privilege of being able to choose my own men," he reported. "But some came with no teeth or they had tuberculosis — even at the training center!"
  11. ^ "Why are mentally ill soldiers being drafted in Ukraine?". Deutsche Welle. 19 July 2025. Retrieved 23 March 2026. Kyrylo, whodidn't (sic) want to share his real name either, is another recent recruit who was drafted earlier this year. While at the draft board, he says he saw homeless people with swollen legs, drug addicts and alcoholics. The medical exam is often just a formality and in some places, it doesn't even happen, he says. It's not until you get to the training facility that a more thorough medical examination will be carried out.
  12. ^ "Why are mentally ill soldiers being drafted in Ukraine?". Deutsche Welle. 19 July 2025. Retrieved 23 March 2026. Another soldier, Oleksandr — who also didn't want to give his real name — says he even saw epileptics when he was drafted. This kind of recruitment actually led to a man with schizophrenia being assigned to a brigade of marines in 2024, after basic training, he recounts. Luckily the man's condition quickly became clear.
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