Mia Schroeder and Becky Graf
DISEC
Delegation of Brazil
St. Ignatius College Prep
Biological Warfare
Most delegations in this committee are familiar with the fact that biological warfare is the
intentional use of certain agents such as bacteria’s and fungi to destroy humans, animals, and even
plants. These weapons live as hosts inside the victim and reproduce, spreading the disease throughout
the casualty. Country’s that use “germ warfare” may be considered to be using bio-terrorism. Brazil
has been a victim of biological warfare for a period of time, making it a deep concern for them. Since
the Cold War, Brazil has faced regional security harms. Brazil has worked as a buffer between the
United States security issues and countries in regions nearby Brazil. This has made the topic of
biological warfare difficult for Brazil because of the Colombian territory and its possible damage to
parts of the Brazilian Amazon due to fungus, though they are in clear opposition to using biological
agents. Even with this conflict, there has been no evidence to the creation of biological weapons in
Brazil. In 1973, Brazil ratified the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. This convention bans
the development, stockpiling, and attainment of biological agents or toxins. According to Brazil in
their ratification, countries may not attain these agents in quantities that have no peaceful
justification. Also, in 1991, Brazil signed the Mendoza Declaration which states that the outlawing of
biological weapons will increase the security of not only Brazil (as well as Argentina and Columbia,
who also signed this document), but will increase the security of other nations as well.
It is well known that Brazil has been opposed to all sorts of weapons. Brazil is in opposition
towards nuclear, biological, and chemicals weapons. This has been apparent in Brazil since the early
1990’s. Though Brazil is fully capable of producing harmful biological agents due to the fact that it is
home to the castor bean (which produces toxin ricin), they have never used biological weapons to control
the coca production in their bordering country, Columbia. Not only have they resisted the use of
biological warfare to rid the fungi growing ruining the Brazilian Amazon by avoiding the usage of
harmful agents, but they even avoid developing these agents even though they have the proper
technology for techniques such as gene sequencing.
Brazil’s strong opposition leads them to addressing the problem universally. A speaker of Brazil,
Luiz Filipe de Macedo Soares, said that he was fully committed to the objectives and principles of the
Chemical Weapons Convention. Brazil believes that in order for the refusal of all biological weapons
used harmfully in all countries to become effective, the issue must be universal. Brazil wants the States to
renew their efforts among the prohibition of biological agents. Brazil would like for all countries with
biological weapons to destroy them and to do this within a timely deadline. Brazil recognizes that any
attempt to find a solution to the problem of biological weapons cannot be solved by only creating a treaty.
It is acknowledged that any international treaties on the issue of biological warfare are not an acceptable
resolution, due to the fact it pertains every country. Brazil understands that there must be efforts of
control that addresses areas in which there are problems. Brazil recognizes the fact that countries must
really understand the problem that biological weapons pose to be able to make a significant resolution.