Priorities for African states negotiating for an Arms Trade Treaty

This policy brief by the Institute for Security Studies argues for a strong Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to address the poorly regulated international transfer of conventional arms, which the author claims costs hundreds of thousands of lives annually. It references a failed UN negotiation in July 2012 and urges African states to prioritize specific text areas at a subsequent conference scheduled for March 2013 to ensure the preservation of human security.

• The author asserts that a strong Arms Trade Treaty is necessary because the international transfer of conventional arms is poorly regulated and lacks global standards based on international humanitarian law and human rights, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths every year.
• A UN conference held from 2–27 July 2012 at the UN Headquarters in New York failed to reach an agreement on a treaty text despite four weeks of negotiations.
• The policy brief recommends that African states focus on specific areas of text during the UN conference on the ATT scheduled for 18–28 March 2013, with the overarching goal of preventing human suffering and preserving human security.

APA

Dube, G. (n.d.). Priorities for African states negotiating for an Arms Trade Treaty. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/policy-brief/priorities-for-african-states-negotiating-for-an-arms-trade-treaty

Chicago

Dube, Gugu. Priorities for African states negotiating for an Arms Trade Treaty. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/policy-brief/priorities-for-african-states-negotiating-for-an-arms-trade-treaty.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dube |first1=Gugu |title=Priorities for African states negotiating for an Arms Trade Treaty |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/research/policy-brief/priorities-for-african-states-negotiating-for-an-arms-trade-treaty |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dubendpriorities, author = {Dube, Gugu}, title = {{Priorities for African states negotiating for an Arms Trade Treaty}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/policy-brief/priorities-for-african-states-negotiating-for-an-arms-trade-treaty}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }