The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced on Sunday the lifting of sanctions imposed on Guinea, following a similar decision made a day earlier for military-led Niger. The decision was reached during an extraordinary summit of ECOWAS heads of state in Abuja, Nigeria.
Additionally, the bloc lifted restrictions on the recruitment of citizens of Mali to professional positions within ECOWAS institutions.
Originally, ECOWAS had imposed sanctions on Niger, Guinea, Mali, and Burkina Faso, suspending them due to military coups in these countries between 2020 and the previous year.
In a statement on Saturday, ECOWAS instructed the president of the commission to invite all four member states in transition to technical and consultative meetings, emphasizing the importance of their participation in security-related discussions.
Furthermore, ECOWAS urged Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger to reconsider their decisions to withdraw from the organization. On the same day, ECOWAS heads of state ordered the reopening of land borders with Niger and lifted asset freezes against Niger’s ruling generals on humanitarian grounds.
Analysts interpret these decisions as a signal of ECOWAS’s commitment to retaining junta-led nations as members.