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NewsRescue
A coalition of African non-governmental organisations has formed to oppose sanctions imposed by the ECOWAS regional political and economic union. According to Le Faso.net, their goal is to have sanctions lifted on four Sahel region countries.
The complaint, filed with the Community Court of the 15-country union, questions the constitutionality of the restrictions placed by ECOWAS on Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Guinea following coups in those countries.
The Coalition of African Patriots of Burkina Faso (COPA/BF) and Ghana’s Youth for Peace and Security – Africa (YPS-Africa) are among the non-profit and non-governmental organisations bringing the action.
Because of the sanctions imposed by ECOWAS on the four post-coup states, land and air borders with the four post-coup countries are closed, transport of food and medications to them is restricted and access to medical care and education is denied to more than 100 million citizens, the authors of the complaint said.
“These harsh and colonial-influenced sanctions are not only immoral, but also illegal and undemocratic, as they are not backed up by any law or provision.” “We requested that the ECOWAS Court consider human-rights violations, African Union discussions on human rights, the revised ECOWAS Treaty and its protocols, as well as international laws, in order to declare sanctions against citizens ILLEGAL,” Le Faso.net cites from the Complainants’ document.
According to the various organisations taking action, ECOWAS sanctions have already resulted in the deaths of more than 125,000 people, with women and children bearing the brunt of the consequences.
ECOWAS (aka CEDEAO) leaders announced the first set of sanctions against Niger during their emergency summit in July. All crossings with Niger were blocked immediately, the flow of goods was halted, and aviation traffic was prohibited.
Sanctions against Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso, all of which have had military coups, will be maintained, according to ECOWAS.
Following the coup in May 2021, the union placed severe sanctions on Mali, closing land and air borders with the country due to the new rulers’ postponing of elections. Malian interim authorities recommended delaying the elections until December 2025.
