Swiss War Materiel and Arms Exports

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Repaired weapon systems for the UAE

Goods category: War materiel

In 2011, Swiss companies worked on war materiel from the United Arab Emirates worth 3.6 million Swiss francs as part of combat-capability upgrades. Such material was temporarily imported, repaired or upgraded and re-exported. The companies and weapon systems involved were not disclosed. The transactions prompted criticism over transparency because they were recorded outside the regular war materiel export statistics. RUAG confirmed overhaul work for re-export in 2011 but did not comment on any specific order from the Emirates.

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 United Arab Emirates 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 United Arab Emirates could thus easily be supplied through a subsidiary or intermediary in a third country. The United States could serve as a third country, having, according to SIPRI, supplied substantial quantities of war materiel to the United Arab Emirates in recent years (9’818 million TIV).

Countries

Companies

Time period

2011; became known in 2013

Sources

  • Der Sonntag, 27.01.2013, S. 6: Verdeckte Waffengeschäfte