Resolution 1540 and the African Continental Free Trade Area: Policy options to strengthen non-proliferation controls and secure trade

The document examines the tension between enhancing intra-African trade through the AfCFTA and the necessity of maintaining strict non-proliferation controls under UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540. It argues that while the AfCFTA aims to create a single African market to drive socio-economic integration, these trade benefits must not be compromised by the risk of non-State actors acquiring chemical, biological, or nuclear (CBN) weapons. The brief focuses on ensuring that export and border controls required by UNSCR 1540 act as enablers of secure trade rather than barriers, specifically analyzing the AfCFTA's security exceptions to increase cohesion between trade liberalization and global security obligations.

• UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540, enacted on April 28, 2004, is binding on all UN Member States and mandates that they prevent non-State actors from developing, acquiring, manufacturing, possessing, transporting, transferring, or using chemical, biological, and nuclear (CBN) weapons, their delivery systems, and related materials.
• The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, which began trading on January 1, 2021, seeks to establish the world's largest single market to promote Africa's socio-economic integration and the African Union's Agenda 2063.
• There is a critical need to balance the removal of trade barriers under the AfCFTA with the prevention of CBN weapons proliferation by non-State actors, ensuring that the required export and border controls support a secure and predictable regional trading system.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2023). Resolution 1540 and the African Continental Free Trade Area: Policy options to strengthen non-proliferation controls and secure trade. https://saiia.org.za/research/resolution-1540-and-the-african-continental-free-trade-area-policy-options-to-strengthen-non-proliferation-controls-and-secure-trade/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Resolution 1540 and the African Continental Free Trade Area: Policy options to strengthen non-proliferation controls and secure trade. 2023. https://saiia.org.za/research/resolution-1540-and-the-african-continental-free-trade-area-policy-options-to-strengthen-non-proliferation-controls-and-secure-trade/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Resolution 1540 and the African Continental Free Trade Area: Policy options to strengthen non-proliferation controls and secure trade |date=11 July 2023 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/resolution-1540-and-the-african-continental-free-trade-area-policy-options-to-strengthen-non-proliferation-controls-and-secure-trade/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2023resolution, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Resolution 1540 and the African Continental Free Trade Area: Policy options to strengthen non-proliferation controls and secure trade}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2023}, month = jul, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/resolution-1540-and-the-african-continental-free-trade-area-policy-options-to-strengthen-non-proliferation-controls-and-secure-trade/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }