Swiss War Materiel and Arms Exports

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Patvag fuzes for Khomeini

Goods category: War materiel

Ruhollah Khomeini, 1964; historical postcard.

Public Domain laut Commons (PD-1996)

Ems-Patvag supplied fuzes to Bofors in Sweden for RBS-70 anti-aircraft missiles. Bofors transferred such systems to Iran during the Iran–Iraq War. The connection became public in 1987. The Federal Military Department considered the Swiss export documents complete; the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland therefore did not open an investigation into Ems-Patvag. In April 1988, company owner Christoph Blocher said that the use of Patvag components in the Gulf war could not be ruled out, but pointed to Bofors as the exporter of the finished weapons. An internal business overview from August 1988 noted a remaining RBS-70 delivery scheduled for September.

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. For Sweden, as a current Annex 2 state, Article 22a paragraph 2bis 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. The Federal Council could add Iran 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 Iran could thus easily be supplied through a subsidiary or intermediary in a third country.

Countries

Conflicts

Companies

Time period

Supplies in the 1980s; exposed in 1987; remaining delivery noted for September 1988

Sources

  • Zürichbieter, 08.04.1988; Friedenspolitik Nr. 42, 1987
  • Facts, 25.01.1996, S. 16 ff.: Blochers Geschäfte mit den Kriegsherren der Welt (Res Gehriger), einschliesslich der Stellungnahme des Ems-Konzerns
  • Facts, 25.01.1996, S. 16–24: Ems-Patvag — Blochers Geschäfte mit den Kriegsherren der Welt (Res Gehriger)