E/CN.4/2000/65 page 10 Eritrea 34. The right to conscientious objection on grounds of religious belief appears not to be recognized in law. Eritrea explained that, under its legislation, military service is compulsory for a period of 18 months, consisting of 6 months of military training and 12 months of civic activities. It stated that no exemption was provided, except in the case of persons who had fought in the national liberation war. The Special Rapporteur’s comments on the Republic of Korea are also relevant with respect to Eritrea. Russian Federation 35. It is reported that, since 1996, the Moscow Northern Administrative Circuit Prosecutor has brought charges on five occasions against the congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the capital. The first four cases were abandoned for lack of evidence. In September 1998, new charges were brought under the 1997 Act on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations in respect of the proselytizing activities of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, which were deemed illegal on the grounds that they foster religious discord and are a threat to Russian family life. If this prosecution was successful, the registration of the Jehovah’s Witnesses would be revoked and their congregation would be banned in Moscow. The country was reportedly hit by a wave of anti-Semitic attacks in 1999, particularly in the form of the desecration of tombs and attacks on a synagogue and a Jewish leader. These incidents were condemned by President Yeltsin. 36. The Russian Federation replied that, in 1998, the Russian judicial authorities registered 44 new local Jehovah’s Witnesses organizations and renewed the registration authorizing 19 organizations. The leadership of the movement in Russia was registered with the Ministry of Justice on 27 March 1991 and the registration was renewed on 29 April 1999. It was stated that no act of discrimination on religious grounds committed by law enforcement or other executive agencies against Jehovah’s Witnesses had been reported in recent years. With regard to civil proceedings against the Moscow Jehovah’s Witnesses community, it was explained that the court was considering a request by the Moscow Northern Administrative Circuit Prosecutor for the dissolution of the community as a result of an investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office which revealed major incompatibilities between statutes of the Jehovah’s Witnesses community as registered and its day-to-day activities, as well as many complaints by private individuals, especially parents whose children had been victims of action by the Jehovah’s Witnesses (incitement to racial hatred, suicide and refusal to accept medical care, forced destruction of the family, etc.). It was hardly appropriate to draw conclusions about any persecution or the dissolution of the Moscow Jehovah’s Witnesses community because proceedings were under way which guaranteed the rights of the defence and the investigation of the case had been suspended when the court had ordered a complex evaluation of its religious, psychological and linguistic aspects. The community continued to carry out its activities in the capital. 37. The authorities were also of the opinion that a more in-depth analysis of the implementation of the new Act on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations would show that its application had not led to violations of the rights of citizens or the principle of the equality of religious congregations before the law. In that connection, it was stated that, on 1 January 1999, the Ministry of Justice and its territorial offices had registered 16,749 religious