Arms Exports in the Face of War

Heinrich-Böll Stiftung Prague and Institute of International Relations Prague cordially invite you to a PUBLIC DEBATE where our guests will discuss how Europe should contribute to the regulation of arms exports, how does the supposedly traditional Czech emphasis on human rights in foreign policy come into play, and what impacts we can presume from the war in Ukraine.
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WHEN: Tuesday 21 June 2022 | 4 - 5.30 pm
WHERE: Educational and business centre Sněmovní 7, Prague
LANGUAGE: English
ENTRANCE: Free
REGISTRATION: Please register by sending your name and institution to cz-info@cz.boell.org by 20 June

FACEBOOK EVENT: join here

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 does 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.