“The African continent faces a number of security challenges, including the proliferation of small arms and light weapons
and illicit trans-border activities such as drug and human trafficking. Given the enormity of these immediate challenges,
should Africa be concerned about chemical and biological weapons? This paper argues that the 1972 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (BTWC) and the 1993 Convention on the
Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (CWC), do not adequately address the specific concerns of African states, such as the prevention of the deliberate or accidental outbreak
of disease. The conclusion is that much work must still be done before African states can be truly incorporated into the global non-proliferation regime and that there is an urgent need to engage more frequently and systematically on issues relevant
specifically to developing countries.”
