The Heads of State and Government considered the report presented by H.E. Dr Goodluck Ebele JONATHAN on the situation in Mali and the reports of the ECOWAS Assessment Mission to Burkina Faso and on the situation in Guinea presented by Hon. Albert KAN-DAPAAH, Minister of National Security of the Republic of Ghana, representing H.E. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of the Republic of Ghana, Chair of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers.
The Authority has also considered the memorandum presented by the President of the Commission on the deployment of the Support Mission for the Stabilisation in Guinea Bissau and on the Financial Situation of the Missions.
The Authority commends the quality of the documents presented and takes note of the recommendations contained therein.
On the Burkina Faso security front, the Authority takes note of the efforts made by Burkina Faso, despite its numerous challenges, in recovering some localities, thus leading to the return of some of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and the reopening of some schools.
In this regard, the Authority encourages the Transition Authorities to sustain the momentum towards further enhancing security in the country.
On the humanitarian front, the Authority expresses serious concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation compared to the situation noted by the previous ECOWAS mission in the country in April 2022. It calls on the 4 International Communities to strengthen its humanitarian support to Burkina Faso.
The Authority welcomes the decision to allow former President Kaboré to return to his home and insists that he be given full freedom. The Authority reiterates its concern about the duration of the transition period set at 36 months by the Burkinabé Authorities as stated in its Communiqué issued on 25 March 2022.
Consequently, and in accordance with the decision of the Extraordinary Summit held on 3 February 2022, the Authority; Reiterates its strong condemnation of the coup d’état of 24 January 2022; decides to uphold the suspension of Burkina Faso from all ECOWAS institutions until constitutional order is restored; demands the finalisation of an acceptable transition timetable; takes note of the correspondence of 31 May 2022, from the Transition Authorities stating their willingness and commitment to continue dialogue with ECOWAS to ensure a return to constitutional order as soon as possible; and decides, in line with this commitment, to continue the discussions with the authorities on the transition with a view to reaching an agreement.
On Guinea, the Authority expresses serious concern over the deteriorating sociopolitical situation notably due to the lack of an appropriate dialogue framework between the government and the political stakeholders and civil society actors. The Authority is also concerned about the length of the 36-month transition period announced by the transition authorities.
The Authority demands the finalisation of an acceptable transition timetable; urges the government to establish an appropriate framework for dialogue with political and civil society stakeholders in order to ease the socio-political tension and ensure a peaceful transition; recommends the continuation of the discussions on these two items; confirms the designation of H.E. Mohamed Ibn CHAMBAS as ECOWAS mediator in Guinea; calls upon the government to respect the human rights of all Guinean citizen and to desist from any arbitrary act that undermines the rule of law in Guinea.
On Mali, the Authority commends the efforts made by the ECOWAS mediator with a view to reaching an acceptable timetable to ensure a quick return to constitutional order, in accordance with the ECOWAS and African Union protocols and decisions.
The Authority decides to ask the Mediator to Mali to continue his efforts and to finalise the discussions with the Transition Authorities. Accordingly, the Authority decides to uphold the sanctions imposed on 9th January 2022; Continue the dialogue with a view to reaching an agreement to ensure a gradual lifting of the sanctions as benchmarks of the transition are met; call on partners to increase their humanitarian support to Mali.
On the Stabilisation Support Mission in Guinea Bissau (MASGB) and on the Financial Situation of the Stabilisation Missions, the Authority takes note of the Commission's report on the deployment of the Mission in Guinea-Bissau, with a view to ensuring the stability of the country. It expresses gratitude to the troop-contributing countries (TCC) for their support and takes note of the financial situation of the Stabilisation Missions.
