Berlin, 8 November 2021
To the participants in the coalition negotiations,
Your political parties ran for office with the demand to prevent the export of German arms to war zones. The impending export of German frigates by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems to the Egyptian Navy once again shines a spotlight on questionable German arms exports. Transparency and an effective arms export control mechanism are long overdue. Germany needs an arms export control law!
Such a law will finally bolster the prevention of human rights violations resulting from the use of German military goods. The following elements are central to this law:
- a uniform, binding and conclusive regulation for all arms transfers in one single law
- a ban on the export of weapons of war and other military equipment to states that are at war, that violate human rights, or that can be considered crisis regions
- a ban on the export of small arms and light weapons and their ammunition, in accordance with the UN definition
- a binding and legally enforceable human rights clause for the legitimate authorization of arms exports in exceptional cases, which ensures at least the minimum human rights standards of the International Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)
- comprehensive transparency obligations for all export authorizations and actual shipments, as well as a reporting requirement for the German government regarding the application of the human rights clause
- effective and transparent on-site end-use monitoring with robust sanctions in the event of violations
- a right enabling civil society organizations to initiate lawsuits, as well as formal participation rights for those affected by human rights violations in criminal proceedings
- a binding and legally enforceable due diligence obligation for arms manufacturers to comply with international human rights law and international humanitarian law
It is against this background that we call upon you to use the coalition negotiations to make a genuine change in arms export control and to incorporate a strong proposal for an arms export control law in the coalition agreement that includes the above elements.
For further questions or a more in-depth discussion, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Dr Christian Schliemann-Radbruch
This text contains excerpts from an open letter, sent by ECCHR to politicians in the SPD, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and the FDP during the coalition negotiations in Germany in November 2021. Christian Schliemann-Radbruch is Senior Legal Advisor in the Business and Human Rights program.
