No arms exports to Brazil!
We know from our project work: More guns and repressive security policies lead to a deadly vicious cycle. Easy access to firearms is a major driver of the spiral of violence. What responsibility do arms suppliers like Switzerland have? Our new study gets to the bottom of this question.
The survey by our partner organization Sou da Paz analyzes the extent of gun violence, which population groups are particularly affected and what role armaments from Europe play in violent crime in Brazil. In addition, it reveals the background to the increasing lethal police violence and provides assessments of the efficiency of state arms control.
Our conclusion from the study is: Switzerland should take responsibility now!
We demand: No arms exports to Brazil!
Because:
More weapons lead to more violence
In no other country are so many people killed in police operations
Because of negligent control, many weapons end up in the hands of organized crime
More weapons lead to more violence
Brazil has one of the highest murder rates in the world. In 2019 alone, 45,000 people died violently, 70 % of them by gun violence. More than half of the victims are young people between the ages of 15 and 29. Violence is the leading cause of death in this age group. The homicide rate of youth in Brazil is one of the highest in the world. Between 1991 and 2018, 232,830 children and adolescents aged 0 to 19 were murdered, 163,980 of them by firearms.
Of the violent deaths of youth between the ages of 15 and 29 in 2019, 76% were due to the use of firearms. Structural racism and the persistence of strong social inequality mean that Afro-Brazilians are disproportionately affected. In 2019, 76 % of homicide victims were Black (People of Color), although they represent only 54 % of the population. 92% of the victims were men.
The easier guns are to access, the higher the murder rates.
Scientific studies prove the influence of the availability of weapons on the extent of human rights violations: The more accessible weapons are, the more violent crimes occur. Extensive research in the Brazilian context shows that for every additional percentage point of numerical increase in weapons circulating in the country, there is an expected increase in the murder rate by twice that percentage.
Deadly police violence is part of everyday life for many
Brazilian security forces killed 6,357 people in 2019. The number of fatal victims of police violence increased for the sixth consecutive year. Using highly potent weapons of war, police wage a "war on drugs " at the behest of the state. The security forces often take the law into their own hands and are sometimes directly involved in criminal activities.
Deaths as a result of police operations account for a high percentage of violent homicides in Brazil. For 2019, the percentage was 13%. Between 2017 and 2018, the rate increased by 20 % and in 2019 by another 2 % to 6,375 victims. Looking at the regional difference, Rio de Janeiro stands out: there, 30% of the violent killings are committed by public officials*.
Deaths resulting from police operations in Brazil from 2013 to 2019
Source: Anuário do Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública of 2019
Structural racism is reflected in the selective victimization of police violence. Most youth who lose their lives to firearms in Brazil live in poor neighborhoods. Statistics for 2019 show that 99% of police victims were men; 79% of them were black: 31% of victims were young people between 20 and 24 years old, and almost a quarter of victims were between 15 and 19 years old.
Ethnic groups of victims who died as a result of police violence in Brazil in 2019
Source: Secretarias de Segurança Pública e/ou Defesa Social; Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública
Victims of fatal police violence by age group in Brazil, 2019
Source: Secretarias de Segurança Pública e/ou Defesa Social; Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública
Particularly worrying is how President Bolsonaro legitimizes state violence with his inflammatory speeches. He incites the police to 'shoot down bandits'. The security forces are increasingly equipped with imported weapons.
The operations of the highly armed task forces in the favelas frequently endanger uninvolved passers-by, often including children and young people. In Rio de Janeiro alone, 62 children were hit by ricochets during gunfire in the past year, and 26 died as a result.
Mothers fight for justice: excerpts from the documentary video originally published in the article by Felipe Betim e Toni Pires "Mothers whose sons were killed by the state," in El País, July 9, 2019.
The inhabitants of the favelas are exposed to a particularly high risk of excessive police violence. Unlawful killings by the police usually go unpunished. Life in the slums also seems to be worth less in criminal law practice. Brazilian institutions have internalized a racist logic even in the 21st century. Bolsonaro even advocates expanding the legal basis for police officers' impunity for excessive use of force. A father of one of those murdered by police summed it up as "for us in the favela, there is no justice."
Negligent control of state gun stocks
The import of weapons has been growing rapidly since 2018. European arms manufacturers are also sensing big business due to the relaxation of arms legislation and import regulations under the Bolsonaro government.
Since the control of state weapons stocks is almost always inadequate, the risk of European weapons falling into the hands of organized crime is great. With this study terre des hommes proves how negligent Brazilian authorities are in handling state weapons stocks.
Only 6 of the 54 state-level police agencies have complete ammunition control systems. Some agencies still keep handwritten records. In 5 years, at least 323 weapons and 18,000 pieces of ammunition were misappropriated by national army, federal police, and other national agencies-131 of them (41%) were European-made. Four of the 54 federal police agencies had 185 weapons disappear. In 10 years, 17,000 weapons were embezzled from private security companies and 1,600 from the Rio de Janeiro State Police.
The glaring weaknesses in state arms control hinder an efficient fight against the illegal arms trade. The risk of weapons exported to Brazil falling into the wrong hands is accordingly high.
Sou da Paz's research was able to prove that ammunition from state stocks was used in 23 violent crimes, including several mass murders. In total, 83 people died in these cases as a result of ammunition misappropriated from state stocks.
Receivables
In view of this panorama of murder rates and police violence, of relaxation of gun ownership and import, of lack of gun and ammunition control, the co-responsibility of European governments and arms exporters is obvious.
Demands on the responsible government agencies and companies in Germany, Switzerland and the EU:
In view of the high risk to children, adolescents and adults from further increasing massive police violence and lack of or inadequate prosecution of cases, ongoing serious child and human rights violations by state actors, war-like conditions in residential areas and serious deficiencies in the control of stocks of ammunition and weapons by state authorities, terre des hommes Germany and terre des hommes switzerland demand:
- Immediate stop of all arms exports to Brazil
- Halting the transfer of defense technology and expertise to Brazil
- Stop the sale of arms and military equipment by European companies in Brazil
- Comprehensive and systematic controls on the end-use of delivered military equipment
- Consistently demanding compliance with human rights and international law and sanctions in the event of persistent non-compliance
More on the topic
Police bring death from the air
Over the roofs of the favelas in Rio de Janeiro, European helicopters circle again and again, bringing death. The state's civilian police hunt down criminals on the ground from the air and let bullets rain down, as published operational footage shows. The fact that innocent people's lives are in danger in the process is taken in...
Read more
Police violence in Brazil "devastating" - Stop Swiss arms exports
Media release - Weapons from Germany and Switzerland are used in police operations in Brazil. This often results in serious human rights violations against children and young people. An independent study by terre des hommes switzerland and terre des hommes Germany gets to the bottom of seven exemplary cases of lethal gun violence and uncovers...
Read more
No loopholes for the Federal Council in the arms trade!
Consistency is required in the parliamentary process on the "Corrective Initiative". The Alliance against Arms Exports to Civil War Countries, of which terre des hommes switzerland is a member, is basically pleased that the indirect counter-proposal to the "Correction Initiative" intends to amend the War Material Act in its sense. However, by introducing a new exemption regulation, the Federal Council wants to continue to avoid consistent democratic control of...
Read more
No arms exports to Brazil
The Swiss arms business is reaching new record levels. Among the recipient countries are countries like Brazil with a highly problematic human rights situation. Switzerland must do its utmost to stop arms deals with Brazil, demands terre des hommes switzerland. The development organization supports the corrective initiative, which calls for stronger democratic control over the export of...
Read more
Corrective Initiative: No Wild West with Guns in Brazil!
Media release - On 5 March, the Federal Council is expected to adopt its message on the popular initiative of the "Alliance against Arms Exports to Countries at Civil War", in short the corrective initiative. terre des hommes switzerland demands stronger democratic control of the Swiss arms trade and risk analyses also for export countries in which a cruel drama involving armed violence is taking place on a daily basis.
Read more
Export of war material out of control
Media release - There is always the risk that war material from Swiss production is used in human rights violations in other countries. For example in Brazil, where arms and police violence in the slums are on the rise. terre des hommes switzerland demands stronger democratic control of Swiss arms exports on the occasion of the latest SECO figures on war material exports. The...
Read more
