A Review of International Legal Instruments - Facilitation of Transport and Trade in Africa

A Review of International Legal Instruments - Facilitation of Transport and Trade in Africa, second edition, Jean Grosdidier de Matons, Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Program (SSATP), March 2014 (English and French)

Transport infrastructure is essential for inclusive growth and poverty reduction but the investments in building and maintaining it remain sub-optimal as long as the movement of goods is not seamless across countries and (sub)regions. Harmonized standards, operations and processes are critical to facilitate international transport and trade and to eliminate market access barriers. Many countries negotiate international treaties or become parties to existing instruments in order to eliminate such barriers and achieve better regional integration. This review provides a corpus or inventory of legal instruments aimed at facilitating trade and transport within Africa and between countries of the region. Access to and ratification of basic worldwide agreements on trade and facilitation remain uneven. The review also shows some discrepancies between legal instruments and that bringing legal instruments into force remains weak. 

Related Information: 

Transport PPPs

Transport Policies, Laws and International Agreements

Cross-Border Railway Traffic

Tracking Reference: 

SSATP_Review International Legal Instruments_EN.pdf