Swiss War Materiel and Arms Exports

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B&T launchers and ammunition with the Congolese police

Goods category: Unclear: 40 mm police ammunition and multi-purpose launchers; the specific War Materiel Act and Goods Control Act classification of the individual versions is not documented.

Amnesty International documented a South African UN notification of 9 December 2011: Nobleteq Arms and Ammunition announced 3’300 rounds of 40 mm ammunition for the Congolese National Police. Brügger & Thomet AG was named as the shipper. In May 2012, the Swiss government told Amnesty that it had not authorised any war materiel export to the DRC; any re-export from South Africa was that country’s responsibility. Amnesty criticised arms deliveries to Congolese security forces because of serious human rights violations and inadequate end-use controls. In 2019, the UN Group of Experts reported LBD 40 mm launchers with South African markings and the B&T logo, as well as SIR-X 40×46 mm ammunition, with the Congolese police. An ammunition delivery had already been documented in 2018 without notification to the sanctions committee. A link to the same 2011 batch is not established.

Effect of the proposed War Materiel Act revision

Under the new Article 22b, the Federal Council could depart from all the licensing criteria in Article 22a under vaguely defined ‘exceptional circumstances’. The public would not have to be informed. The Federal Council could add the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Annex 2 by amending the War Materiel Ordinance. This would remove the exclusion criterion based on participation in an armed conflict and make approval the rule. The Federal Council could refuse a licence only in exceptional cases. Article 18 paragraph 1 would abolish non-re-export declarations in the vast majority of cases. Weapons for the Democratic Republic of the Congo could thus easily be supplied through a subsidiary or intermediary in a third country. For the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the file shows only low maximum values (Democratic Republic of the Congo: United States, 1 million TIV); an example of a third country with substantial deliveries is therefore not established.

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Conflicts

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Time period

Delivery announced in 2011; UN documentation in 2018–2019

Sources