Africa and an arms trade treaty

The document analyzes African perspectives on the proposed Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which aims to establish universal standards for the legal trade of conventional weapons. While there is broad support across the continent, the paper identifies specific concerns regarding national sovereignty, the potential for the treaty to be used as a political tool, and the financial burden of implementation. It details the positions of South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Algeria, and Nigeria, noting a tension between the desire for global standards and the protection of national arms industries and security rights. The author recommends that African states develop a more unified common position through the African Union to better influence the international process.

• African countries generally support the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), often because existing regional agreements already include similar principles. For instance, the Bamako Declaration calls for an end to the dumping of excess weapons in Africa, and the Nairobi Protocol's Best Practice Guidelines prohibit arms transfers that would violate human rights or worsen internal conflicts.
• The proposed ATT is seen as a way to complement the UN Programme of Action (UN PoA) on small arms and light weapons (SALW). While the UN PoA focuses on illicit trade, the ATT would provide a legal structure to regulate the legal trade of all conventional weapons, thereby reducing the risk of legal arms being diverted to illicit markets.
• Several African states express concern that the ATT could be used as a political instrument by major arms-exporting nations to control importing states. There is a preference among some countries for a consensus-based approach to development to avoid loopholes or the imposition of standards that do not consider the interests of developing nations.
• South Africa's position is complex because it is both an arms importer and exporter. While the government supports the ATT, the South African arms industry tends to oppose it due to a heavy reliance on exports following defence budget cuts after 1994.
• Egypt has suggested that the trade in conventional arms should be regulated through a politically binding agreement rather than a legally binding convention, citing inconsistencies and discrimination in the current international disarmament regime, particularly regarding nuclear weapons.
• Nigeria strongly supports a universal, legally binding instrument to prevent the diversion of licit SALW into illicit markets and has urged other states to be more flexible and look beyond national interests to accelerate the treaty process.
• There is a noted gap between the public support for the ATT and actual practice regarding transparency. For example, Kenya has submitted reports to the UN Register of Conventional Arms that provide no information on imports, exports, or re-exports.

APA

Dye, D. (2009). Africa and an arms trade treaty. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper191.pdf

Chicago

Dye, Dominique. Africa and an arms trade treaty. Institute for Security Studies, 2009. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper191.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dye |first1=Dominique |title=Africa and an arms trade treaty |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=August 2009 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper191.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dye2009africa, author = {Dye, Dominique}, title = {{Africa and an arms trade treaty}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2009}, month = aug, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper191.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }