Politics Council of States does not want to allow the export of protective vests to Ukraine

The Council of States does not want to allow the delivery of protective vests to Ukraine. It rejected a motion calling for the protection of the civilian population to be given higher priority than the requirement to treat conflicting parties equally.

On Monday, it said no to the GLP parliamentary group's motion by 24 votes to 17, with two abstentions. The motion, which was adopted by the National Council by a narrow majority, is therefore off the table.

In its decision, the Council of States followed the majority of its Security Policy Committee (SIK-S). Protective vests are dual-use goods with military and civilian applications. The principle of equal treatment applies to these.

The minority would have liked a more flexible stance in order to protect the civilian population in Ukraine suffering from the Russian attack. As a depositary state of the Geneva Conventions, Switzerland is obliged to assist victims of armed conflicts, she argued.

SDA