Amnesty International expresses concern over new Flemish arms trade decree
The draft arms trade decree recently approved by the Flemish government “weakens controls on the international arms trade and fails to meet Flanders’ international obligations”, according to Amnesty International and the research and information centre IPIS. Both organisations are calling on the Flemish Parliament to “thoroughly revise” the text.
Earlier this month, the Flemish government gave the green light to a new arms trade decree. According to minister president Matthias Diependaele, this decree will lead to “greater legal certainty, less regulatory burden and better alignment with the European framework, without compromising on strict controls”. But following earlier criticism from the Flemish Peace Institute, a warning has now also been issued by Amnesty International and the non-profit organisation IPIS (International Peace Information Service).
According to the two organisations, the new decree provides for relaxations and the abolition of licensing requirements. “Flanders is stripping itself of its own supervisory powers and will have less oversight of certain transfers,” stated Wies De Graeve, director of Amnesty International Flanders. “This increases the risk that Flemish companies – whether knowingly or unknowingly – will contribute to serious human rights violations or even war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.”
“For IPIS and Amnesty, one principle is central: states must block arms transfers where there is a clear risk that they contribute to serious human rights violations or breaches of international law. Our analysis shows that the new decree actually makes this more difficult, partly by exempting numerous transactions from scrutiny,” added Filip Reyniers, director of IPIS.
The two organisations also refer to the Council of State’s opinion on the text of the draft decree. Due to “time pressure and complexity”, the Council was unable to fully assess the text against the international framework. “This means that fundamental questions regarding compatibility with international law remain unanswered,” declared Reyniers. “It is up to parliament to fully assume its role and ensure that the decree is only approved if it is in line with international standards.”
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