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 of 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.
terre des hommes schweiz works with young people in Brazil on the topic of violence prevention. Lax regulations on the purchase of weapons and inadequate control instruments for state weapons stocks are fueling a vicious circle of violence in Brazil in which thousands of young people are killed every year. Switzerland must not be part of this business with death.
Today the Federal Council is expected to adopt its dispatch on the popular initiative of the "Alliance against Arms Exports to Civil War Countries", or Corrective Initiative for short, for the attention of Parliament. terre des hommes schweiz supports the popular initiative in a broad alliance with organizations and parties.
The corrective initiative demands:
- The criteria for war material exports should be regulated at least at the level of a federal law. This will broaden democratic control over arms exports and strengthen parliament's say.
- The export of war material to civil war countries or to countries involved in civil wars or international armed conflicts should be definitively stopped.
- The export of war material to countries that systematically and seriously violate human rights should be banned without exception.
The weapons legislation of the recipient country should also be included in the risk analysis
"There is an urgent need for stronger democratic control of Switzerland's steadily increasing arms exports," says Andrea Zellhuber from terre des hommes schweiz. "The example of Brazil shows that the arms trade is booming and deadly violence is escalating," says the expert on violence prevention issues at the Swiss development organization. "Under President Jair Bolsonaro, the gun laws have been massively relaxed. Weapons manufacturers from all over the world are sniffing out big business. Switzerland must not be part of this business with death."
"Only if the human rights situation, a precise analysis of the security policy and the weapons legislation of the respective recipient country are taken into account when granting export licenses for war material can Swiss weapons be prevented from falling into the wrong hands in other countries."
terre des hommes schweiz investigates cases of gun violence in Brazil
"We know from our project work with young people in Brazil: More weapons and a repressive security policy lead to a vicious circle of deadly violence," Andrea Zellhuber continues. In order to find out where the weapons used to murder young people in Brazil come from, terre des hommes schweiz has commissioned a study. The study will be published in May 2021.
"Scientific studies on gun violence clearly show that the easier it is to access weapons, the higher the murder rates," says Andrea Zellhuber from terre des hommes schweiz. "The increase in police violence under President Bolsonaro is also extremely worrying. With his inflammatory speeches, he legitimizes state violence and incites the police to 'shoot bandits'." The security forces are increasingly being equipped with imported weapons, explains Andrea Zellhuber: "In view of the serious human rights violations in Brazil, Switzerland must do its utmost to stop arms deals with Brazil." terre des hommes schweiz will therefore take a close look at the statistics on the export of war material in 2020, which the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) is expected to publish on March 9, 2021.
Facts and figures on gun violence in Brazil
According to the "Atlas da Violência 2020" published by the Brazilian Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea), 163,980 children and young people up to the age of 19 were killed by firearms in Brazil between 1991 and 2018. The murder rate of young people in Brazil is one of the highest in the world, with 53% of violent deaths involving young people between the ages of 15 and 29. The ultra-right Brazilian president, who pursues a restrictive law-and-order policy, is a self-confessed gun nut and incites hatred against minorities, has relaxed numerous regulations on gun imports and weakened the control instruments for gun ownership. The private purchase of weapons in Brazil is booming. As a result of the liberalization of gun laws, almost 180,000 new weapons were registered last year, an increase of 91% compared to the previous year, according to statistics from the Brazilian Federal Police.
Background to the correction initiative
When Swiss weapons are used in conflict regions such as Yemen or Syria, this has to do with the fuzzy licensing criteria of the War Material Ordinance (KMV). Up to now, the Federal Council has had sole authority over Switzerland's arms export policy via the OMA, and it has successively relaxed the provisions of the OMA since 2006.
After the Federal Council announced its intention to further relax the ordinance on June 15, 2018, the civil society "Alliance against Arms Exports to Civil War Countries" was formed, which submitted a popular initiative with more than 134,000 signatures on June 29, 2019. The corrective initiative builds on the Federal Council's commitment to limiting arms exports even before it weakened the War Material Ordinance in 2014.
On October 21, 2020, the Federal Council took note of the report on the results of the consultation on an indirect counter-proposal in two variants to the popular initiative "Against arms exports to countries at civil war". As a result, it has submitted an indirect counter-proposal to the initiative. According to the Federal Council, this proposal would tighten the current licensing criteria for war material exports.
Internal Link:
Stop gun violence in Brazil!" campaign: www.terredeshommesschweiz.ch/waffenhandel
External link:
Alliance against arms exports to civil war countries: https://korrektur-initiative.ch/
terre des hommes schweiz
terre des hommes schweiz strengthens young people in Africa, Latin America and Switzerland. Together with them, we fight poverty, violence and discrimination and advocate for the rights of children and young people and just North-South relations.
