Africa
Source tier A. Conventions checked 2026-07-29.
Drug and firearms law in Gambia: statutes on record and in force
Gambia, in Africa, is party to 3 of the four instruments tracked here but not to the Firearms Protocol. It appears on neither FATF list. Its legislation on record runs to 2 confirmed instruments, the earliest from 1935. Every line below carries the source it came from and the date that source was read.
International framework
Gambia is bound by 3 of the four instruments this dataset tracks, the earliest from 1996 and the most recent from 2015. The exception is the Firearms Protocol, and that exception has consequences: 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.
| Instrument | Adopted | Ratified or acceded | Depositary reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 Convention | 1988 | 23 Apr 1996 | Chapter VI-19 |
| UNTOC | 2000 | 5 May 2003 | Chapter XVIII-12 |
| UNCAC | 2003 | 8 Jul 2015 | 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 Gambia: they are the points from which each obligation began to bind, taken from the depositary's own status tables.
National legislation
These are the instruments an official source confirms for Gambia. The list is what could be cited, not necessarily everything in force.
2003 Drug Control Act 2003 — A principal drug control instrument, carrying the 1988 Convention's trafficking and confiscation obligations into domestic law. Confirmed against ons.gov.gm, checked 2026-07-30.
1935 The Dangerous Drugs Ordinance — A principal drug control instrument, carrying the 1988 Convention's trafficking and confiscation obligations into domestic law. Confirmed against the UNODC legal library, checked 2026-07-30.
Enforcement authorities
2 bodies are named in the record for Gambia, each confirmed on Gambia's own government domain. Reading this alongside the treaty position is the point: the conventions say what must be criminalised, and these are the institutions through which that reaches a consignment or a suspect.
| Body | Function | Confirmed on |
|---|---|---|
| Gambia Immigration Department | immigration and frontier control | gid.gov.gm |
| Drug Law Enforcement Agency, The Gambia | dedicated drug-control mandate | ons.gov.gm |
Ratification sequence
A count of four tells you less than the sequence that produced it. Gambia came to these instruments over 19 years, beginning with the 1988 Convention in 1996 and ending with the UNCAC in 2015. Measured against each instrument's own adoption, the shortest gap was the UNTOC at 3 years, the longest the UNCAC at 12.
Gambia became a party to the 1988 Convention in 1996, 8 years after it was adopted — slower than the median lag of 5 years across this dataset.
What sat in the gaps between them is the less obvious half of the record. For the 12 years between 2003 and 2015, Gambia was bound by the 1988 Convention and the UNTOC but not yet by the UNCAC. For the 7 years between 1996 and 2003, Gambia was bound by the 1988 Convention but not yet by the UNTOC or the UNCAC. Nothing in the later instruments reaches back into that window, which is why a complete position today says little about a case from then.
On coverage, Gambia is one of 22 jurisdiction s here party to 3 of the four, against 81 party to all four. 6 of the 53 Africa records here are under increased monitoring as the register stands.
What is not in force
One of the four instruments does not bind Gambia, and the gap has specific consequences rather than symbolic ones.
Firearms Protocol — adopted 2001, and Gambia 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.
Position on the trafficking corridors
Gambia sits on the west african corridor, one of the six corridors profiled here. What the corridor meets at this leg is the record set out above.
The West African corridor — 12 jurisdictions, carrying cocaine. The legs either side of Gambia in the reporting are Senegal and Cabo Verde. Across the corridor as a whole, 9 of the 12 legs are party to all four instruments, 3 sit outside the Firearms Protocol, 1 carry no confirmed national instrument , and 1 is under increased monitoring. Gambia carries one of those gaps. The route page sets out every leg.
Financial-crime monitoring
As of the FATF plenary statements of 2026-06-19, Gambia is recorded as Not listed . The lists are revised three times a year, so this record moves on that cadence rather than continuously. How the plenary reaches these decisions is covered on the FATF grey list tracker.
Questions about drug and firearms law in Gambia
Which drug-control conventions has Gambia ratified?
3 of the four instruments tracked here — the 1988 Convention (23 Apr 1996), the UNTOC (5 May 2003), the UNCAC (8 Jul 2015). It is not a party to the Firearms Protocol.
Is Gambia on the FATF grey list?
No. Gambia 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 Gambia?
2003 Drug Control Act 2003, confirmed against ons.gov.gm; 1935 The Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, confirmed against the UNODC legal library.
Which register confirms the legislation on this page?
Each instrument names its own. For Gambia that is ons.gov.gm, the UNODC legal library. Each link resolves to the register's own copy, not to a summary of it.
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 Gambia, 2 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 Gambia is not a party to the Firearms Protocol?
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.
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.
- 2003 Drug Control Act 2003: ons.gov.gm, checked 2026-07-30.
- 1935 The Dangerous Drugs Ordinance: the UNODC legal library, checked 2026-07-30.