Geneva: A Swiss parliamentary committee has voted to request a reform to allow its war material to be transferred via third countries to Ukraine.

Switzerland has refused to allow countries that hold Swiss-made weaponry to export it on to Ukraine, in line with its strict neutrality. Under the War Materiel Act, export requests cannot be approved if the recipient country is in an international armed conflict.

But the parliament’s security policy committee decided on Tuesday, by a vote of 14 to 11, to back a motion to request a reform to make such transfers possible.

That motion says it should be possible to revoke the declarations of non-re-export, which countries purchasing Swiss arms must sign, “in cases where there is a violation of the international ban on resorting to force, and specifically in the case of the Russian-Ukrainian war” the committee said.

The government could still decide to continue barring the transfer of weaponry in cases where a repeal of the non-re-export declaration posed “major” risks to Swiss foreign policy, it said. The full parliament will likely need to give its approval before the reform can be implemented.

The committee considered two proposals. One motion involved revoking the non-re-export declaration in cases where at least two-thirds of the UN General Assembly determines there has been an illegal use of force. The second entailed an emergency law that would render null and void non-re-export declarations in any case where it is determined the war material is going to Ukraine in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Such a change should be put in place swiftly, and should remain in place until the end of 2025.

“A majority of the commission deemed that Switzerland should contribute to European security, which goes through more significant assistance to Ukraine,” the commission said.

It said a minority of the commission voiced concern the transfer could jeopardise Switzerland’s neutral status. But the majority had determined the reform could be carried out in compliance with Swiss neutrality, “since it does not permit direct exports of war material to areas in conflict”, it said.

AFP