Brazilian Humanitarian Cooperation

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The international humanitarian cooperation provided by Brazil is based on humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence, which are principles that are in accordance with Resolutions 46/182 and 58/114 adopted by the  United Nations General Assembly, and with Article 4 of the Federal Constitution of Brazil, which sets forth that, in international relations, the Federative Republic of Brazil is governed by the principle of cooperation between peoples for the progress of humanity, among others. In line with the foreign policy of the Brazilian government, the international humanitarian action of Brazil is guided by the demands for cooperation and assistance from countries, international organizations and entities, upon request.

Brazil's international humanitarian cooperation is also supported by Law No. 13,684, dated 21/06/2018, whose Article 11 establishes “that the [Federal] Union [i.e. Brazil] may provide humanitarian cooperation, under the coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to support countries or populations who find themselves in a situation of armed conflict, natural disaster, public calamity, food and nutrition insecurity, or any other emergency or situation of vulnerability, which may constitute a serious threat to their lives, health and human or humanitarian rights”.

International food donations made by the Brazilian Government on a humanitarian cooperation basis are the result of close coordination between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Supply Company (CONAB), a public company linked to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply of Brazil (MAPA). The criteria and procedures applied for Brazilian international food donations are set out in Law 12,429 of 20/06/2011 (and updated by Article 27 of Law 12,688 dated 18/07/2012), which authorizes the Executive Branch to donate public stocks of food for international humanitarian aid. According to said Law, it falls on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) to define the quantities and respective recipients of food, in cooperation with the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations coordinating agency for these humanitarian issues.

International donations of medicines and other health supplies are made on a humanitarian basis in coordination with the Ministry of Health of Brazil; after the official receipt of the demand to Brazil from a partner country or regional or international body. ABC then consults the Ministry of Health to enquire about the availability of said supplies to meet the donation demand partially or in full.

It is worth mentioning that the international humanitarian actions of Brazil do not deprive Brazilians of the right of access to food or medicines, since these are only donated provided that national supply is not compromised.

The Brazilian Cooperation Agency and Humanitarian Cooperation

In 2017, the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE), started to coordinate the international humanitarian cooperation provided abroad by Brazil as well as that received in the country. This cooperation takes the form of emergency responses to major disasters and accidents, natural and anthropogenic alike, and in the form of donations of food, medicines and other items of basic needs to populations that are in a situation of social and environmental disaster, public calamity, armed conflict, food and nutrition insecurity or another emergency or vulnerability situation, which may constitute a serious threat to life, health and human or humanitarian rights.

To structure ABC's new field of operation, Decree No. 9,110, of 27/07/2017 (revoked by Decree No. 9,683 of 09/09/2019, in effect since 30/01/2019, and updated by Decree No. 10,021 on 17/09/2019) created the General Coordination of Humanitarian Cooperation (CGCH); it falls under CGCH to plan, coordinate, negotiate, approve, implement, follow up and evaluate programs, projects and activities of assistance and international humanitarian cooperation all over Brazil, as well as those from Brazil abroad or from abroad in Brazil, whether in the bilateral, trilateral or multilateral modalities. The CGCH has the competence to develop the following spheres of action:

I - International emergency response actions of a humanitarian nature, including humanitarian aid through the donation of food, medicines and other essential items, among others;

II - International humanitarian cooperation programs with other government partners and international and intergovernmental organizations aimed at building structural and institutional resilience in risk management, health and food security, as well as capacity building for disaster management and post-disaster reconstruction; and

III - International cooperation and humanitarian aid initiatives with international and intergovernmental organizations, as well as with other government and non-government partners.

Inter-ministerial Working Group on International Humanitarian Cooperation

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil coordinates, through ABC, the Inter-ministerial Working Group on International Humanitarian Cooperation ("GTI Humanitário", i.e. Humanitarian IWG), created by Decree No. 9.860 on 25/06/2019, for which the CGCH is in charge of exercising the function of Executive Secretariat.

The Humanitarian IWG is made up of the following Federal Public Administration bodies: Ministry of Foreign Affairs - MRE (Group Coordinator); Civil House of the Presidency of the Republic (Chief of Staff of the Presidency and member of the President's Cabinet); Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP); Ministry of Defense (MD); Ministry of the Economy (ME); Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA); Ministry of Education (MEC); Ministry of Citizenship (MC); Ministry of Health (MS); Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations  (MCTI); Ministry of the Environment (MMA); Ministry of Regional Development (MDR); Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights (MMFDH); General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic; Office of the President of the Republic (SGPR); Special Secretariat for Social Communication (SECOM) of the Presidency of the Republic; Institutional Security Office (GSI) of the Presidency of the Republic; and the Federal Attorney General's Office (AGU).

As an interagency body, the Humanitarian IWG's role is to help strengthen the alignment of the government of Brazil with other agencies that deals with Brazilian international humanitarian responses, the purpose being:

I) To coordinate the international humanitarian cooperation actions undertaken by Brazil;

II) To propose initiatives to expand the capacity and effectiveness of international humanitarian actions undertaken by Brazil; and

III) To formulate proposals for normative acts to enable international humanitarian actions undertaken by Brazil.

International Organizations

In addition to the intergovernmental coordination on matters of international cooperation on humanitarian assistance in Brazil, the CGCH follows up initiatives and debates on these issues with regional and international organizations of which Brazil is a member, such as the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA); the Regional Meeting on International Humanitarian Assistance Mechanisms in Latin America and the Caribbean (MIAH or IHAM); and the MERCOSUR Expert Meeting on Social and Natural Disaster Risk Reduction, Civil Defence, Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (REHU) and the Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities for Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management in Mercosur (RMAGIR).