Parliament insists on status quo on arms exports
The Swiss parliament has again failed to put pressure on the government to ease restrictions on the sale of war materiel, including the re-export of weapons.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected a proposal to allow the re-export of Swiss war materiel to third countries under certain conditions.
They include a formal statement by the the United Nations General Assembly of a violation of international law by a warring party.
The main right-wing and centre-right parties as well as the Greens voted against the proposal.
Another stronger proposal to allow the sale of arms to third countries if the UN Security Council found a violation of international law won a slim majority in the house.
However, the decision still needs approval by the other parliamentary chamber, the Senate at a later stage and is unlikely to have a political impact according to experts.
The reason is that the five major powers, Russia, China, the United States, France and Britain, can veto any resolution by the Security Council.
Status quo
As a result the latest decision by the Swiss parliament merely consolidates the country’s current policy on arms exports.
At least four other proposals are pending in parliament amid a broad public debate in Switzerland over the past few months about the country’s traditional neutrality and the government’s position on arms exports.
On Monday, the Senate rejected a proposal to allow the re-export of Swiss war materiel from like-minded countries.
+ How a first proposal to ease weapons exports failed in parliament
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