STMicroelectronics transistors in Islamic State explosive devices

Goods category: Unclear: civilian electronics; the War Materiel Act and Goods Control Act list status, and a physical export from Switzerland, are not documented.

US Marines escorting Iraqi prisoners of war, 21 March 2003.

Between October 2014 and April 2015, Conflict Armament Research (CAR) documented STMicroelectronics TIP102 and BDX53C transistors in improvised explosive devices used by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq. The report names Erbil and Tikrit among the documentation sites. STMicroelectronics is linked to Switzerland through its corporate headquarters.

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 Iraq 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 Iraq 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 Iraq in recent years (3’948 million TIV).

Countries

Conflicts

Iraq War and subsequent conflicts (since 2003)

Companies

STMicroelectronics

Time period

Findings from October 2014 to April 2015; report in February 2016

Sources

Conflict Armament Research, Februar 2016: Tracing the Supply of Components Used in Islamic State IEDs, S. 7, 9, 33–40 und S. 104, Endnote 27