The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) failed to support Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali in their fight against terrorism and failed to respect its own values by imposing sanctions, said Burkina Faso's interim leader Captain Ibrahim Traore in an interview with Cameroonian journalist Alain Foka.
The regional organization was created with the aim of "integrating peoples, promoting development, the economy, solidarity and mutual aid," the Burkinabe leader recalled.
"Unfortunately, with the passage of time, the organization has lost these values. Today, the facts are clear. For more than a decade, Mali and Niger have been at war with terrorism. And in Burkina Faso, we've been at war for almost a decade. We have never received any aid from this organization," said President Troare.
Moreover, ECOWAS does not respect its own rules, notably by imposing sanctions that are not included in its founding charter, Troare said.
"The first to violate these texts are these so-called democrats. We're leaving, but we remain pan-African," he stated.
The leader went on to stress that the decision to leave was well-considered.
"It's not out of the blue to turn your back on an organization, but it's the result of a thorough analysis," the head of state admitted. "If it were a fit of anger, we would have done it a long time ago. We took the time to analyze the situation, weigh a lot of things and finally make a decision."
Break With ECOWAS
Burkina, Mali and Niger announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS on January 28. The organization had failed to help them fight terrorism, the three countries said in a joint communiqué.
Mali and Burkina Faso subsequently sent a "formal notification" of their withdrawal to the community.
These countries have had strained relations with ECOWAS since the military took power in Mali in 2020, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Niger in 2023. The organization has imposed heavy sanctions on the latter and threatened to use military force to return ousted Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum. ECOWAS has also suspended the three countries from its bodies.
For its part, the organization said it was ready for a "negotiated solution" and stressed that the three countries were important members of the community.