ECOWAS urged to seek UN, AU intervention over regional crisis

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been urged to seek the intervention of the United Nations (UN), the African union (AU) and the Diaspora Community in the mediation process with the three Sahelian countries of Niger, Burkina-Faso and Mali in the ongoing plan of bringing them back into the regional bloc. This […]

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been urged to seek the intervention of the United Nations (UN), the African union (AU) and the Diaspora Community in the mediation process with the three Sahelian countries of Niger, Burkina-Faso and Mali in the ongoing plan of bringing them back into the regional bloc.

This is contained in the communique of a joint forum in Abuja organised by the West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network (WADEMOS) and Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-Ghana) with the theme, ‘Strengthening Response to Democratic Recession in West Africa: The Role of the Diaspora Community’.

The communique jointly signed by Mr Paul Osei Kuffour, WADEMOS Coordinator and Mr Austin Aigbe, ECOWAS Liaison and Advocacy Lead, noted the failure of ECOWAS in its recent mediation efforts with Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso who pulled out of the regional bloc over the military coups in the three countries.

The forum urged ECOWAS to improve on its communication strategy and clearly communicate information to the citizens of the community, as the majority of citizens in the Alliance of Sahelian States (AES) are not aware of the implication of the three countries exit from ECOWAS.

Participants at the forum agreed to continue to support ECOWAS as an agent of integration of the peoples of the region, calling on the regional body to reinvent itself in promoting the ECOWAS of the People.

“We reiterate our strong opposition to the overbearing colonial legacies and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) in the domestic affairs and the peacefully established status of territories of the region.

“We appeal to the military leaders of the Alliance of the Sahelian States to remain in the ECOWAS. While calling for the immediate restructuring of ECOWAS: ensuring checks and balances are effective. Condemn the structure where power is concentrated in the Heads of States over the ECOWAS Parliament and the Regional Court.

“Recommend a strong CSO and diaspora network to mobilize resources for advocacy and for the protection of human rights in the region and demand a more democratic region that is able to meet the needs of the people, we call for immediate closure of the gap between the citizens and the leaders.

“We demand that ECOWAS be more responsible and more responsive to the needs of citizens. Call for the defense of human rights activists, especially women who face a double challenge as human rights defenders.  In addition, women will be more vulnerable with the exit of the AES,” the communique said.

Participants expressed worries that “The last two decades have seen manifestations of democratic backsliding that is escalating in all forms and scope and the decision of the military governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to withdraw from the ECOWAS bloc and the submission of a one-year formal notice of their withdrawal to the Commission, citing ECOWAS’s deviation from the ideals of its founding fathers and Pan-Africanism after nearly 50 years of existence.

They lamented that the withdrawal of these states will threatens the continuation of several significant interventions, projects and programmes, including the Regional Food Security Reserve, which hosts stocks for about 52% of the regional stock; the Regional Support Programme for Pastoralism in the Sahel, financed by the World Bank to the tune of $215 million for the three states.

Also is the Sahel Regional Irrigation Support Programme, financed by the World Bank, to the tune of $103.43 million for the three states among others.

They said, “We demand for two-term limits for ECOWAS heads of state and government, while condemning all unconstitutional changes of government in the region, including changes to a country’s constitution to extend the tenure of presidents.

“We urged the ECOWAS to openly condemn member states violating its Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. We urged ECOWAS to develop a mechanism of communicating early warnings/compliance/response to democratic recession in the region.”