Brazil Security Council

Honorable chair, fellow delegates and guests: the Republic of Brazil is honored to be present among this esteemed group of the United Nations Security Council and looks forward to a productive session on the matters at hand.

The issue of weapons trade, especially throughout the Americas, is obviously a major concern for Brazil. While Brazil has trouble with widespread armed violence it is also one of the only countries with a viable small arms industry. Since 1998 more than 130.000 small arms were seized by law enforcement just in the three major provinces of Brazil. The production of small arms in Brazil has reached amounts of around 400.000 weapons produced each year and Brazil now controls most of the arms market in South America. Yet at the same time Brazil is fighting increased armed violence with criminals armed with such heavy weapons that we have been forced to turn to paramilitary forces in order to successfully fight these criminals. We would also like to point out the close link between the organized crime in the favelas, drug trading and the increased amounts of illegal weapons in Brazil. We condemn the trade of weapons in the Americas and urge the involved countries to increase their efforts in stopping and preventing weapon trade in the Americas and we actively encourage countries to expand the idea of a the Arms Trade Treaty.

The delegation of Brazil strongly supports the use of nuclear reactors as a source of energy throughout the world. Currently, there are 2 reactors in Brazil - Angra I and Angra II, which provide approximately 4% of Brazil’s electricity, with the first reactor operating since 1982, and with 4 more plants expected to come online by 2025. Brazil’s ultimate goal is to self-sufficiently provide electricity throughout the country, and to sell surplus nuclear fuel on the international market. However, Brazil acknowledges that nuclear weapons should not be taken lightly, and great care should be taken as to who may possess them.

Terrorism is a further issue of global significance, and Brazil feels that it can contribute strongly to the global battle against terrorism. In April 2010, Brazil hosted a international conference regarding Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Systems and Their Development in a Changing World. A significant topic of debate was international cooperation to combat and crime and terrorism. Brazil also emphasizes the importance of addressing the root causes of terrorism as an effective method of prevention. The delegation of Brazil also believes that a specific definition of terrorism which can be applied universally could clarify terrorism on the international stage.

Finally, the delegation of Brazil understands that there sometimes may be a need for military contractors as sometimes there is simply no other alternative yet we would also like to point out that it is desirable to use conventional military forces instead of relying on contractors, considering a specific case, such as XE Services in Iraq. The Brazilian authorities decided to rely primarily on a combination of paramilitary forces combined with the necessary amount of private contractors although it should be noted that these are mostly employed by private companies working in Brazil. The delegation of Brazil acknowledges the use of private contractors although we do emphasise the need to regulate and control the use of private contractors. We believe that our experience in dealing with private military contractors will allow us to cooperate with other nation concerning this issue.