Africa: Nations should support an Arms Trade Treaty

African nations were today (December 7) challenged to publicly declare their support for an international Arms Trade Treaty as the France-Africa Summit began in Mali. Only last weekend, leaders from 52 Commonwealth countries, 18 of them African, called for better control of small arms and for negotiations to begin on an Arms Trade Treaty. African countries including Mali, Ghana, Senegal and Kenya have already given their backing to the Treaty, which would ban all arms transfers which are likely to lead to human rights abuses. Other African nations should follow their lead, said campaigners.