Arms Exports in the Face of War: Human Rights and Political Repercussions

Institute of International Relations Prague and Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Prague cordially invite you to a public debate Arms Exports in the Face of War: Human Rights and Political Repercussions.

21. 6. 2022 (16:00)

Jazyk: English Sněmovní 7, 110 00 Malá Strana

Facing the Russian aggression in Ukraine, the issue of arms exports is attracting more political as well as public attention. However, the export of military material and weaponry is a business unlike any other. Economic aspects closely intertwine with geopolitical interests and with wider moral and political questions. Supplying weapons can contribute to human rights violations, maintaining repressive regimes in power, and prolonging conflicts and wars or instability regionally. For that reason, the arms business is subject to regulation at the domestic and international levels. Arms exports are subject to licensing proceedings that involve assessing the impact a trade could have exactly, for example, on human rights or regional stability in the place being supplied.

What assessments of arms exports do the Czech Republic and the EU undertake concerning their impacts? How are economic considerations taken into account? How does the supposedly traditional Czech emphasis on human rights in foreign policy come into play? How do arms exports contribute to gender-based violence, and what can we do about it? Should the EU play a greater role in regulation? And last but not least: will the war in Ukraine have a long-term impact on arms export policies and the discourse around these?

Guests:
Tomáš Kopečný, Deputy Minister for Industrial Cooperation, Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic
Jiří Ellinger, director of the Control Policies Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
Anna Crowe, Lecturer on Law, Assistant Director, International Human Rights Clinic, Harvard Law School
Jakub Eberle, Research Director, Institute of International Relations Prague
Moderator: Jolana Humpálová, Seznam Zprávy

After the discussion, we invite you to small refreshments.

PLEASE REGISTER by sending your name and institution to cz-info@cz.boell.org by 18 June.