German gun manufacturer Heckler & Koch has banned the sale of weapons to corrupt countries including Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Jerusalem Post reported that the company made the decision because it is difficult to obtain licenses from the German government to supply weapons to countries which are corrupt, undemocratic, or not affiliated in some way to NATO.
The list of countries includes Israel, Mexico, India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia and all African countries.
German gun manufacturer Germany's Heckler & Koch excludes Israel as export destination. https://t.co/qJgT0whcQM
— martin broek (@martinbroek) September 21, 2017
According to the Jerusalem Post the company announced in its latest annual report that it would sell weapons only to NATO member states or NATO similar member states like Switzerland, Austria and New Zealand and other countries whose indicators are high on Transparency International’s standards.
According to the Guardian, the move will make Heckler & Koch the first arms company to adopt an ethical policy to control its arms exports, outperforming the government’s policy.
Germany, the world’s fifth-largest arms exporter with sales of $8.22 billion last year, is preparing an initiative that will enable it to monitor how its arms exports are used.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
