Federal Council acknowledges inquiries concerning Swiss hand grenades allegedly used in Syria

The Federal Council

Bern, 04.07.2012 - On 4 July 2012 the Federal Council acknowledged inquiries on the part of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs (FDEA) into the alleged existence in Syria of hand grenades from Switzerland. Since the entry into force of the War Materiel Act on 1 April 1998 there have been no exports of war materiel from Switzerland to Syria. As far as the FDEA is aware, the hand grenade pictured in the Sonntagszeitung on 1 July 2012 originates from a RUAG shipment to the United Arab Emirates in 2003. At present, there is no evidence that Swiss hand grenades have found their way to Syria. Inquiries are ongoing however.

On 1 July 2012 the Sonntagszeitung published a picture of a hand grenade allegedly discovered and photographed by a reporter on 28 June 2012 in the town of Marea in Syria. At present, the indications received from the press raise a number of questions: it is unclear, for example, why there are no photos of the location at which the hand grenade was found. The FDEA is therefore continuing its inquiries and seeking to obtain further information with the help of other government departments.

There have been no exports of war materiel from Switzerland to Syria since the entry into force of the current War Materiel Act on 1 April 1998. According to the initial findings of the FDEA and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the hand grenade photographed originates from a shipment made by RUAG to the United Arab Emirates in 2003. A total of 225,162 hand grenades were exported to the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates. A non re-export declaration was signed at director level by the UAE armed forces.

Although the evidence remains unclear, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has immediately moved to freeze all pending applications and has demanded the return from the companies concerned of licences already issued which have only partially or not yet been used. These measures are provisional. A decision regarding further reaching measures can only be taken once the facts of the matter have been sufficiently clarified.

SECO has therefore contacted the authorities of the United Arab Emirates via its Ambassador in Bern and via the (Swiss) Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the local Defence Attaché.

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Address for enquiries

Simon Plüss, Head, Export Controls / War Materiel, SECO, Tel. 031 324 50 36

Antje Baertschi, Head, Communication SECO, Tel. 031 323 52 75

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Publisher

The Federal Council
https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start.html

Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research
http://www.wbf.admin.ch