The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has decided to waive some sanctions against Niger Republic, Mali, and Guinea.
The decision was adopted during Saturday’s emergency meeting on the peace, political, and security situation in the ECOWAS sub-region in Abuja.
While the regional group stated that political and targeted sanctions on the Niger Republic would stay in place, it removed certain financial and economic penalties on Guinea as well as other measures against Mali.
Following the military coup in Niger Republic on July 26, 2023, which deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, ECOWAS placed a number of sanctions on the country.
However, reading the declaration issued during the West African bloc’s emergency conference on Saturday, ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray listed some of the sanctions that the Authority agreed to waive.
They include the closure of all ECOWAS countries’ land and air borders with the Niger Republic; a no-fly zone for all commercial flights to and from the Niger Republic; the suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS member states and the Niger Republic; and the freezing of all service transactions, including utility services.
Other sanctions lifted against Niger include the freezing of Niger Republic assets in all ECOWAS Central banks, the freezing of Niger State assets and state enterprises and parastatals in commercial banks, the suspension of Niger Republic from all financial assistance and transactions with all financial institutions, and travel bans on military officials and their families involved in the coup attempt.
Touray stated that ECOWAS’ decision is based on humanitarian concerns, particularly “as we are in the month of Lent and as we prepare for the holy month of Ramadan”.
He also stated that the authorities decided to withdraw prohibitions on the recruitment of Malian people into statutory and professional posts within ECOWAS, as well as financial and economic penalties on the Republic of Guinea.
The ECOWAS President went on to say that the Commission has directed him to invite Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, and Guinea to ECOWAS technical and consultative meetings, as well as all security-related meetings.
ECOWAS instructed all of its institutions, member nations, and other regional entities to carry out these resolutions.
