The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Friday said it would seek reconciliation with Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger which have announced their withdrawal from the subregional bloc.
In a release after the extraordinary ministerial level session of the Mediation and Security Council (MSC) held in Abuja Nigeria, ECOWAS, stressed the critical need for diplomacy and unity in the face of regional challenges.
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Chair of the Mediation and Security Council, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, described the decision by the three Sahel countries to withdraw from the bloc as yet another challenge for the subregion.
“The choice of these three countries to exit ECOWAS would not only bring hardship to their people but also undermine regional integration efforts,” Tuggar said.
He added, “We must carry forward the momentum generated in this session and continue our efforts to engage with the concerned member states in the spirit of understanding and reconciliation.”
Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger announced their decision to pull out of the subregional bloc, as they deemed sanctions imposed on their countries after the military coups as barbaric and inhumane.
These sanctions imposed on the three countries, following military coups in Mali in 2020, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Niger last July, have resulted in tense relations between the subregional bloc an the three countries.
The bloc’s treaty stipulates that member states wishing to withdraw must give a one-year written notice.
The three countries, however, said on Wednesday that they would not abide by the requirement of one-year notice to withdraw as required by the bloc’s treaty.
Omar Alieu Touray, the president of the ECOWAS Commission, affirmed that the bloc “remains committed to reflecting the aspirations of its citizens for accountable and democratic governance.”