AT THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY in April 2013, 154 countries voted in favor of the first international treaty to regulate the trade of conventional weapons – from handguns to missiles – establishing criteria for arms exports and introducing more transparency to transfers.
In June 2013, Brazil signed the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) at the UN headquarters in New York, together with another 66 countries. The goal of the treaty is to curb the illicit trade and prevent the diversion of arms that are used for genocidal purposes, supply terrorists and international organized crime. In accordance with the provisions of the treaty, it will only come into force 90 days after it is ratified by the 50th State. To date, only 11 countries have ratified the treaty. Conectas and partner organizations have been advocating for the Brazilian government to ratify the treaty, by pressuring for more celerity by the Executive and Legislative branches.
In March 2014, more than 8 months after it was signed by Brazil, the treaty was still pending approval by the Ministry of Foreign Relations and had not even reached Congress. Despite this slow progress by the Brazilian government, Conectas and its partners will continue to pressure Brazil to ratify the treaty.
