Africa

Mali says not bound by one-year period to leave ECOWAS

Supporters of the Alliance Of Sahel States (ASS) hold placards reading ‘no to ECOWAS’, during a rally to celebrate Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger leaving the bloc, in Bamako on February 1, 2024. (Photo: Ousmane Makaveli/ AFP)

By Agency | Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Article 91 of the bloc's treaty stipulates that member countries remain bound by their obligations for a period of one year after notifying their withdrawal.

Mali reaffirmed its exit "without delay" from West African bloc ECOWAS, saying it was not bound by the organisation's one-year timeframe for withdrawal, according to a foreign ministry document seen by AFP Wednesday.

Bamako's military government announced its withdrawal from ECOWAS on January 28, along with neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.

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But article 91 of the bloc's treaty stipulates that member countries remain bound by their obligations for a period of one year after notifying their withdrawal.

"The government of the Republic of Mali is no longer bound (by the) time constraints mentioned in article 91 of the treaty," the foreign affairs ministry said in a letter to ECOWAS.

The letter said that ECOWAS had rendered the treaty "inoperative" when it failed to meet its obligations by closing member states' borders with Mali in 2022, denying it access to the sea.

Mali was a founding member of ECOWAS back in 1975 but the regional group suspended the country and imposed heavy sanctions after a military coup overthrew the elected civilian government.

Story by AFP