Watching the Neighborhood: grey transactions on the borders between Brazil and Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay and Argentina

This study analyzes the legal and control flaws that favor small arms and ammunition transfers in the south and south west borders of Brazil. The paper is entirely based on field research and the analysis of trade statistics and gives policy recommendations for the prevention of the diversion of arms and ammunition.

Introduction:

Small arms related violence is related to its misuse of weapons, to crime, stimulated by drug trafficking and rooted in social inequality within highly densely populated urban areas. In the Central-West region of the country, which is still going through a process of recent expansion of the agricultural production frontier, and is a region that is closely located to the borders with drug producing countries, firearm mortality increased 57 percent in the last 20 years. In the Southeast part of the country, with its big urban centers (predominantly the state capitals of the Federation and their metropolitan areas heavily affected by drug trafficking), this rate increased 54.1 percent over the same period. Small arms related violence is in Brazil mainly an urban problem; with the higher average firearms death rates are concentrated in cities with over 100,000 inhabitants, which have suffered rapid and disorganized urbanization processes. Consequently, the analysis in this work has more relevance to countries (especially developing countries) with similar urban violence and crime problems.

Conclusions:

An obvious general conclusion stems from this report: the harmonization of domestic laws regulating domestic arms and ammunition sales is, in the context of combating illicit arms trafficking, as relevant as measures regarding import, export, transit and manufacture regulations and policies. It is necessary then that a provision for the global harmonization of certain common restrictions regarding domestic sales is included in the United Nations Program of Action. The inclusion of principle four, (regarding factors to be taken into account before exporting) of the Arms Trade Treaty initiative is also recommended. Such provision is already included in the European Code of Conduct. Weapons are useless without ammunition. As demonstrated in this work, the issue of illicit sales of ammunition in border areas is extremely serious. Therefore, in all instances, the issue of ammunition trade regulations should be treated at the same level as small arms.

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