Armament (6): How Austria delivers military goods to war zones

We used the Conflict Barometer from the renowned Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research as a basis for defining what constitutes war and what does not. We compared the results of 2016 with the data on military goods exports that the government in Vienna reported to the European Union in the same year. These data are not published in Austria, but we have access to them. The result:

In 2016, countries such as Mexico, Turkey, Ukraine, and Yemen were defined as war zones by the HIIK. Austria delivered military goods to the following nations, involved in these conflicts, in 2016: Mexico and Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and Saudi Arabia (all parties in the Yemen war). And: Ukraine and Russia; with Russia officially not involved in the fighting in eastern Ukraine despite numerous indications to the contrary. You can see from the interactive map who received what to what extent.

In 2016, the most sought-after items in the recipient countries mentioned were military land vehicles and small arms. But also ammunition, machinery for the production of all kinds of military goods, and fire control systems for heavy weapons. However, the data we have rarely distinguish whether a product (such as a small arm) is considered war material or "just" military goods.

Decisions by the Interior and Economics Ministries

However, this distinction is important because the export of war material is approved or prohibited under the stricter War Material Act. The responsible authority is the Interior Ministry.

The export of military goods, on the other hand, is decided by the Ministry of Economics under the slightly broader Foreign Trade Act.

So if Glock pistols are to travel from the locations in Deutsch-Wagram (Lower Austria) and Ferlach (Carinthia) to the desert of the Arabian Peninsula, the company must submit its application to the Ministry of Economics. For Steyr-Mannlicher assault rifles from Kleinraming (Lower Austria), however, the Interior Ministry is responsible: Such weapons are considered war material.

And according to the War Material Act, war material "shall" (the law does not mention "may") not be delivered to regions where an "armed conflict" is taking place, or where there is a risk that this war material will be used to "violate human rights."

There are also restrictions in the Foreign Trade Act for the export approval of military goods. For example, with a "clear risk" that they could be used for "internal repression" or "aggression against another country."

"We assumed for ourselves that this was impossible."
– Bernhard R., engineer in the arms industry

Bernhard R., the engineer from the arms industry, is surprised. "I can't explain how these exports were possible based on the laws." His company did not even inquire about delivering to countries like Saudi Arabia or the Emirates due to the war in Yemen. "Because we assumed it wasn't possible." The restraint was apparently unfounded. So why is it possible after all?

We initially spoke with the Interior Ministry and presented our research results to the authorities. After reviewing our materials, the response came from the department responsible for export permits for war material, "Security Administration." According to the department, no exports of war material to the mentioned countries were approved in 2016. Except for a submachine gun, which went to a private individual authorized to receive it. The documented fire control system - technically war material - which went to Turkey, consisted of components not covered by the war material regulations.

The Interior Ministry's position suggests that all the exports in question were approved by the Ministry of Economics. So we also presented our findings to them requesting clarification. The response came quickly. It was cautious and evasive. Because even though the Ministry of Economics formally issues the necessary documents, "In the case of deliveries to crisis regions, the decision is effectively made by another ministry," Wolfgang Schneider, head of the Public Relations department, informed us. Namely, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which provides his ministry with the necessary situation assessments for the destination country.

We wanted to know how these assessments turned out in 2016 for Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Kuwait, Russia, Ukraine, Mexico, and Turkey. After all, this information should be available from the Ministry of Economics. "This falls under data protection. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should answer that," we were told. However, two written and two telephone inquiries there have remained unanswered to this day.

Hunting and sporting weapons as an explanation?

The fact that, in addition to the main product military land vehicles, small arms worth 9.6 million euros were sent to war regions, is explained by the Ministry of Economics as follows: "The deliveries you mentioned also include hunting and sporting weapons for the private market. This share can be quite high." We asked how high it was. The response: "We do not keep statistics on this."

Although the export statistics do not provide a clear answer: if according to the Interior Ministry in 2016 no war material such as assault rifles was exported to the countries mentioned, then the majority of small arms exported to war regions are likely to be Glock service pistols. Our written contact with the company was not answered.

However, the crucial question of how it is possible for military goods to be sent to the war regions in question remains to be answered by the authorities, not Glock. The companies only comply with the issued documents.

Since the responses were inadequate or nonexistent, we decided to investigate on our own. With the result:

The decision of the Ministry of Economics is at least questionable. For example: Saudi Arabia. The Foreign Trade Act critically evaluates export countries where there is "internal repression," "serious human rights violations," "disappearances of persons," "arbitrary arrests," and the like. Conditions that, according to the recognized reports of Amnesty International for Saudi Arabia, Russia, or Turkey, are applicable in several aspects.

Police yes, military no. Or vice versa

So the decision about where military goods can be delivered appears to be primarily a matter of discretion. This impression is partially confirmed by the analysis of Otfried Nassauer. Nassauer is an explicitly arms-critical director of the think tank BITS (Berlin Information-Center for Transatlantic Security). He says, “particularly the question of human rights acceptability in the legal language of practically all European countries is very flexible and allows for a lot.”

Indeed, according to Austrian law, there must be a "clear risk" that the exported goods will be used to violate human rights. A criterion that is difficult to argue thousands of kilometers away. And therefore allows for a lot of leeway. There are also cases where deliveries to a country's military are prohibited, but the same products can be sold to security forces. Or vice versa.

Expert calls for realism

On the other hand: States also have interests. Strategic ones for example. Or economic. Or political-diplomatic. What sometimes seems difficult to explain, unfair, or even dirty can be useful to a state from a strategic perspective.

Swiss defense consultant Heiko Borchert, who advises several armies in Central Europe, including the Austrian Armed Forces, on arms and technology issues, encounters this conflict almost daily in his work. He believes that resolving this dilemma will probably never succeed. In an interview, he advocated for a brutally open and realistic discussion about what goods can be delivered where for what reasons. Or not. Because: “The mere refusal of exports in itself is not a politically shaping instrument.”

One could also argue that the state of Austria has a special responsibility towards the domestic defense industry. The resources available to the Austrian Armed Forces for procurement have dwindled over the years. At the same time, the Austrian military purchases the majority of its goods from abroad (see the following original graphic from an EU document).

However, this also means that exports are vital for the Austrian industry. The sector estimates the export share of its business at 90 percent. Because at the same time, the state also has a strategic interest in maintaining this sector for the sake of resilience in times of crisis, one can assume that the legally existing discretion for export approvals is also being fully utilized for these reasons.

Bernhard R., our conversation partner from the arms industry, who speaks with us confidentially about the public image of his industry, feels confirmed by this. "No," he says, taking a deep drag from a new cigarette. "We don't violate laws more often than other industries. We just produce goods that are more likely than others to be suspected of being illegally exported."

The - perhaps shocking for many - question to ask is then: Is the arms industry cleaner than its reputation? Apparently yes.

We tried to objectify the matter. It is a criminal offense to import, export, or transit military goods and war material without permission in Austria. So we started collecting data on prosecutorial investigations, but mostly on judicial convictions for offenses under the War Material Act and the Foreign Trade Act (until 2012 it was called the Foreign Trade Act). The result: Since 2008, 223 prosecution proceedings under the War Material Act have been documented. 25 individuals have been convicted.

How "dirty" is the industry?

However, these numbers do not provide any information about the involvement of Austrian companies. Therefore, we researched at all the relevant district courts to gather information on the circumstances surrounding the convictions. In most cases, we encountered a barrier that envelops many other authorities in this country: "Data protection," was the response in Korneuburg, for example. Anyway, there is no central and electronically accessible information on this.

Finally, we searched through several media databases. The hope was that because illegal arms exports automatically attract journalists' attention, cases involving industry participation would be reported in the press.

Indeed, we found a lot, but no convicted industry representatives. Among the guilty were hunters who sold weapons to foreign hunters without a license, an internationally wanted arms dealer for whom Austria was only a layover, a non-commissioned officer in the Bundesheer who illegally sold off inventory, and a couple who wanted to bring a submachine gun for their son's wedding in Turkey, but were stopped by authorities at Vienna-Schwechat Airport with the weapon in their luggage. The judge was quoted during the sentencing as saying, "I don't want to be invited to a wedding where the guests arrive with submachine guns."

All others were "ordinary" criminals who were caught with automatic weapons or grenades, for example. Or collectors. However, of course, this research does not provide information about the dark figure.

"Because their products are made for killing"
– Peace researcher Pieter Wezeman on why the arms industry has a bad reputation

So where does the bad reputation of companies in the industry come from? "Because their products are made for killing," says Pieter Wezeman, a researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute SIPRI.
On the other hand, Heiko Borchert, a defense policy advisor from Lucerne in Switzerland, believes that many of the industry's alleged mistakes are actually the responsibility of politics. Or due to media misinterpretation, as Reinhard Marak, head of the defense industry division at the Chamber of Commerce at the Paris arms fair, said.

These are all positions that Bernhard R., our conversation partner and engineer from the industry, can live with in the pub conversation. He says:

"We all know that we don't produce toys. Personally, I don't lose sleep over it. Most of us believe that our products are always in demand for legitimate reasons. It just depends on which side you look at it from."

For Addendum article series on Austria's role in the arms market:

The introduction on SPARTANAT: Austria's role in the arms business: Creating weapons for peace?