Brazil Marks Eight Years Since Ratification and Four Years Since Promulgation of the Arms Trade Treaty
In August 2026, Brazil marks eight years since the ratification and four years since the promulgation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The instrument was incorporated into Brazilian law through Decree No. 11,173, published in the Diário Oficial da União on August 16, 2022 (Brazil, 2022). The ATT is the first legally binding international treaty specifically aimed at regulating the international trade in conventional weapons.
The development of the ATT dates back to the late 1980s, when civil society organizations and Nobel Peace Prize laureates began publicly discussing the absence of international rules governing the trade in conventional weapons. In 1997, former Costa Rican president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Óscar Arias brought together a group of laureates to propose an International Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers, an initiative supported by non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International and Oxfam (Oxfam Australia, 2013). Over the following years, this proposal evolved into discussions and negotiations that culminated in the Arms Trade Treaty.
The final text of the treaty was negotiated at two conferences organized by the UN in New York, in July 2012 and March 2013, without reaching consensus among all Member States. As a result, the text was submitted to the UN General Assembly, which adopted it on April 2, 2013, by 156 votes in favor, 3 against, and 23 abstentions (Arms Control Association, 2023). The treaty was opened for signature on June 3, 2013, and entered into force on December 24, 2014, after reaching the minimum number of 50 ratifications.
The ATT regulates eight categories of conventional weapons: battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, large-caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles and missile launchers, as well as small arms and light weapons, also covering ammunition and parts and components. Its stated objectives include contributing to international peace and security, reducing human suffering resulting from irresponsible transfers, and promoting cooperation, transparency, and responsible action among States (Brazil, 2022a).
According to the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), prior to the adoption of the ATT, there was no set of rules at the global level regulating the international trade in conventional weapons, unlike what occurs in virtually all other sectors of world trade. The unrestricted availability of weapons and ammunition is associated with human suffering, political repression, crime, and the destabilization of entire regions, in addition to hindering development in conflict-affected countries.
Brazil was involved in the Arms Trade Treaty negotiation process from its early stages and was among the treaty's first signatories, signing it on June 3, 2013. The text was approved by the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate in 2017 and 2018, respectively, and ratified in June 2018. The instrument of ratification was deposited with the UN in August of that year, making Brazil a State Party to the treaty as of November 2018 (Brazil, 2022b).
The promulgation of the treaty into Brazilian domestic law, the final stage that gives its provisions full effect within the national territory, only took place in August 2022, through Decree No. 11,173. International treaties of a similar nature often require lengthy stages of signature, legislative approval, ratification, and promulgation before producing full effects within domestic law, as provided for by the Brazilian constitutional procedure for incorporating international agreements.
Among the obligations that became applicable to Brazil with the promulgation of the decree are the maintenance of a national control system to regulate the export of conventional weapons, ammunition, and components; the conduct of a risk assessment prior to any authorization of a transfer, evaluating whether the weapons may be used to commit or facilitate violations of international humanitarian law or human rights; and the submission of annual reports, by May 31 of each year, containing data on authorized or completed exports and imports of conventional weapons during the preceding period. These documents are submitted to the treaty's Secretariat and made available to the other States Parties (Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, n.d.).
The treaty prohibits a State Party from authorizing the export of conventional weapons if, at the time of the decision, it has knowledge that they will be used to commit genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes, or if the transfer would violate embargoes imposed by the UN Security Council (Rodrigues, 2022). Since 2018, Brazil has also had an export control system for defense products structured by the National Policy on the Export and Import of Defense Products (PNEIPRODE), established by Decree No. 9,607, which would have facilitated the country's adaptation to the ATT's provisions (Brazil, 2022b).
Civil society organizations that followed the ATT's progress in Brazil, such as Instituto Sou da Paz, primarily associate the treaty with the possibility of greater transparency in arms exports. Before the creation of the National Policy on the Export and Import of Defense Products (PNEIPRODE), authorization for the export of heavier weapons depended on the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, based on a confidential document known as the National Plan for the Export of Military-Use Equipment (PNEMEM), which had been formulated during the period of military rule.
Civil society organizations also relate the issue to the reality of armed violence in the country. Brazil records tens of thousands of firearm-related deaths every year, which, according to these organizations, supports the defense of more transparent criteria for both the export and the domestic circulation of weapons (Instituto Sou da Paz, 2014). In addition, according to the report The Authorized Trade in Small Arms: Latin America from a Global Perspective, published in 2025 by the Small Arms Survey, the country ranks as the world's fifth-largest exporter and 15th-largest importer of small arms and light weapons, weapons associated with a large share of violent deaths recorded in conflicts and contexts of urban crime around the world.
Brazil's accession to the Arms Trade Treaty is identified by international bodies and specialized organizations as a relevant element in the global arms control landscape. For the country, which ranks among the world's largest exporters of small arms and light weapons, legally binding itself to the treaty's rules is described by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a confirmation of Brazil's commitment to preventing and eradicating the illicit trafficking of conventional weapons, in support of international peace and security (Brazil, 2022b).
Currently, the treaty remains formally incorporated into Brazilian legislation, with obligations in force concerning control, risk assessment, and the submission of annual reports to the UN. The full adherence of one of the world's major arms exporters, such as Brazil, to the ATT also strengthens the treaty's international regime itself, insofar as it increases the number of States Parties subject to common transparency standards and contributes to reducing regulatory asymmetries among exporting countries. More than a decade after the initial signature in 2013, Brazil's trajectory toward the 2022 promulgation forms part of a broader movement toward the universalization of the treaty, which began in 2013 and is still underway, now bringing together 118 States Parties committed to common rules for the international trade in conventional weapons.
Written by: Larissa Parcianelo
Reviewed by: Fernando Fiala
14/08/2026 BRT
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the institutional position of Dhesarme.
References
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