Africa
Source tier A. Conventions checked 2026-07-29.
Drug and firearms law in Eritrea: statutes on record and in force
Eritrea, in Africa, is party to 2 of the four instruments tracked here but not to the UNCAC or the Firearms Protocol. It appears on neither FATF list. Its confirmed instrument on record is the Penal Code – Part II, Book II, Chapter 11, Arts. 233-236. Where a field could not be sourced it is reported as unsourced rather than left to be inferred.
International framework
Eritrea is bound by 2 of the four instruments this dataset tracks, the earliest from 2002 and the most recent from 2014. It is not a party to the UNCAC or the Firearms Protocol.
| Instrument | Adopted | Ratified or acceded | Depositary reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 Convention | 1988 | 30 Jan 2002 | Chapter VI-19 |
| UNTOC | 2000 | 25 Sep 2014 | Chapter XVIII-12 |
| UNCAC | 2003 | not a party | Chapter XVIII-14 |
| Firearms Protocol | 2001 | not a party | Chapter XVIII-12-c |
What each instrument obliges a party to do is set out once, per instrument, in the conventions reference. The dates above are what is specific to Eritrea: they are the points from which each obligation began to bind, taken from the depositary's own status tables.
National legislation
Each instrument below was located on an official register and is named exactly as that register names it, in the language of enactment.
Penal Code – Part II, Book II, Chapter 11, Arts. 233-236 — A code rather than a dedicated statute: the offences sit within the general body of law and are read together with its provisions on attempt, participation and sentencing. Confirmed against the UNODC legal library, checked 2026-07-30.
Enforcement authorities
No enforcement body is named in this record for Eritrea. The bodies that would appear
here are those identified on the jurisdiction's own government hosts — the police service,
customs administration, prosecuting authority or dedicated drug agency, reachable under the .er country-code domain. No citable naming was located. The institutions almost certainly exist; what is missing is an official page that identifies them, which is the only thing this field records.
Ratification sequence
How a state assembled its treaty position is itself a fact about the position. Eritrea came to these instruments over 12 years, beginning with the 1988 Convention in 2002 and ending with the UNTOC in 2014.
Eritrea became a party to the 1988 Convention in 2002, 14 years after it was adopted — slower than the median lag of 5 years across this dataset.
Between the first date and the last, the framework binding this jurisdiction was incomplete in specific ways. For the 12 years between 2002 and 2014, Eritrea was bound by the 1988 Convention but not yet by the UNTOC. The practical effect is on what could be charged, and on what could be confiscated, in the years before the later instruments arrived.
On coverage, Eritrea is one of 2 jurisdiction s here party to 2 of the four, against 81 party to all four. Within Africa the dataset holds 53 jurisdictions, of which 6 are currently under FATF increased monitoring.
What is not in force
2 of the four instruments do not bind Eritrea. Each gap removes something particular.
UNCAC — adopted 2003, and Eritrea is not a party. In practice, the asset-recovery route is unavailable, which matters most where proceeds are moved abroad through a corrupt public official rather than by a trafficking network.
Firearms Protocol — adopted 2001, and Eritrea is not a party. In practice, there is no treaty obligation to mark or trace weapons, so a firearm recovered at a crime scene may have no route back to its point of diversion — the single most common reason a trafficking chain cannot be reconstructed.
Financial-crime monitoring
As of the FATF plenary statements of 2026-06-19, Eritrea is recorded as Not listed . A jurisdiction can enter or leave either list at any plenary, so this line is dated rather than settled. The process is described on the FATF grey list tracker.
Questions about drug and firearms law in Eritrea
Which drug-control conventions has Eritrea ratified?
2 of the four instruments tracked here — the 1988 Convention (30 Jan 2002), the UNTOC (25 Sep 2014). It is not a party to the UNCAC or the Firearms Protocol.
Is Eritrea on the FATF grey list?
No. Eritrea appears on neither the increased-monitoring list nor the call-for-action list in the FATF statements of 19 June 2026.
What national drug legislation is on record for Eritrea?
Penal Code – Part II, Book II, Chapter 11, Arts. 233-236, confirmed against the UNODC legal library.
Which register confirms the legislation on this page?
Each instrument names its own. For Eritrea that is the UNODC legal library. The entry links straight to the document, so the wording can be checked rather than taken on trust.
What is source tier A, and why is this record in it?
Tier A means a national instrument has been confirmed against an official register — for Eritrea, 1 of them. The treaty dates and the listing status are separately sourced, so all three layers of this record carry a citation.
What does it mean that Eritrea is not a party to the UNCAC?
In practice, the asset-recovery route is unavailable, which matters most where proceeds are moved abroad through a corrupt public official rather than by a trafficking network.
Sources
- Ratification dates: United Nations Treaty Collection, depositary status tables (chapters VI-19, XVIII-12, XVIII-14, XVIII-12-c). Checked 2026-07-29.
- Listing status: FATF, Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring and High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action, 2026-06-19.
- Penal Code – Part II, Book II, Chapter 11, Arts. 233-236: the UNODC legal library, checked 2026-07-30.