In 2026, the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic (ZOPACAS) will be celebrating its 40th anniversary. This milestone is not only an invitation to reflect on the creation, achievements, and limitations of the Zone, but on how it relates to broader dynamics associated with South-South cooperation and Brazil-Africa relations in the past four decades. With a total of 24 member states, including Argentina, Benin, Brazil, Cameroon, Namibia, and Uruguay, the Zone has helped Brazil expand its connections with states in the Atlantic coast of Africa beyond its traditional Lusophone partners such as Angola, Cabo Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Created by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution A/41/11 which was adopted on October 27, 1986, ZOPACAS was expected to innovate on previous efforts by the UN to approve zones of peace such as the Indian Ocean Zone of Peace of December 1971. The inclusion of ‘cooperation’ was intended to add to the efforts in constructing a space of peace in the South Atlantic by emphasizing the possibility of concrete South-South initiatives in areas where participating states could share experiences such as the protection of maritime resources and international law of the sea. The timing of the creation of the Zone reflected the strengthening of South-South technical cooperation, particularly after the 1978 Buenos Aires Action Plan, and UN efforts to endorse and support these initiatives.

ZOPACAS was a product of Cold War dynamics. First, it reflected concerns regarding the 1982 conflict between the United Kingdom and Argentina regarding the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) dispute which placed on opposing sides a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and a member of the Interamerican Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (TIAR, in its Spanish acronym). Second, it reflected a concern that existing animosities between the United States of America (USA) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) could expand into the South Atlantic space. This was already a cause for concern looking back at the civil war in Angola (1975-2002) with the presence of troops from Cuba and apartheid South Africa. Furthermore, the idea of promoting a concrete initiative in the format of a UNGA-approved zone of peace and cooperation was a response to efforts by apartheid South Africa to court support from South American dictatorships in addressing the risks of a Communist threat in the South Atlantic. If successful, this could have led to the establishment of a South Atlantic Treaty Organization (SATO). Siding with the apartheid regime would have undermined Brazil’s international engagement. Therefore,........

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