Forum on the Arms Trade
  • Home
  • Experts
  • Emerging Experts
  • Expertos y Expertas Emergentes
  • Trump's First 100 Days
  • Events
  • U.S. Arms Transfers to Israel - Trump
  • Biden Arms Transfers To Israel
  • Jobs Corner
  • Media directories
    • Middle East
    • General US arms sales
    • Ukraine
  • Major Arms Sales Notifications Tracker
  • U.S. Conventional Arms Transfer (CAT) Policy
  • U.S.-Saudi Arms Sales
  • U.S. Arms Sales to Taiwan
  • U.S. Arms Sales to India
  • U.S. Landmine Policy
  • Resource Page - Under Threshold Arms Sales
  • Resource Page - USML Cat I-III to Commerce
  • HD State Tracker
  • Get on the list
  • About
  • Archives
    • All archives
    • Newsletter
    • Blog

Falta de controle sobre armas civis no Brasil: tiroteios recentes devem soar como alarme

11/21/2024

0 Comments

 
PictureGabrielli Thomaz
available in English

Na quarta-feira, 23 de outubro, um homem de 45 anos, identificado como Edson Fernando Crippa, matou quatro pessoas e feriu outras oito em Novo Hamburgo, no Rio Grande do Sul, no Brasil. Entre os mortos estão o pai e o irmão do atirador, além de dois policiais militares. Edson manteve os familiares como reféns em casa e as negociações com a polícia duraram cerca de nove horas. Entre os sobreviventes estão um guarda municipal, cinco policiais militares, além da mãe e da cunhada do atirador. Edson foi morto pela polícia durante a troca de tiros.

O ataque aconteceu após o atirador reagir à abordagem policial durante a averiguação da denúncia de maus-tratos a um casal de idosos que, segundo relatos, era mantido em cárcere privado e impedido de sair de casa. Segundo informações de uma rádio local, o atirador tem registrado sob seu nome quatro armas, sendo duas pistolas, um rifle e uma espingarda. 

O que aconteceu em Novo Hamburgo traz à tona os riscos de morar com proprietários de armas. Um estudo da Universidade de Stanford, nos Estados Unidos, divulgado em 2022 no Annals of Internal Medicine, mostrou que pessoas que vivem com proprietários de pistolas morreram por homicídio em uma taxa duas vezes maior que seus vizinhos em casas sem armas.

O debate sobre armamento civil há anos tem sido liderado por políticos da extrema direita no Brasil. Com o lema “Não é sobre armas, é sobre liberdade”, o discurso pró-armamento tem ganhado força e, como explicado no relatório “O que o Congresso Nacional fala sobre o armamento civil?”, de autoria de Terine Husek, gerente de pesquisa do Instituto Fogo Cruzado, desde 2015 os discursos pró-armamentistas dominam a tribuna nos plenários do Congresso Federal. 

Após uma sequência de medidas assinadas no governo do então presidente Jair Bolsonaro (2019–2022) para facilitar a posse de armas, o número de armas para uso restrito nas mãos de civis no Brasil aumentou. Um levantamento realizado pelo advogado e gerente do Instituto Sou da Paz, Bruno Langeani, mostrou que o número de armas em circulação na categoria Caçador, Atirador Esportivo e Colecionador (CAC) no Brasil já é superior ao total de armas da instituição Polícia Militar. São armas que, quando chegam nas ruas, são roubadas, desviadas e acabam nas mãos do crime organizado, como mostrou um levantamento feito pelo jornal O Globo que explicava que entre janeiro e outubro de 2023, o Brasil registrou 1.259 ocorrências de armas que acabaram roubadas, furtadas ou perdidas, o que seria uma média de 126 por mês ou quatro por dia. 

No Brasil, CAC é o termo usado para “‘Colecionador, Atirador Desportivo ou Caçador”, para exercer qualquer uma dessas categorias, é preciso obter um certificado de CAC, apresentando uma série de documentos exigidos pelo Exército, como identidade, certificado de antecedentes e comprovante de ocupação lícita. Mas durante os primeiros meses do governo do ex-presidente Jair Bolsonaro, os decretos assinados por ele permitiam que atiradores comprassem até 60 armas, e caçadores poderiam comprar até 30 armas, sem autorização do Exército ou de qualquer força de segurança. O número de munições compradas também aumentou para 2 mil, se for para uso restrito (armas de uso exclusivo das Forças Armadas, de instituições de segurança pública e de pessoas físicas e jurídicas habilitadas, devidamente autorizadas pelo Comando do Exército), e 5 mil para uso permitido a todos.

Em 2019, o número de armas nas mãos de civis era de aproximadamente 1,9 milhões, em 2022, último ano do governo Bolsonaro, esse número aumentou para 4,4 milhões. Em 2023, o atual presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva revogou parte das normas que facilitavam acesso a armas e munição. Entre as medidas está a suspensão de novos registros de armas por caçadores, atiradores e colecionadores (CACs) e por particulares (que são civis que não têm licença para CAC, mas que possuem permissão para que tenham uma arma em casa, como por exemplo para segurança pessoal); redução dos limites para compra de armas e munição de uso permitido; suspensão de novos registros de clubes e escolas de tiro; suspensão a concessão de novos registros para CACs; e criação de um grupo de trabalho para propor nova regulamentação para o Estatuto do Desarmamento. Apesar das medidas adotadas por Lula no primeiro ano de seu mandato, o número de armas nas mãos de civis voltou a crescer em 2023, e a 18ª edição do Anuário Brasileiro de Segurança Pública mostrou que o Brasil registrou 4,8 milhões de armas de fogo oficialmente registradas. 

As normas revogadas por Lula voltaram a ser discutidas este ano no plenário do Senado Federal com o projeto de decreto legislativo (PDL) 206/2024 que tem, entre outras modificações, o fim da exigência de clubes de tiro a uma distância mínima de 1 quilômetro de escolas. (Clubes de tiro são locais que oferecem instalações para treinamento e competições de tiro, assim como programas de treinamento para iniciantes. As armas e munições usadas dentro dos clubes de tiro podem ser próprias dos frequentadores, ou oferecidas pelo clube.)

O nível de segurança nos clubes de tiro voltou a ser discutido depois que um menino de 4 anos foi atingido na cabeça por um disparo de arma de fogo em Herval d'Oeste, em Santa Catarina, no Brasil. A criança estava brincando em um sítio localizado próximo a um clube de tiro. O acidente aconteceu uma semana antes do caso do atirador de Novo Hamburgo.

O que estes dois casos têm em comum, além da proximidade entre as datas, é que evidenciam o quanto o afrouxamento das normas de controle deixaram a população vulnerável. O número de clubes de tiro saltou 1.400% durante os quatro anos de governo de Jair Bolsonaro, indo de 151 clubes em 2019, para 2.038 em 2022. Além disso, o número de CACs teve um crescimento de 665%, subindo de 117.467 em 2018 para 783.385 em 2022.

A consequência da irresponsabilidade da política de acesso à armas, além destes trágicos episódios, já é refletida há anos na porcentagem de mortes violentas no país. A edição mais recente do Atlas da Violência mostra que em 2022, 72,4% do total de homicídios no país foram praticados com armas de fogo, o que corresponde a 15,7 mortes por 100 mil habitantes. Em alguns estados os números são ainda mais alarmantes, a Bahia tem uma taxa de 37,2 e o Amapá 33,0. 


Esse cenário aponta mais do que nunca a importância de se ter políticas sérias e rígidas de acesso ao armamento e munições. No Congresso Nacional, o discurso dos que defendem o controle de armas no Brasil perdeu força. É preciso retomar a discussão para que casos como o de Novo Hamburgo, de Santa Catarina e de muitos outros estados brasileiros deixem de acontecer.

​
Gabrielli Thomaz é jornalista, Assessora de imprensa do Instituto Fogo Cruzado e membro do programa de Especialistas emergentes no Forum on the Arms Trade

A inclusão no programa de especialistas emergentes do Fórum sobre Comércio de Armas e a publicação desses posts não indicam concordância ou endosso das opiniões de outros. As opiniões expressas são as visões do(s) autor(es) de cada post.



0 Comments

Lack of control over civilian weapons in Brazil: recent shootings should raise alarm

11/21/2024

0 Comments

 
PictureGabrielli Thomaz
disponível em português​

On Wednesday, October 23, a 45-year-old man, identified as Edson Fernando Crippa, killed four people and injured eight others in Novo Hamburgo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Among the dead are the shooter's father and brother, as well as two military police officers. Edson held his family members hostage at home, and the police negotiations lasted about nine hours. Among the survivors are a municipal guard, five military police officers, as well as the shooter's mother and sister-in-law. Edson was killed by the police during the exchange of gunfire.

The attack occurred after the shooter reacted to the police approach during the investigation of a report of abuse of an elderly couple who, according to reports, were being held in private confinement and prevented from leaving their home. According to information from a local radio station, the shooter has four registered weapons under his name, including two pistols, a rifle, and a shotgun.

What happened in Novo Hamburgo brings to the forefront the risks of living with gun owners. A study from Stanford University in the United States, published in 2022 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, showed that people living with handgun owners died by homicide at twice the rate of their neighbors in gun-free homes.

The debate on civilian weapons has for years been led by far-right politicians in Brazil. With the slogan "It's not about guns, it's about freedom," the pro-gun discourse has gained strength, and as explained in the report "What does the National Congress say about civilian weapons?", authored by Terine Husek, research manager at the Fogo Cruzado Institute, since 2015 pro-gun speeches have dominated the plenary sessions of the Federal Congress.

After a series of measures signed during the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022) to facilitate the possession of weapons, the number of restricted-use weapons in the hands of civilians in Brazil increased. A survey conducted by the lawyer and manager of the Instituto Sou da Paz, Bruno Langeani, showed that the number of firearms in circulation in the Collector, Sports Shooter, and Hunter (CAC) category in Brazil is already higher than the total number of weapons of the Military Police institution. These are weapons that, when they reach the streets, are stolen, diverted, and end up in the hands of organized crime, as shown by a survey conducted by the newspaper O Globo, which explained that between January and October 2023, Brazil recorded 1,259 occurrences of weapons that were stolen, robbed, or lost, which would be an average of 126 per month or four per day.

In Brazil, CAC is the term used for “Collector, Sports Shooter, or Hunter.'”To practice any of these categories, one must obtain a CAC certificate by presenting a series of documents required by the Army, such as identity, background check certificate, and proof of lawful occupation. However, during the first months of former president Jair Bolsonaro's government, the decrees he signed allowed shooters to purchase up to 60 weapons, and hunters could purchase up to 30 weapons, without authorization from the Army or any security force. The number of ammunition that could be purchased also increased to 2,000 rounds for restricted use (weapons for exclusive use by the Armed Forces, public security institutions, and qualified individuals and legal entities, duly authorized by the Army Command), and 5,000 for permitted use. 

In 2019, the number of weapons in the hands of civilians was approximately 1.9 million, in 2022, the last year of the Bolsonaro government, this number increased to 4.4 million. In 2023, the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, revoked part of the rules that facilitated access to weapons and ammunition. Among the measures are the suspension of new registrations of weapons by hunters, shooters, and collectors (CACs) and by individuals (who are civilians without a CAC license, but who have permission to have a weapon at home, such as for personal security); reduction of the limits for purchasing permitted-use weapons and ammunition; suspension of new registrations of shooting clubs and schools; suspension of granting new registrations for CACs; and the creation of a working group to propose new regulations for the Disarmament Statute. Despite the measures taken by Lula in the first year of his term, the number of weapons in the hands of civilians grew again in 2023, and the 18th edition of the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook showed that Brazil recorded 4.8 million officially registered firearms.

The rules revoked by Lula have been discussed again this year in the Federal Senate plenary with the legislative decree project (PDL) 206/2024, which, among other modifications, includes the elimination of the requirement for shooting clubs to be at a minimum distance of 1 kilometer from schools.(Shooting clubs are places that offer facilities for shooting training and competitions, as well as training programs for beginners. The weapons and ammunition used inside shooting clubs can be owned by members, or provided by the club.)

The level of safety in shooting clubs has been discussed again after a 4-year-old boy was hit in the head by a firearm shot in Herval d'Oeste, in Santa Catarina, Brazil. The child was playing on a farm located near a shooting club. The accident occurred a week before the Novo Hamburgo shooter case.

What these two cases have in common, besides the proximity of the dates, is that they show how the relaxation of control norms has left the population vulnerable. The number of shooting clubs jumped 1,400% during the four years of Jair Bolsonaro's government, going from 151 clubs in 2019 to 2,038 in 2022. In addition, the number firearms registered by CACs grew by 665%, rising from 117,467 in 2018 to 783,385 in 2022.

The consequence of the irresponsibility of the weapon access policy, in addition to these tragic episodes, has been reflected for years in the percentage of violent deaths in the country. The most recent edition of the Violence Atlas shows that in 2022, 72.4% of the total homicides in the country were committed with firearms, which corresponds to 15.7 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. In some states, the numbers are even more alarming, with Bahia having a rate of 37.2 and Amapá 33.0.

This scenario points more than ever to the importance of having serious and strict policies on access to weapons and ammunition. In the National Congress, the discourse of those who defend gun control in Brazil has lost strength. It is necessary to resume the discussion so that cases like the one in Novo Hamburgo, Santa Catarina, and many other Brazilian states no longer happen.


Gabrielli Thomaz is a journalist, Press Advisor at the Fogo Cruzado Institute, and a member of the Emerging Expert program at the Forum on the Arms Trade.

Inclusion on the Forum on the Arms Trade emerging expert program and the publication of these posts does not indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of others. The opinions expressed are the views of each post's author(s).

0 Comments

Event Resources: Biden’s Final Two Months: A Better Approach to Arms and the Middle East (November 7, 2024)

11/7/2024

0 Comments

 
On November 7, 2024, the Forum on the Arms Trade and DAWN hosted “Biden’s Final Two Months: A Better Approach to Arms and the Middle East.” The Forum maintains resources on the U.S. provision of arms to  Israel as well as to Saudi Arabia. DAWN also examines the implications of a U.S.-Saudi security agreement. During the event, panelists argued that the United States would be better served not providing weapons into the region.

Video of the event is available at https://youtu.be/kWRsFJ3_rE0.
During and as a follow up to the event, panelists offered the following recommendations. (These recommendations were individually offered and can be attributed to the panelist offering them. They were not jointly reviewed):

Josh Paul, Senior Advisor, DAWN

Apply the law: President Biden should finally direct attorneys at the State Department and White House to make the obvious legal determination that Israel has been restricting U.S.-funded humanitarian assistance to Gaza, and that it has been engaged in a continuous pattern of Gross Violations of Human Rights. Rolling back legal determinations is possible, but much tougher, than rolling back policy changes.

Use your leverage: President Biden should restrict lethal arms transfers of weapons that are being used in Gaza, stop replenishing the WRSA stockpile, and pause the processing of pending arms sale cases and licenses. If nothing else, this will force a corresponding pause in Israel's operations in the region.

Expand sanctions: President Biden should sanction the Settlement Councils and Ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich, including through the application of Magnitsky Sanctions which would require a report to Congress explaining why an individual sanctioned has been removed from those sanctions, should they so be. Certain Settler groups should also be given FTO designations.

Recognize Statehood: The U.S. should recognize Palestinian Statehood and urge the UN Security Council to approve Palestine as a full member of the United Nations, leveling the playing field of international law in a way that would be impossible, in some aspects, for a future Administration to roll back. Recognition of the 1967 borders would also solidify international legal efforts to sanction settlements.

Annelle Sheline, Research Fellow, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
​
Do not try to rush through a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia
  • We know that MBS had previously made foolish foreign policy decisions, like invading and blockading Yemen, and is likely to do so again if he thought he had unlimited U.S. support. We have seen the horrifying behavior that unconditional U.S. support has encouraged Israel to take.
  • This is an important signal to Congressional Democrats to oppose a U.S. defense agreement with Saudi Arabia, even in order to get to an Israeli-Saudi normalization deal. This is not in U.S. interests.

Affirm the need to prioritize human rights in American foreign policy
  • Withhold weapons sales to human rights abusing governments, as required by U.S. law.
  • Do not authorize new weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, or Israel.

Affirm support for international institutions
  • Including the UN, the UN Security Council, and the UN Human Rights Council
  • Vocally express support for international institutions that your administration previously denigrated, including the ICC and ICJ.
  • Express support for the crucial work of UNRWA and other international humanitarian organizations doing crucial work in the region.
  • These are crucial signals for Democrats in Congress to oppose Trump and the Republicans’ efforts to undermine these institutions.

Omer Ismail, Former Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sudan

Watch his policy recommendations here (31:47 into the video).


​Negar Mortazavi, Editor and Host, the Iran Podcast and Senior Non-resident Fellow, Center for International Policy

Watch her policy recommendations here (39:38 into the video).
​
The Forum provides a platform for expert views but does not itself take positions.
0 Comments

    About

    The "Looking Ahead Blog" features comments concerning short- to medium-term trends related to the arms trade, security assistance, and weapons use. Typically about 500-1000 words, each comment is written by an expert listed on the Forum on the Arms Trade related to topics of each expert's choosing.

    We have a number of special series including: 


    Looking Ahead 2025
    Looking Ahead 2024
    Looking Ahead 2023
    Looking Ahead 2022
    ​Looking Ahead 2021
    Looking Ahead 2020

    Looking Ahead 2019
    Looking Ahead 2018
    First 100 Days (April/May '17)

    Looking Ahead 2017

    Inclusion on the Forum on the Arms Trade expert list does not indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of others. Institutional affiliation is indicated for identification purposes only.

    Archives

    May 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    September 2024
    March 2024
    January 2024
    November 2023
    October 2023
    August 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    January 2021
    July 2020
    May 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    May 2018
    December 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015

    Pdf's

    March 11 (2015)

    Categories

    All
    Adam Isacson
    Africa
    Alejandro Sanchez
    Allison Pytlak
    Amy Nelson
    Anna Stavrianakis
    Arms Sales
    Arms Trade Treaty
    Arms Trafficking
    Aude Fleurant
    Bonnie Docherty
    Brian Castner
    Child Soldiers
    Colby Goodman
    Corruption
    Cyber
    Dan Gettinger
    Danielle Preskitt
    Divestment
    Doug Weir
    Drones
    Emerging Experts
    End-use Monitoring
    Environment
    Erin Hunt
    Europe
    Exploration Of Arms Reduction And Jobs
    Explosive Weapons
    First 100 Days
    Frank Slijper
    Gender
    Global Trade Trends
    Harm To Civilians
    Hector Guerra
    High School Debate '19 20
    High School Debate '19-20
    Humanitarian Disarmament
    Human Rights Due Diligence
    Iain Overton
    Investors
    Jeff Abramson
    Jen Spindel
    Jobs
    John Lindsay Poland
    John Lindsay-Poland
    Jordan Cohen
    Kate Kizer
    Killer Robots
    Landmines/cluster Munitions
    Latin America
    Laura Boillot
    Lode Dewaegheneire
    Looking Ahead 2017
    Looking Ahead 2018
    Looking Ahead 2019
    Looking Ahead 2020
    Looking Ahead 2021
    Looking Ahead 2022
    Looking Ahead 2023
    Looking Ahead 2024
    Looking Ahead 2025
    Maria Pia Devoto
    Martin Butcher
    Matthew Bolton
    Middle East
    Military Expenditures
    Natalie Goldring
    Nicholas Marsh
    Non State Actors
    Paul Holtom
    Rachel Stohl
    Ray Acheson
    Robert Muggah
    Robert Watson
    Roy Isbister
    SALW
    Samuel Perlo Freeman
    Samuel Perlo-Freeman
    Security Assistance
    Seth Binder
    Shannon Dick
    Suicide Bombing
    Summit For Democracy
    Sustainable Development
    Tobias Bock
    Transparency
    Ukraine War
    UN Register
    Victim Assistance
    Wanda Muñoz
    War In Ukraine
    William Hartung
    Wim Zwijnenburg
    Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly