ECOWAS decides to maintain suspension of Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea from its bodies
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The heads of state and government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) decided on Saturday to maintain the suspension of Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea from all the bodies of the regional organisation, the Malian Press Agency (AMAP) reported on its website on Monday.
This was contained in a communiqué issued on Sunday following an extraordinary session on the sidelines of the 36th Ordinary Summit of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
the West African leaders "rejected the joint request made by the foreign ministers of the three countries in transition (Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali) to ask for the lifting of (their) suspension from the bodies of the sub-regional organization.
The ECOWAS Heads of State also "maintained the existing sanctions, including the ban on travel to ECOWAS by members of the government and senior officials of these countries".
These decisions were taken after considering reports presented by the ECOWAS mediators for Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali.
The three countries have launched a diplomatic offensive with ECOWAS and the African Union (AU) in accordance with the final communiqué of their tripartite meeting of foreign ministers held on 8-9 February in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.
However, ECOWAS said it had "taken note of the progress made as well as the serious humanitarian and security challenges" facing the three countries, notably Burkina Faso and Mali.
The Conference of Heads of State and Government instructs the President of the ECOWAS Commission "to accompany the implementation of the roadmaps of the Transition and to strengthen security and humanitarian support to the affected countries, with a view to alleviating the suffering of the populations".
The meeting called on the United Nations, the AU and all international partners to support the implementation of ECOWAS decisions concerning the three countries.
The three countries had also made the same request to the AU to lift their suspension from the continental organization.
-0- PANA GT/IS/BBA/RA 20Feb2023
