Apathetic participation

According to organizations that accompanied the Second Conference of States Parties to the ATT (Arms Trade Treaty), Brazil wrapped up its participation in the event today, August 26, just as it began: apathetically. The event that started on the 22nd in Geneva, Switzerland, was held to determine the next steps for the effective implementation of the treaty, which is the only one to regulate international transfers of conventional arms and munitions (a category that includes everything from pistols to battle tanks).

Unlike other signatories (Brazil has still not ratified the ATT), the Brazilian delegation made very few comments during the panels, often striking a discord with Latin American countries – and the very core of the treaty – for its reservations over the transparency of agreements to buy and sell arms.

On the very first day of the event, the permanent representative of Brazil to the UN Conference on Disarmament, Neil Benevides, stated that the ATT should “respect national sovereign decisions and the existence of sensitive aspects related to this specific trade”, in reference to the mandatory presentation of annual public reports by countries with details of their international transfers. The remarks were interpreted as a reluctance by the country to comply with the provisions of the agreement.

In other decisive moments, the country failed to comment, for example, in the debate on a paragraph of the final declaration of the conference that assured Latin American support for the UN Human Rights Council resolution on the impact of the arms trade on human rights.

For Jefferson Nascimento, adviser to the Foreign Policy program at Conectas, the position of Brazil reflects a dangerous disregard by the country for the ATT and for the urgent need to control the international arms and munitions market – in which Brazil is a leader, with the fourth largest volume of light weapons exports.

“Brazil was out of step with other countries present at the conference, including Latin American countries. Indeed, delegations from the region were invited by civil society organizations to a discussion on the conference, but none of the six members of the official delegation of Brazil turned up or even responded,” said Nascimento.

During this discussion, some delegations expressed concern over the universalization process of the treaty, since many consider that problems such as the diversion of weapons will only be solved when border countries join the agreement. Latin America has one of the world’s highest rates of armed violence, caused primarily by small arms and light weapons – which are regulated by the ATT.

“A country with a border as long as ours should not have passed up the opportunity to participate in this type of discussion and to effectively be a leader in the implementation of the ATT,” said Nascimento. “It is regrettable that, after being one of the first to sign the treaty, recognizing its historic importance, Brazil has become an absolutely apathetic participant,” he added.

Since it was signed by the Brazilian government in 2013, the ATT has been undergoing an analysis and ratification process. It has been pending for nearly two years in the Legislative, where it is making slow progress. On Tuesday, the Constitution and Justice Committee of the Lower House of Congress approved the report in support of ratification by Congressman Bruno Covas. The treaty will now be analyzed in the Public Security and Combat of Organized Crime Committee before returning to the full session of the house.

“Brazil is hiding behind the delays in the ratification process, but it is overlooking the fact that, as a signatory, it can play an active and purposeful role, as was the case with various other countries, including the United States. There is nothing to justify the at-best disinterested participation of Brazil at the conference,” explained Nascimento.

Before the conference, the Coalition for the Responsible Export of Arms, of which Conectas is part, urged the Brazilian delegation to engage in the debates on the transparency of the reports, on the universalization and effective implementation of the treaty and, finally, on the immediate cessation of arms transfers to countries where there are reasonable concerns of human rights violations.