A Sign of Hope – But No Reason to Sit Back

Joint Conference Church and Development (GKKE) presents the Arms Export Report 2021 at the Federal Press Conference

Presentation of the new GKKE arms export report by Prelates Jüsten and Dutzmann and Simone Wisotzki at the Federal Press Conference on December 16, 2021 (Screenshot, www.gkke.org).

Presentation of the new GKKE arms export report by Prelates Jüsten and Dutzmann and Simone Wisotzki at the Federal Press Conference on December 16, 2021.

The new German govern­ment is planning a national arms export control law, but this does not hide serious abuses. Simone Wisotzki, Chair of the GKKE Specialist Group on Arms Exports and Senior Researcher at PRIF, presented the GKKE Arms Export Report 2021 at the Federal Press Conference in Berlin today. This report underlines that arms exports to third countries have once again become the rule in 2020.

GKKE therefore welcomed the announcement by the German govern­ment, but at the same time called on it to adhere to its self-­imposed principles and not to supply any more war weapons to third countries in the future. The announce­ment is a sign of hope, said Prelate Dr. Martin Dutzmann, the Protestant chairman of GKKE. At the same time, however, the report reveals serious short­comings in the practice of arms exports; for GKKE, there is therefore no reason to sit back and relax. Especially the develop­ments on the European level require increased attention. There is a danger that a less restrictive arms export policy will develop. Prelate Dr. Karl Jüsten, the Catholic chairman of the GKKE, emphasized: “It is urgently necessary to become active here, otherwise not least the credibility of the European community of values will be permanently damaged.”

The GKKE Arms Export Report 2021 is available for download at www.gkke.org (in German).

 

About GKKE

The Joint Conference Church and Development (GKKE) was founded in 1973 as an ecumenical, Protestant-­Catholic working group on development policy. GKKE conducts dialogues with parliament and government as well as social interest groups on issues of One World and development cooperation. Expert discussions, panel discussions, conferences, public statements and publications serve as instruments. The reference framework is the 2030 Agenda with its 17 Sustainable Develop­ment Goals. Concerns and perspectives of church partner organizations from the South are to be introduced and supported.

The German Commission Justitia et Pax and Bread for the World are the sponsors of the GKKE. The chair­persons of the GKKE are the represent­atives of the two major Christian churches to the German government: Prelate Dr. Martin Dutzmann, Plenipotentiary of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) and Prelate Dr. Karl Jüsten, Head of the Commissariat of the German Bishops, both based in Berlin.