Swiss War Materiel and Arms Exports

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Swiss weapons for Omar al-Bashir

Goods category: War materiel

In 2002, authorised Swiss war materiel exports worth 4’144 Swiss francs were made to Sudan. They were recorded entirely in category KM 1 for rifles and handguns. The transaction was publicly discussed in 2003 because of the war and human rights violations in Sudan.

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 Sudan 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 Sudan could thus easily be supplied through a subsidiary or intermediary in a third country.

Countries

Conflicts

Time period

Exports in 2002; debate in 2003–2004; data correction in 2006

Sources