Following over a decade of war that saw over half a million killed and more than 12 million displaced, the EU placed some of the world’s heaviest sanctions on the Assad regime for its role in perpetuating human rights abuses.
Yet, the investigation showed that the Assad army is using EU-branded Volvo, Scania, Mercedes and Iveco trucks to transport tanks and heavy artillery to the front lines. The vehicles can be indirectly shipped to the war-torn country via traders and customs brokers who route them secretly through Syria’s neighboring countries.
Existing EU sanctions do not ban exports of trucks from the EU to Syria but Swedish MEPs are now calling for Brussels to close that gap.
“We absolutely believe that the information revealed in this article should prompt the EU to update its sanctions policy,” Hanna Gedin and Jonas Sjöstedt, from the Swedish Left Party (Vänsterpartiet), told OCCRP:
“We will submit a written question to the European Commission, urging it to review and update its sanctions towards Syria in order to stop EU exports that directly or indirectly contribute to human rights violations in Syria.”
“We don’t think any European truck company wants blood on their hands,” Gedin and Sjöstedt concluded.
Meanwhile, Jacob Risberg, foreign affairs spokesperson for the Green Party (Miljöpartiet), said that the investigation was a “disturbing read” and that “loopholes [in the EU sanctions regime] need to be detected and dealt with promptly.”
Risberg also noted the need for Volvo and Scania, two of the manufacturers whose vehicles were used by the Syrian army, “to have a thorough look at their due diligence systems.”
Maja Åberg, policy advisor at Amnesty Sweden, also highlighted to OCCRP’s partner Blankspot the need for rigorous due diligence: “All companies, including Scania and Volvo, have a responsibility to follow the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.”
The NGO stressed that this due diligence applies “throughout the entire value chain, from start to end use” and that this is critical in conflict zones.
“Given the risk that military equipment transported on the trucks could be used by
the Syrian military to commit serious human rights violations, [...] it can be questioned whether the company has truly fulfilled its obligations,” Åberg concluded.
Both Scania and Volvo told OCCRP during the investigation that they are committed to complying with relevant laws and regulations, but could not control sales of used trucks by third parties.
The chairman of the Swedish parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and MP for the right-wing Swedish Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna) Aron Emilsson told Blankspot that it can be challenging to control “civilian vehicles” used for military purposes.
However, the regulations framework governing dual-use products, has a “catch-all” clause. This would require licenses for the export of products destined to countries outside the EU, even if the items were not explicitly listed on sanctions lists.
He said that he was “not opposed to the idea of bringing up the matter in the (Swedish parliaments’) Foreign Affairs Committee.”