Flew, Catherine and Angus Urquhart. 2004 ‘Import, Export and Transit - Licensing.’ Strengthening Small Arms controls: An Audit of Small Arms Control Legislation in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa - Eritrea, p. 20. London: Saferworld / SaferAfrica. 1 February

Relevant contents

Import, Export and Transit - Licensing

Current national legislative controls:

Transitional Penal Code
Art. 475

Prohibited Traffic of Arms

1. Whosoever:

(a) apart from offenses against the security of the State (Art. 254), makes, imports, exports or transports, acquires, receives, stores or hides, offers for sale, puts into circulation or distributes, without special authorization or contrary to law, weapons or munitions of any kind; or

(b) without indulging in trafficking, knowingly sells, delivers or hand over to suspect or dangerous persons, is punishable with simple imprisonment, without prejudice to the imposition of a fine, where he has acted for gain or has made a profession of such activities, and to confiscation of material seized.

2. Occasional violation of police regulations, and carrying or use of prohibited weapons are subject to the penalties for petty offenses (Art. 763 and 764).

Conformity:

The national legislation conforms in part to the regional and international agreements. Provisions exist in some areas but a number of gaps are evident.

The import, export and transport of arms is only allowed with special authorisation.

There are, however, no provisions detailing the regulations and administrative procedures under which the import or export of arms with special authorisation may occur. Furthermore there requirement for the use of end-user certification, of specific transit controls or of procedures for the auditing and monitoring of licences, and no requirement that export applications are assessed in a manner consistent with existing responsibilities under international law.

Last accessed at:
http://www.saferworld.org.uk/downloads/pubdocs/Horn%20Eritrea.pdf