As you mentioned, the "groundwork" of the "Rio Treaty" occurred as
WWII approached our hemisphere. I have read the treaty articles as
listed below.
They were adopted in 1947.
It called for mutual defense rather than the creation of a combined
military under the United States of all the military forces in our
hemisphere.
Brazilians fought alongside Americans, Englishmen, Russians and the
soldiers of many other Allied countries as representatives of their
own countries in the battle against Axis subjugation. It was a
"World" war and Brazilians were members of that group of brave heroes
who saved future generations from Nazi enslavement.
The Rio treaty has no provision for entitlement of U.S. Veterans
benefits to Brazilian veterans. Likewise, it has no provision for
entitlement of Brazilian Veterans benefits to the veterans of the
United States who fought alongside Brazil in defense of freedom.
"The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance ("TIAR" or "Rio
Treaty") grew out of the perceived need to provide a collective
security mechanism for the hemisphere during the run-up to the Second
World War. Although the groundwork for the treaty was laid during the
war, the treaty was not adopted until the Third Meeting of
Consultation of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil in 1947. The treaty entered into force in 1948. Since
then, it has served as one of the pillars of the collective
hemispheric defense architecture.
The Rio Treaty is a "special treaty" within the meaning of Article 29
of the OAS Charter. Among other things, it defines the measures and
procedures governing a collective response by the other states party
when a state party suffers an armed attack or an aggression that is
not an armed attack. The Treaty has been invoked on 19 occasions since
its inception, the most recent being 1982.
The Rio Treaty provides for a collective security mechanism. Under its
terms, an armed attack on one member is to be considered an attack on
all. The treaty also provides for measures to address aggressions that
are not armed attacks, as well as for extracontinental or
intracontinental conflicts, or "any other fact or situation that might
endanger the peace of America."
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/sept_11/state_001.htm
Article 3 of the Rio Treaty.
1. The High Contracting Parties agree that an armed attack by any
State against an American State shall be considered as an attack
against all the American States and, consequently, each one of the
said Contracting Parties undertakes to assist in meeting the attack in
the exercise of the inherent right of individual or collective
self-defense
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/decade/decad061.htm
Digested to simple words, the Rio Treaty mandates that any attack by a
foreign power against the people of Brazil is an attack against the
people of the United States. We have agreed that we are a family that
will protect the countries of this hemisphere against aggression from
elsewhere.
I have scoured the Library of Congress and Department of Veteran
Affairs and searched for any possibility of US Veterans benefits being
allowable to members of the Brazilian military forces during WWII or
after. There is no indication that such benefits were ever considered
in developing this treaty of mutual defense.
Please remember that you are entitled to reject my answer if it does
not satisfy your query.
Brad-ga |
