NEW YORK: The African Tax Administration Forum took an active role in the fifth session of negotiations for the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, supporting African countries as they worked on a draft global tax agreement.
The negotiations were held at the United Nations headquarters in New York from 3 to 13 August 2026. ATAF experts worked with African negotiators on the Zero Draft of the convention and a proposed protocol dealing with the taxation of cross border services.
The ATAF delegation was led by Thulani Shongwe, the organisation’s Head of Members and Multilateral Engagement. 
The team provided technical analysis and drafting proposals on both texts, with the aim of ensuring that the emerging international tax framework addresses the needs of African countries.
ATAF said Africa’s role in the negotiations went beyond observing the process, with the continent seeking to shape the agreement and influence decisions affecting the distribution of taxing rights globally.
The organisation also called for the convention’s commitments to be meaningful and binding instead of remaining broad promises without enforceable obligations.
During discussions on cross border services, Emmanuel Eze, ATAF’s Senior Adviser to the African Union, argued that countries where services are consumed should have the right to tax income generated from those services.
Eze presented source taxation as a necessary part of a fair international tax system rather than an issue to be traded away during negotiations.
Anthony Munanda, ATAF’s Head of International Tax, also joined the delegation during talks on preventing and resolving tax disputes.
His contribution focused on developing dispute mechanisms that respect the consent, authority and sovereignty of individual countries.
The fifth session worked from the first complete draft of the convention, together with draft texts on cross border services and dispute prevention and resolution.cesr+1
The negotiations are expected to continue as countries submit written comments and revised texts are prepared before the next session.
The sixth session is scheduled to take place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 30 November to 10 December 2026, bringing the negotiations to Africa for the second time.
