German Weapons in Mexico: German Weapon Export Controls Declared in Bank

 "Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

The imitation of a gun at the vigil before the beginning of the trial. Photo: Ohne Rüstung Leben

Federal High Court Rules on Illegal Arms Exports from Heckler and Koch to Mexico:

In the process for illegal arms exports from Heckler and Koch (H&K) to Mexico, the Federal High Court of Germany (BGH), in Karlsruhe, today rejected the review of the judgment issued by the previous court, requested by the prosecution and the defendants.

Heckler and Koch will have to pay more than three million euros for their illegal businesses in Mexico. In application of the law for the control of weapons of war, end-user declarations are not part of arms export licenses. The wide scope of this judgment has explosive potential for the entire German arms industry.

"Today's ruling puts an end to the German arms export control system that has been applied," comments on the decision of the court Jürgen Grässlin, spokesperson for "Aktion Aufschrei – Stoppt den Waffenhandel!, (Cry to action - stop the arms trade!) and president of the RüstungsInformationsBüro (RIB e.V.), (Office of Information on Weapons). Jurgen Grässlin demands that this process have consequences, "to continue as before with arms export controls is unsustainable.

Legislators must draft without delay a law that regulates arms exports, prohibits current export practices and, finally, takes into account the interests of firearms victims." The judgment shows support for this thesis: "According to Presiding Judge Dr. Schäfer, the current legal framework should be changed if necessary, this would be the task of the legislators.

In response to a 2010 lawsuit by Jürgen Grässlin and Tubingia lawyer Holger Rothbauer, the Stuttgart High Regional Court examined between 2018 and 2019 a case for illegal exports of H&K weapons. The court considered it proven that the authorizations for the exports of more than 4,200 assault rifles to Mexico were obtained intransparently and knowing that the end-user declarations were falsified, (EVE for its acronym in German). 

These declarations are a central instrument for the control of arms exports from Germany and Europe and document them to the German authorities that authorize them, where the weapons will be used.

In the case of illegal exports of G36 assault rifles from Heckler and Koch, several Mexican federal states had been declared by the German federal government as unauthorized destinations for EVE declarations, given the critical situation in which they were. However, there came the rifles. The Stuttgart District Court, unlike the usual jurisprudence to date, did not consider end-user declarations an integral part of the export authorization.

It was based on the Foreign Trade Law that the defendants could be convicted of manipulating the export authorization, since Mexico was cited as the destination of the weapons.

"This sentence is a political earthquake. Until now, the government has been arguing that end-user declarations are part of export authorizations and guarantee that weapons exported from Germany do not reach unwanted recipients," says lawyer Holger Rothbauer, who adds: "Today's resolution confirms the Stuttgart Court's interpretation that end-user declarations are not an integral part of export authorizations. Thus, a central element of the German arms export control system has been reduced to absurdity. 

In this way, what we knew for years is ratified, that end-user declarations have no more value than the paper on which they are printed and that they are used as vine leaves to hide dark businesses." 

"The sentence shows an open gap in the legislation on arms exports," adds Stephan Möhrle of RüstungsInformationsBüro: "both the Federal High Court (BGH) and the High Regional Court in Stuttgart argued that the legislator, in the Law for the Control of Firearms, has not considered the manipulation of authorizations a crime, contrary to what is provided for in the Foreign Trade Law. 

A manipulated authorization is still valid. This irregularity must be resolved as soon as possible by legislators and to achieve this it is necessary to draft a law on firearms exports."

The victims of German arms export practices are the people affected by them, in the countries receiving exports. "The export bans of assault rifles for some particularly conflictive Mexican states were unsustainable from the beginning, if a human rights perspective is applied. 

Rather, it seems that a commitment was reached to make these exports possible. In that year Mexico was already marked by violence, human rights violations, corruption and impunity.

It is shameful that the victims of these irresponsible export practices have not been taken into account at any time during the process," criticizes Carola Hausotter of the German Coordination for Human Rights in Mexico: "Lawmakers must establish that arms export controls also protect victims of violence by these weapons in export-receiving countries. These people have the right to be a party to this type of process," adds Christian Schliemann of the human rights organization ECCHR.

Contact details:

German Coordination for Human Rights in Mexico – Tobias Lambert, +49-157-71730893,presse@mexiko- koordination.de

ECCHR – Maria Bause, presse@ecchr.eu, +49-30 69819797

Aktion Aufschrei – Stoppt den Waffenhandel!, RIB e.V. – Jürgen Grässlin, +49-170-6113759, jg@rib- ev.de

Aktion Aufschrei – Stoppt den Waffenhandel und Ohne Rüstung Leben – Charlotte Kehne, +49-711- 62039372, orl-kehne@gaia.de

Attorney Holger Rothbauer, DEHR-Rechtsanwälte, +49-7071-1504949 / +49-173-6577693,anwalt@dehr.eu

RüstungsInformationsBüro e.V. – Stephan Möhrle, LL.M. moehrle@rib-ev.de

The German Coordination for Human Rights in Mexico is a network composed of:

Pastoral work for Latin America Adveniat, Amnesty International Germany, A.C., Carea A.C., Franciscan Center for Development and Mission, Companer@s of Southern Mexico A.C., Initiative for Mexico of Cologne and Bonn, Initiative Mexiko (INI-MEX), Mexico via Berlin A.C., Episcopal Work MISEREOR, Ecumenical Office for Peace and Justice A.C., Pacta Servanda A.C., Bread for the World, pax christi / One World Solidarity Commission, Missionary Procurate of the German Jesuits, Promovio and Zapapres A.C.

Source: Mexiko-Koordination