Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger want to immediately withdraw from the West African economic partnership ECOWAS. The three military regimes in power there announced this in a statement on Sunday joint statement on state television. They speak of a “sovereign decision.” The three countries do not agree with the sanctions imposed on them since they came under military rule.
The three countries suffered successive coups: in Mali in 2020, in Burkina Faso in 2022 and last July in Niger. All three were subsequently suspended by ECOWAS and Niger and Mali in particular were imposed heavy sanctions. The military authorities of the countries spoke on Sunday of “inhuman sanctions” and believe that the bloc “has become a threat to its member states under international influence.” The member states also believe that ECOWAS has provided too little support in their years of struggle against jihadist violence and poverty.
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Big impact
ECOWAS, which has a total of fifteen members, tried to bring democracy back to the countries with the sanctions by pushing for elections. In principle, a withdrawal from the bloc is not possible ‘immediately’ and must be notified one year in advance, according to a statute that member states subscribe to. It is not certain whether Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali will take any notice of this. This threatens the countries with new sanctions.
Although it is still unclear how this declaration will be implemented in the short term, the impact will be enormous. Due to their central location, all three countries are essential for the stability of the region. By cutting away, the countries also put an end to the mutual agreements that member states have made on everything from uniform customs tariffs to the free movement of people. Neither Mali, Burkina Faso or Niger is located on the sea; Until now, they had largely been dependent on the ports of surrounding countries such as Senegal, Ivory Coast and Benin for the import of goods.
In recent times, the three countries, which have joined together in what they call ‘the Alliance of Sahel States’, have been busy looking for new allies. Delegations flew to Russia, Iran, Turkey, but also to Morocco. The king announced last December that he wanted to open his ports to the three countries.
With the cooperation of Eva Oude Elferink