What is ECOWAS? Why have three West African nations withdrawn from it?

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have left the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The countries in a statement said they were leaving the ECOWAS ‘without delay’ and that it was a ‘sovereign decision.’ But what is ECOWAS? And why have the three West African nations withdrawn from it? Let’s take a closer look: What is ECOWAS? ECOWAS was formed on 28 May, 1975 in Nigeria’s Lagos. Its headquarters are in Nigeria’s Abuja. It comprised 15 members – Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sénégal and Togo. Cabo Verde joined the bloc in 1997. Mauritania, which withdrew its membership in 2000, signed an associate-membership pact in 2017. The bloc covers an area spanning 5.2 million square kilometres.

Its combined GDP is estimated to be $734.8 billion.

The ECOWAS’ stated mission is to ‘promote economic integration’ across the region. Its website states, “ECOWAS was set up to foster the ideal of collective self-sufficiency for its member states. As a trading union, it is also meant to create a single, large trading bloc through economic cooperation.” The group is widely seen as West Africa’s top political and regional authority. [caption id=“attachment_13499342” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] ECOWAS logo.[/caption] However, the bloc has struggled in recent years to reverse rampant coups in the region where citizens have complained of not benefitting from rich natural resources. Why have the three West African nations withdrawn? All three nations have been suspended from ECOWAS with Niger and Mali facing heavy sanctions.

As per BBC, the bloc has demanded a return to civilian rule in all three nations.

The countries, which have been struggling with jihadist violence and poverty, have witnessed coups in Niger last July, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Mali in 2020. All three have since linked up in an “Alliance of Sahel States.” The Sahel is the region along the Sahara desert across Africa. The military regimes have announced a departure from the bloc due to “inhumane” sanctions. The juntas said in a joint statement read out on state television in all three countries that they have “decided in complete sovereignty on the immediate withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)," alleging that the bloc has “moved away from the ideals of its founding fathers and pan-Africanism” after nearly 50 years of its establishment. “Furthermore, ECOWAS, under the influence of foreign powers, betraying its founding principles, has become a threat to its member states and its populations whose happiness it is supposed to ensure,” their statements read. “The organisation notably failed to assist these states in their existential fight against terrorism and insecurity,” Colonel Amadou Abdramane, Niger junta spokesman, Abdramane added. It remains unclear how the process of the countries’ withdrawal from the bloc would be carried out in current circumstances. ECOWAS on its website said it is yet to receive any direct, formal notification from the member states about their intention to withdraw. ECOWAS said the three countries remain ‘important members of the Community’ and the bloc ‘remains committed to finding a negotiated solution to the political impasse.’ The bloc’s regional court previously ruled that juntas lack the power to act in place of elected governments on behalf of their nations. The bloc has also said it only recognises democratic governments. As per BBC, member states that wish to leave ECOWAS must inform the block in writing a year in advance. They must also continue to adhere to ECOWAS’ requirements during the year. Sunday’s announcement is the latest twist in a series of events that have deepened political tension in West Africa since it experienced its latest of a string of coups — in Niger — last year. [caption id=“attachment_13390922” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Soldiers loyal to Burkina Faso’s latest coup leader Capt. Ibrahim Traore, are pictured in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. AP[/caption] It also comes as the three nations have formed a security alliance after severing military ties with France and other European nations and turning to Russia for support. A French military withdrawal from the Sahel has heightened concerns over the conflicts spreading southward to Gulf of Guinea states Ghana, Togo, Benin and Ivory Coast. The joint statement accused ECOWAS of failing to assist those three countries in fighting “existential” threats like terrorism — the common reason cited by their militaries for deposing their democratically elected governments. “When these States decided to take their destiny into their own hands, it (ECOWAS) adopted an irrational and unacceptable posture in imposing illegal, illegitimate, inhumane and irresponsible sanctions in violation of its own texts," the statement noted. Rather than improve their situations, the juntas said the ECOWAS sanctions have “further weakened populations already bruised by years of violence.” What happens next? But leaving ECOWAS could make trade more difficult for the three land-locked nations, making goods more expensive, and could also see visa requirements re-imposed for travel. Under pressure from the military regimes, former colonial power France has removed ambassadors and troops and watched Russia fill the void militarily and politically. The French army’s withdrawal from the Sahel – the region along the Sahara desert across Africa – has heightened concerns over the conflicts spreading southward to Gulf of Guinea states Ghana, Togo, Benin and Ivory Coast. As per Al Jazeera, West Africa witnessed over 1,800 attacks in the first six months of 2023 with almost 4,600 dead.

The outlet quoted a top regional official of ECOWAS as saying this was just “a snippet of the horrendous impact of insecurity.”

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Last week’s botched meeting between Niger and ECOWAS — which said its delegation couldn’t visit Niger because of a flight problem — was seen by Niger’s junta as an opportunity to blame the bloc for how it has responded to the coup there, according to Cheta Nwanze, an analyst at Lagos-based SBM Intelligence geopolitical research firm. “This withdrawal looks like an even more diminishing influence of the two traditional superpowers in West Africa — France and Nigeria,” Nwanze said. [caption id=“attachment_12966662” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Burkina Faso’s Captain Ibrahim Traore, left, and Russian president Vladimir Putin shake hands. AP[/caption] The prime minister appointed by Niger’s regime on Thursday blasted ECOWAS for “bad faith” after the bloc largely shunned a planned meeting in Niamey. Niger had hoped for an opportunity to talk through differences with fellow states of ECOWAS which has cold-shouldered Niamey, imposing heavy economic and financial sanctions following the military coup that overthrew elected president Mohamed Bazoum. Niger’s military leaders, wrestling with high food prices and a scarcity of medicines, have said they want up to three years for a transition back to civilian rule. In Mali, the ruling officers under Colonel Assimi Goita had pledged to hold elections in February this year, but that has now been pushed back to an unknown date. Burkina Faso, which has not been put under sanctions although Captain Ibrahim Traore seized power in September 2022, has set elections for this summer, but says the fight against the insurgents remains the top priority. With inputs from agencies