Although people with disabilities are generally exempt from military service,[1] conscription of people with disabilities has occurred on various occasions historically.
During theSecond 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 theJohnson 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 theVietnam War.[3]
Numerous Ukrainians with disabilities have been drafted over the course of theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[4][5][6] TheUkrainian Defence Ministry amended the criteria for medical exemptions, reclassifying people withtuberculosis,viral hepatitis,thyroid disease andHIV 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, theCouncil 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]
The physical examination for conscription inNorth Korea had eased height criteria for military service, reportedly to 142 cm (4 ft 8 in) as of 2012.[11][12]
^"＜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 fromthe original on September 26, 2022. RetrievedMay 18, 2023.
^""키 145cm, 몸무게 43kg이면 북한군 현역"" [If you are 145 cm tall and weigh 43 kg, you are serving in the North Korean army.].Daily NK (in Korean). 2012-04-02. Archived fromthe original on October 3, 2022. RetrievedMay 18, 2023.
