Media release – There is always a risk that war material produced in Switzerland will be used in human rights violations in other countries. For example in Brazil, where gun and police violence in poor districts is on the rise. terre des hommes schweiz is calling for greater democratic control of Swiss arms exports in light of the latest SECO figures on war material exports. The development organization, which is campaigning for the Corrective Action Initiative and the War Trade Initiative, has commissioned a study on the subject.
“There needs to be stronger democratic control of Swiss arms exports, especially to countries like Brazil, where war-like conditions prevail in poor neighborhoods,” says Andrea Zellhuber from the Violence Prevention Unit at terre des hommes schweiz on the publication of the latest figures on the export of war material by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
Between January 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020, Switzerland exported war material worth around CHF 690 million to 60 countries, including weapons, ammunition and armored vehicles. Brazil is one of the most important importing countries for Swiss arms exports. In the years 2006 to 2019, Switzerland exported weapons worth a total of around CHF 151 million to Brazil; in the first three quarters of 2020, it exported a good CHF 18 million worth of war material.
Deadly violence in Brazil
“In Brazil, the repressive law-and-order policy of the right-wing nationalist government is fueling gun and police violence in the favelas,” says Andrea Zellhuber. “The coronavirus crisis and President Jair Bolsonaro’s negligent handling of Covid-19 are making the situation even worse.” “Practically all young people and their families in our project regions in Rio de Janeiro, Recife and Salvador da Bahia are aware of cases of murder in their immediate environment,” she explains. terre des hommes schweiz supports local projects in Brazil for and with young people and their social environment to promote a violence-free society and to support and accompany victims of violence.
Many murders of young people are committed by members of the Brazilian police force. “There is a very high risk that weapons sold to security forces will be used against the civilian population and there are major shortcomings in the internal and external control of the police authorities’ weapons stocks in Brazil,” says Andrea Zellhuber.
According to the latest figures from the Brazilian Public Safety Yearbook 2020, deaths caused by police intervention continued to rise in the first half of this year. In 2019, 47,773 people were killed. 6,357 murders, or 13.3 percent of all murders, were committed by police officers – the sixth consecutive year in which this figure has risen.
Study on gun violence
In order to document the direct impact of Swiss and German-made weapons and ammunition that have been proven to be used to commit human rights violations in Brazil, terre des hommes schweiz has commissioned an independent study together with terre des hommes schweiz in Germany, which is scheduled for publication in the first quarter of 2021.
Initial interim results of the investigation show: It is not uncommon for bullets from police stocks to be found in homicides and other serious offenses. “It is widespread for weapons from police and military stocks to end up in the hands of drug gangs illegally,” says Andrea Zellhuber. “In Brazil, organized crime is closely intertwined with the state security apparatus. State control in Brazil over how weapons and ammunition are ultimately used is inadequate. There is therefore a great risk that Swiss military equipment sold to Brazil will end up with undesirable recipients.”
In the alliance against arms exports
terre des hommes schweiz is a member of the “Alliance against Arms Exports to Civil War Countries” and is campaigning for the corrective initiative. According to Andrea Zellhuber, the popular initiative, for which a counter-proposal in two versions will be discussed in parliament during the winter session, is “an important opportunity to reverse the relaxation of the licensing criteria for war material exports”.
terre des hommes schweiz also supports the War Business Initiative, which will be put to the vote on November 29, 2020. It aims to prevent Swiss money from flowing into the financing of war material.
terre des hommes schweiz empowers young people in Africa, Latin America and Switzerland. Together with them, we fight poverty, violence and discrimination and campaign for the rights of children and young people and fair North-South relations. Our core competence lies in participatory and solution-oriented work with young people.
Contact:
Andrea Zellhuber, Violence Prevention Unit: andrea.zellhuber(at)terredeshommes.ch, +41 61 335 91 52
Media office: anna.wegelin(at)terredeshommes.ch, +41 76 588 30 06
Link:
Arms trade campaign
External link:
SECO figures and statistics 2020
Photo: AP/Silvia Izquierdo
