Neutral and detached spouse?

Honk if you think the spouse of a commander can serve as a neutral and detached official to rule on continued pretrial confinement. Details here.

I/A Court of Human Rights to decide for the first time on measures against homosexuals in the army

On December 11, 2014, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights submitted the case of Homero Flor Freire v. Ecuador to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for failure to comply with the Commission's recommendations.  Ecuador had discharged Mr. Freire from the Army for committing homosexual acts, which the Commission determined was impermissible discrimination based on sexual orientation.  It held that maintaining discipline is a legitimate aim of the military but that there is no real relationship between means and ends between punishing acts of homosexuality in the armed forces and upholding military values such as honor, dignity, discipline and the promotion of civic mindedness.  It recommended that Ecuador (1) make full reparation to Mr. Homero Flor Freire in the terms indicated in the Commission's report, both materially and morally, including measures of satisfaction for the harm caused; (2) publicly recognize that Mr. Homero Flor Freire was discharged from the Ecuadorian Army in a discriminatory fashion; (3) adopt the state measures necessary to ensure that the persons who work in the Ecuadorian Army or any office or section of the Ecuadorian army are not discriminated against based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation; (4) adopt the necessary state measures for the personnel of the Ecuadorian Army or any office or section of the Ecuadorian Army, as well as the judges at law in the military jurisdiction, to become familiar with the inter-American standards and with the provisions of Ecuadorian domestic law regarding non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, actual or perceived; and (5) adopt the necessary measures to guarantee the right to due process for members of the military tried by courts in disciplinary proceedings, including the right to an impartial judge or court.

Tech and discipline: another report from Israel

The use of social media continues to raise security and disciplinary issues within the Israel Defence Force. We previously reported on the "Facebook mutiny." For current developments see this Reuters story.

"The military's response appears to be mainly cautionary, for now, by playing up social media cases that lead to the stockade. 

"'This is a very troublesome phenomenon, and soldiers don't understand how grave it is,' the chief military prosecutor, Colonel Udi Ben-Eliezer, told Bamahane. 'The telephone is easily available, and therefore the crime becomes very easy to do.'"

Justice Marie Deschamps reports on sexual misconduct in CF

Hon. Marie Deschamps

As noted in the post immediately below, retired Canadian Supreme Court Justice Marie Deschamps' March 27, 2015 report on sexual misconduct in the Canadian Forces was made public yesterday. It can be accessed here. The following summary is from CTV News:

Here are some of the key findings from the external review: 

Sexualized culture 

• The report found that there is an "underlying sexualized culture" within the Canadian Forces that is hostile to women and LGTBQ members. If left unchecked, this culture can lead to more serious incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assault. 
• This sexualized environment within the CAF is characterized by frequent swearing and "highly degrading" expressions referencing women's bodies, sexual jokes, unwelcome sexual touching and discriminatory comments about women's abilities. 
• Some participants reported instances of sexual assault, date rape and instances of relationships between lower rank women and higher rank men. In some reported cases, sex was used to enforce power dynamics in relationships and to punish and ostracize a member of a particular unit. 
• As soldiers move up the ranks, they become used to the sexualized culture. 
• There are strong perceptions that there is an upheld culture where no one speaks up against sexual misconduct or assault, which deters victims from reporting such incidents. 

Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Harassment in the Canadian Forces -- A searing report by a retired Supreme Court Justice

April 30, 2015. In a scathing report, retired Supreme Court Justice Marie Deschamps reveals that sexual misconduct in the the Canadian military is "endemic" and is tolerated by the leadership.

See: Executive Summary: Madam Justice (Retired) Marie Deschamps' Report - April 2015

Madam Justice (retired) Deschamps laid the blame on a pervasive macho culture where the leadership tolerates abuse and leaves victims in fear of reporting it: "Victims, concerned about how they will be treated by the military justice system, tend not to report sexual assaults. Many of those victims who did report an offence said that their experience were atrocious"" She added: "The members at present do not have the sufficient confidence to report the incidents. And that one of the reasons why they came to me is that they were confident that they were speaking in total anonymity," 

See:  Full Report: Madam Justice (Retired) Marie Deschamps' Report - April 2015