Arms Trade Treaty now in effect in Brazil

Four years after ratifying Brazil’s adhesion to the United Nations’ Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), the government enacted a decree on Tuesday (Aug 16) bringing into effect the international norms on arms trade at national level.

Under Brazilian law, the implementation is effected through a decree inked by the president and the minister of Foreign Affairs.

The decree stipulates that any revisions or adjustments that may result in “a burdensome commitment” to the nation will be subject to Congress approval.

The decree safeguards the right of any nation to legislate, regulate, and control conventional weapons on its territory, but the text points out the need for UN member countries to prevent and eradicate the illicit trade in conventional weapons.

The decree safeguards the right of any nation to legislate, regulate, and control conventional arms on its territory, but the text points out the need for UN member countries to prevent and eradicate the illicit trade in conventional arms.

The “highest international standards” of control the treaty aims to achieve apply to eight types of armament: small arms and light weapons; combat aircraft; attack helicopters; armored combat vehicles; battle tanks; large-caliber artillery systems; warships; and missiles and missile launchers.

Each member country must also provide the UN secretariat with copies of the checklists, to be made available to other signatories of the compact. In addition, one year after implementing the treaty, each nation must report to the secretariat on the measures it has taken to implement it nationwide.

History

Brazil’s adherence to the pact was signed in June 2013, under then-President Dilma Rousseff, and ratified in June 2018, during Michel Temer's administration. With the deposit of the ratification instrument with the UN in August 2018, the country became a state party to the treaty in November of the same year.

In April 2013, when the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution with the treaty text, the United Nations’ Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) guaranteed that the initiative would not interfere with member states’ domestic arms trade, or the right to bear them, adding it would not ban the export of any type of weapon, nor would it infringe on the legitimate right of states to regulate the matter at the national level.