West African heads of state met for a summit in Accra, Ghana, this Saturday. ECOWAS looked at the ongoing transitions in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea. Three countries ruled by military juntas since coups. Finally, no easing or tightening of sanctions during this summit.
On Mali, ECOWAS is not satisfied with the 24 months of transition proposed by the junta. The regional organization maintains its 16-month maximum. But within the organization, the traditional consensus between the States has not been found. The Heads of State have therefore decided to postpone their decision until July 3, the next ordinary ECOWAS summit. Until now, a relaxation of sanctions once morest Mali and a possible hardening of positions once morest Guinea were expected.
But this Saturday, the camera was quite long, a sign of possible disagreements. According to several sources, the member countries were divided into two camps. On the one hand, the partisans of a firm line on Mali including in particular Niger, Gambia or Ghana. When others, like Nigeria, are watering down their wine, and are beginning to find the sanctions too harsh for the Malian population, particularly in this period of war in Ukraine which is impacting all the economies of the world. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is, a rare thing, come in person to this ECOWAS summit in Accra. Niger and Gambia in particular are keen to maintain a firm stance on sanctions.
Disagreements or more time left to the juntas?
Did these two blocks fail to tip the balance one way or the other? Or did the heads of state decide to give the juntas more time to clarify their positions? Maybe a bit of both. The UEMOA summit which followed that of ECOWAS turned into a great oral for the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso Albert Ouédraogo and for the Malian Minister for Foreign Affairs Abdoulaye Diop who were able to express themselves before the Heads of State of this organization.
The summit also appointed former Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou as mediator for Burkina Faso. Here too, the regional organization is still waiting for progress on the duration of the transition. Ouagadougou still offers three years, but it is too much for ECOWAS, which nevertheless recognizes the authorities’ dispositions to maintain dialogue with ECOWAS.
The 36 months decided by Guinea are also unacceptable. Conakry, which already escaped sanctions at the end of March, still has a month to review its schedule.
