Czech Republic

By Daniel Morris | 25. April 2018

Pillar I. The State Duty to Protect

Trade in military equipment [pages 18-20]

Implements Principles 5, 6 and 7

Trade in military equipment is one of the riskier sectors from the perspective of human rights. While the manufacture of military equipment and arms is a traditional segment of Czech industry, these are goods that are susceptible to abuse, so they must be subject to regulation. A legislative act establishes procedures for the authorisation of trade, conditions for the granting and use of licences, and general inspections of trade in military equipment, including penalties.

In the Czech Republic, there are two stages to checks on external trade in military equipment. The first stage is authorisation to engage in external trade in military equipment. The authorisation specifies specific items of equipment in which the holder can trade, and lists the countries where trade is permitted. Authorisation is issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the strength of opinions submitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (encompassing foreign-policy interests, commitments under international treaties and membership of international organisations, including the protection of human rights), the Ministry of the Interior (encompassing public policy, security and protection of the population), and the Ministry of Defence (covering the provision of national defence).

The second stage is the licence for external trade in military equipment, which is required to carry out specific deals. The decision on whether to issue or refuse a licence rests with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, again in response to binding opinions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (other than applications for transfer licenses for EU Member States), the Ministry of the Interior and, where the military equipment is significant, the Ministry of Defence (these opinions cover the same areas as those addressed for authorisation to engage in foreign trade in military equipment).

Checks on the use of exported arms rely, in part, on information in the end-user certificate (EUC). If doubts have arisen or if there are reasons for heightened prudence, the state may reserve the right to conduct a subsequent spot check via its embassy, and/or to make the delivery of military equipment conditional on the presence of state representatives at the destination.

Although this process is consistent with standards within the European Union, it is occasionally castigated on grounds of transparency, the amount of information released by the state, and the timeliness of access to such information. Every year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade publishes an Annual Report on Checks on the Export of Military Equipment, Small Arms for Civilian Use and Dual-use Items and Technology. In view of the sensitivity of this whole issue, these reports are consulted with the National Security Council and are subsequently approved by the Government ahead of publication. The annual reports are relatively lengthy, respect the methodology for drawing up common annual reports of the European Union, and mainly contain summaries and statistics. So much data is processed, and it is so taxing, that these annual reports tend not to be approved by the Government until July of the following year. The EU’s summary annual reports are published with a time lag of more than a year, which has also been criticised.

The Czech Republic also reports regularly to the UN on international transfers of conventional arms, small arms and light weapons. In accordance with Article 13 of the Arms Trade Treaty, the Czech Republic also submits a report to the Treaty Secretariat for the preceding calendar year concerning authorised or actual imports and exports of conventional arms. Information on specific transactions may be reported to the extent permitted by the protection of classified information and trade secrecy. However, non-profit organisations such as Amnesty International continue to criticise the Czech Republic for exporting weapons to “high-risk countries”.

Current state of play:

  • Trade in military equipment is regulated beyond the framework of national legislation and at EU level, in particular by Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment. That Common Position defines eight binding criteria for assessment of applications to export military equipment, including the need to consider the risk of potential violations of human rights.
  • The Czech Republic participates in a number of international schemes to regulate the arms trade. In particular, it is party to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which provides that if there is a clear risk that the conventional arms to be exported might be used in the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law, export will be denied.
  • The Ministry of Industry and Trade publishes annual reports on trade in military equipment. Some information is provided by the Ministry at half-yearly intervals outside of that process.
  • The Czech Republic regularly reports to international organisations or within the scope of international control regimes on the basis of binding international treaties.

Tasks:

  • Expand the half-yearly overviews issued by the Licensing Administration to include further information releasable in accordance with legislation and Government resolutions.

Coordinator: Ministry of Trade and Industry

Deadline: 30 June 2019

  • Hold regular meetings between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the non-governmental sector on issues of transparency and human rights in trade in military equipment.

Coordinators: Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Deadline: Running

  • Offer all necessary cooperation and assistance to the Parliamentary Subcommittee on Acquisitions of the Ministry of Defence, Trade in Military Equipment and Innovations of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic so that regular assessments can be carried out of the human rights risks posed by export licences and by military equipment exports that have been made.

Coordinators: Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Deadline: Running

State aid, guarantees and subsidies [page 25]

Implements Principles 4 and 7

The Czech Republic supports exporters via the export bank Česká exportní banka, a.s. (CEB) and the export guarantee and insurance corporation Exportní garanční a pojišťovací společnost, a.s. (EGAP). The state has a duty to make sure that this support does not foster violations of human rights.

On 1 January 2004, the OECD Recommendation on Common Approaches on the Environment and Officially Supported Export Credits entered into force. That Recommendation includes a commitment by all Member States not to assist – through their institutions – environmentally harmful projects. In June 2012, the OECD Council adopted the Recommendation on Common Approaches for Officially Supported Export Credits and Environmental and Social Due Diligence, which expands and reinforces the original provisions on the environmental and social aspects of officially supported exports. The new Recommendation establishes simpler, more readily accessible procedure for the categorisation of projects according to their environmental and social impact in the countries where they are to be implemented. The main change is the greater stress on the social impacts of projects and the aspects thereof that have a bearing on human rights in the countries of implementation.

Current state of play:

  • In its activities, EGAP abides by the Recommendation of the OECD Council on officially supported export credits.
  • CEB and EGAP are subject to the European Union’s sanctioning regimes. State aid will not be granted if it is to be directed towards states or individuals who have been sanctioned by the European Union.
  • Aid applicants must submit a detailed environmental impact assessment for a selected export where CEB- and EGAP-backed projects have a larger-scale environmental and social impact.

Task:

  • Where possible, in subsidy agreements take account of social, environmental and other non-financial indicators and requirements concerning the beneficiary and the beneficiary’s subcontractors.
  • Coordinator: All ministries concerned
  • Deadline: Running

External policy [pages 27-28]

Implements Principles 7, 9 and 10

The protection of human rights is one of the pillars of the Czech Republic’s foreign policy. The Czech Republic’s foreign policy concept defines three global objectives: security, prosperity and sustainable development, and human dignity, including human rights. It also has two national objectives: a service to the public and the maintenance of the Czech Republic’s reputation. The concept expects the individual objectives to be intertwined. The emphasis placed on human rights is then developed further in the Concept for the Promotional Human Rights and Transition Assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the updated version of which was approved in September 2015.

Embassies also play a key role because they provide businesses with information on the local environment and local business culture, and are also able to provide assistance in those cases where human rights have been violated. Foreign materials are a source of inspiration – numerous European governments have produced manuals for their officials on how to proceed in the promotion of human rights abroad.

Under the common commercial policy, the negotiation of commercial agreements is in the sole competence of the EU. Agreements are negotiated on behalf of the Union by the European Commission, which acts in the name of Member States (they must always mandate it to do so). The European Commission pursues the common commercial policy in furtherance of the principles and objectives of the European Union, i.e. inter alia by promoting democracy, the rule of law and human rights. Subject to the European Commission’s approval, the Czech Republic may negotiate bilateral investment agreements.

Current state of play:

  • Human rights are on the agenda when constitutional officials go on foreign trips, including those accompanied by representatives of the business community.
  • The Czech Republic is party to a number of international human rights treaties, including a set of International Labour Organisation conventions, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
  • The Czech Republic has been a party to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention since 2000, in accordance with which law enforcement agencies prosecute foreign corruption where the perpetrator is a Czech citizen.
  • The Ministry of Foreign Affairs already provides enterprises with a wide range of information to help them do business abroad.
  • The Czech Republic’s model agreement on the support and protection of foreign investments makes references to internationally acknowledged CSR standards and principles and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Tasks:

  • Encourage the adoption of the Guiding Principles and the production of action plans in other countries.

Coordinator: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Deadline: Running, with an assessment in 2020

  • Provide businesses abroad – through embassies – with advice and assistance to help them navigate the local environment, including the issues of the rule of law, human rights and corruption risks.

Coordinator: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Deadline: Running, with an assessment in 2020

  • Within the European Union, actively participate in the production of opinions in negotiations on international commercial agreements and, in the Czech Republic’s viewpoints, balance the economic nature of those agreements with the objectives of promoting democracy, the rule of law and human rights.

Coordinator: Ministry of Trade and Industry

Deadline: Running

  • In the negotiation of bilateral investment agreements, try to take into account not only economic interests, but also the issues of sustainable development and human rights protection by referencing respect for human rights and for the principles of corporate social responsibility, and/or the principles of sustainable development.

Coordinators: Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and Trade

Deadline: Running