The 63rd session of the Conference of Heads of State of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) ended on Sunday July 9 in Bissau, capital of Guinea-Bissau. And it was the president of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, who was elected current president of the organization, replacing the Bissau-Guinean leader Umaro Sissoco Embalo. On the agenda of the meeting of Heads of State of the sub-region: the ongoing transitions in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea. On another aspect, there was also talk of the advancement of the future ECOWAS force called upon to fight against terrorism or to intervene if necessary in States in order to restore constitutional order.

President Tinubu made unconstitutional changes one of his priorities, including insisting that democracy was “the best form of government”, although it was “very difficult to manage”. “We need it to be an example for the rest of Africa and the world,” he said. We will not allow coup after coup in West Africa,” he added. Three ECOWAS members (Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso) have suffered five coups since 2020.

Omar Alieu Touray, president of the ECOWAS commission, urged the juntas of these countries to respect the agreed deadlines to hand over power to civilian leaders. “In the event that the time allotted for the transition fails, major sanctions may fall,” he warned.

On Sunday, Omar Alieu Touray said ECOWAS had set up a commission to examine security options in Mali, as the United Nations winds down its peacekeeping mission there, which lasted for ten years. “This commission has 90 days to reflect and make proposals,” he said.

Mali has been in the grip of a deep security crisis since 2012, fueled by jihadist and separatist groups or proclaimed self-defense. Starting from the north, it spread to the center of the country and then to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.

Tinubu, who was sworn in as president of Africa’s largest economy in May, pledged ECOWAS members would pursue “inclusive” economic integration over the coming year. “We should warn the exploiters that our people have suffered enough,” he said on Sunday. I am with you, and Nigeria, we are back. »

On Saturday, the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) agreed to lift Mali’s suspension from its organs and institutions, decided in January 2022 to sanction the junta’s intention to stay in power for several years. “Regarding Mali, the Conference decided to lift its suspension from the organs and institutions of WAEMU taken on January 9, 2022”, she announced, without further details.

ECOWAS had also imposed a series of measures against the Sahel state, but lifted them in July 2022 after the junta agreed to a transition in March 2024.

Mali was also suspended from decision-making bodies of ECOWAS after the military took power in 2020. The head of the Malian junta, Assimi Goita, seized power in August 2020, then put in establishes an interim government led by civilians. In May 2021, he deposed these civilian leaders in a second coup, later being sworn in as interim president.

In June, Malians overwhelmingly approved the draft new Constitution, an important step on the road that is supposed to culminate in March 2024 in the return of civilians to the head of the country.