United Nations Arms Trade Treaty: the Security Challenges for African Union

In extant international studies scholarship, indications are replete that insecurity is one of the greatest problems confronting many African states today. The illicit importation of arms into the continent and its consequent proliferation worsens the already precarious situation. With such proliferation of arms, comes its abuse particularly in posing serious challenges to the maintenance of security amongst African states and the increased difficulty in combating crime. It is therefore necessary to investigate into how trade and proliferation of small arms and light weapons have contributed to conflicts, if not anarchy in Africa, in recent years. To this end, the availability of small arms and light weapons in the hands of criminals, ethno-religious militants and insurgents, has proven to be an enormous challenge to both the African and global security architecture, thus precipitating the setting up of the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty to address it. Therefore, relying on applied research method, this study examines the relationship between the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty and insecurity in Africa. It has been found that the lofty ideal of the Arms Trade Treaty is yet to be matched with commensurate security of the continent, possibly due to lack of political will for its implementation. Moreover, since the treaty focuses on sales of arms, the African security problem may remain unresolved as it neither halts the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) nor punishes its abuse.