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The stability of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been under serious threat since Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso decided to leave the regional bloc last January. At its summit in Abuja, Nigeria, ECOWAS appointed Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye as a special envoy to try to renew dialogue with these countries.
The mission comes at a time of high regional tension. The three states concerned, all of which have experienced coups in recent years, had already stated at a summit held the day before that summit that they had “irrevocably turned their backs on ECOWAS.”
This is a first in the almost 50-year history of the regional bloc, which has never lost members in this way.
Analysts agree that Mr. Faye’s mission will be difficult and probably unsuccessful in the immediate term, given the deep tensions that remain.
“Our region is also facing the risks of disintegration. When you walk out of an agreement, you are definitely not part of it,” warned Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission.
Beyond the political aspects, the withdrawal of the three countries also threatens the region’s economic and security gains. ECOWAS, as the main political and economic body in West Africa, offers free movement of people and goods between its member states. Their departure could therefore affect these benefits and further complicate the management of cross-border security crises.
Faced with this situation, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who holds the rotating presidency of the bloc, called for “new and stronger partnerships” to address the “enormous challenges” facing the region.
According to him, “together, we can pave the way for a prosperous future for all of West Africa.”
The mediation mission entrusted to the Senegalese president promises to be complex, in a context of regional tensions exacerbated by coups d’état and the rise of security challenges.
Recalling that Mr. Diomaye Faye had, last May, declared that he hoped for a possible reconciliation. The sanctions, lifted last February, have done little to thaw the diplomatic situation.
It should be noted that the three Sahelian countries announced last Saturday the creation of the Confederation of Sahel States, stressing that the peoples of the Sahel had decided to turn a new page by sealing their divorce with ECOWAS.
Nigerien leader Adbourahamane Tiani had called for the construction of a “community far from the control of foreign powers”, adding that his country, along with its allies Burkina Faso and Mali, had “irrevocably turned its back” on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Ties between ECOWAS and the Sahelian states deteriorated in July 2023 with the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum in Niger, with ECOWAS threatening to intervene militarily and imposing sanctions against Niger.
The trio had announced their departure from the Community last January, accusing it of being subservient to Paris, against the backdrop of France’s failure to defeat terrorism in the area. In March, they announced the creation of a joint anti-terrorist force.