Disarmament in Review
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement ushers in a new phase of the continent’s integration and development agenda. It seeks to create a single liberalized market of goods and services and promote industrial development through diversification and regional value chain development.
This policy brief explores the interplay between United Nations Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) and the AfCFTA Agreement. It overviews the regional trends propelling growth in trade and industry that will in turn increase the demand for advanced, and potentially dual-use technologies, materials, and equipment from a range of sectors including energy, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and extractive industries.
The policy brief highlights the importance of ensuring that the benefits to be reaped from removing barriers to trade are not overshadowed by the risk of illicit transfers of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and related materials by and to non-State actors. It identifies opportunities to ensure that export and border control measures required by resolution 1540 contributes to setting a reliable, secure, and predictable regional trading system, and thereby serve as an enabler of trade flows and economic development.
This publication is the result of a collaboration between UNODA and the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), with the financial support of the European Union and the Government of the United States.
