by HILAIRE AVRIL
A half a century after U.S. president Dwight Eisenhower named and denounced the military-industrial complex’s ever-increasing influence on world affairs, the arms trade thrives more than ever, with African states frequently being the destination.
Although figures are hard to come by, the development advocacy group Oxfam estimates that, every year, sub-Saharan African governments spend around 18 billion dollars on weapons and defence, roughly the same amount as that of international development assistance to the region.
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The campaign for an arms trade treaty has recently gathered momentum at the United Nations. In 2009, a U.N. resolution paved the way for negotiations, which started in July 2010. Campaigners hope for a treaty by 2012.
But many observers do not share this optimism.
“A treaty will be a reasonable monitor of new arms deals,” says Lauren Gelfand, Africa editor for Jane’s Defence Weekly. “But it would require a level of transparency that some international weapons manufacturers might be reluctant to accede to.
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