The leaders of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, three West African military-led republics, announced on Sunday via their national television networks that they will leave the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The juntas stated in a joint statement that ECOWAS had strayed from the goals of its “founding fathers and the spirit of Pan-Africanism,” and accused the bloc of failing to help them battle Islamist rebels and remove instability.
ECOWAS subsequently placed a slew of economic, political, and financial penalties on the three countries in an attempt to force them to “return to constitutional order,” but this has only strengthened the military leaders’ resolve.
The three nations’ interim officials described the ECOWAS penalties as “illegitimate” and “immoral.”
According to Article 91 of the ECOWAS Treaty, a member state can only leave its membership after providing one-year’s written notice and abiding by the organization’s requirements during that time. It is unknown whether the three plan to do so.
Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso are landlocked countries that import and export goods through ECOWAS ports. Tariffs may rise as a result of leaving the ECOWAS, affecting the free movement of individuals and financial flows within the regional union.
In December, Morocco launched an effort that would offer Sahelian countries access to the Atlantic called the “Royal Initiative on Sahel Countries’ Access to the Atlantic,” a pact bringing together Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad.
The decision to leave is viewed as a key challenge for current ECOWAS chair Nigeria, whose President Bola Tinubu has attempted to reaffirm the country’s status as the main regional force.
ECOWAS, which has been negotiating with Niger’s junta leaders, has already stated that if diplomatic attempts fail, it will send soldiers to restore constitutional order.
ECOWAS is a 15-member regional organization, created in 1975, to foster economic integration and shared development in the West African subregion.