West African Economic Community

West African Economic Community ; CEDEAO / ECOWAS
	; Member States
English name	Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
French name	Communauté économique des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (CEDEAO)
Portuguese name	Comunidade Económica dos Estados da África Ocidental (CEDEAO)
Organization type	Regional economic and political cooperation
Seat of the organs	; Abuja ( Nigeria ) (Central Administration, Parliament, Court of Justice) ; Lomé ( Togo ) ( ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development ) ; Bobo-Dioulasso ( Burkina Faso ) ( West African Health Organization ) ;
Chair	Mahamadou Issoufou
Parliamentary Assembly	Community Parliament
Member States	15 : Benin ; Burkina Faso ; Ivory Coast ; Gambia ; Ghana ; Guinea ; Guinea-Bissau ; Cape Verde ; Liberia ; Mali ; Niger ; Nigeria ; Senegal ; Sierra Leone ; Togo ;
Official and working languages	English; French; Portuguese;
surface	5,112,903 km²
population	400.130.193
Population density	78 inhabitants per km²
gross domestic product	556.923 billion US $ (2017)
Gross domestic product per inhabitant	1392 US $ (2017)
founding	May 28, 1975; (Treaty of Lagos)
Currencies	( Eco common currency planned) CFA Franc BCEAO (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo) ; Cedi (Ghana); Dalasi (Gambia); Franc Guinea (Guinea); Cape Verde Escudo; Sierra Leonean Leone; Liberian dollar; Naira (Nigeria); US dollar (Liberia);
anthem	[1]
Time zone	UTC − 1 to UTC + 1
Subsidiary organizations	Parliament ( Community Parliament ); Commission; Court of Justice ( Court of Justice ); Development and Investment Bank ( Bank for Investment and Development ; EBID); Organizational unit for the preparation of infrastructure projects and development ( Infrastructure Projects Preparation and Development Unit ; PPDU); Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE); Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA); Multilateral Action Group against Money Laundary and Terrorist Financing in West Africa (GIABA); Gender and Development Center; Water Resources Coordination Center (WRCC); West African Health Organization ( West African Health Organization , WAHO); West African Monetary Agency (WAMA); West African electricity pool ( West African Power Pool ; WAPP); Youth and Sports Development Center; Committee on Administration, Finance, Budget control & Audits; Committee on Agriculture, Environment, Water ressources and Sustainable development; Committee on Communications and Information technology; Committee on Economic Policies, Private Sector & NEPAD; Committee on Education, Science and Technologies; Committee on Gender, Women empowerment & Social protection; Committee on Health and Social Services; Committee on Human rights, Child protection & Other vulnerable groups; Committee on Infrastructure, Energy, Mine & Industry; Committee on Labor, Employment, Youth, sport & Culture; Committee on Legal and Judicial affairs; Committee on Political affairs, Peace, Security & Affairs peer review mechanism; Committee on Trade, Customs & Free movement;
	ecowas.int

The West African Economic Community ( French Communauté économique des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest , CEDEAO ; English Economic Community of West African States , ECOWAS ; Portuguese Comunidade Económica dos Estados da África Ocidental , CEDEAO ) is an international organization of currently 15 states in West Africa .

history

The forerunner of the union after the dissolution of the French colony of French West Africa was the West African Customs Union ( Union Douanière de l'Afrique de l'Ouest ; UDAO) founded on June 9, 1959 . On March 14, 1966, the UDAO was transformed into a comprehensive organization called the Customs Union of West African States ( Union Douanière des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest ; UDEAO). At the UDEAO summit on May 21, 1970 in Bamako , it was formally dissolved and in 1973 it was decided to found a West African Economic Community ( Communauté Economique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest ; CEAO) based in Ouagadougou . The CEAO was founded at the summit meeting in Abidjan on April 12, 1974 with the member states Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal. In addition to the Mano River Union (MRU) with Ivory Coast, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone based in Freetown, the CEAO continues to be an independent organization in West Africa.

The West African Economic Community was founded on May 28, 1975 with the signing of the Lagos Treaty and came into force in 1976. In 1978 a non-aggression protocol followed and on May 29, 1981 an agreement on common defense by the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG).

The Revised Treaty of July 24, 1993 in Cotonou ( Benin ) formally replaced the Treaty of Lagos and put ECOWAS on a new legal basis. The aim of the merger is to expand economic integration . In the course of time there were other goals, including a. Gradual political integration , which found expression in the establishment of a joint West African court of justice and in a joint West African parliament in 2001. In addition, the military intervention of ECOMOG in Liberia during the civil war in the early 1990s added an important role in security policy should take into account the changing framework conditions after the end of the Cold War.

The aim at the time of foundation was to achieve “collective self-sufficiency” for the member states, possible through the establishment of a common internal market and an economic and monetary union . The most recently decided introduction of the Eco as the West African currency was postponed again after 2004 in 2009, as the agreed convergence criteria could not be met by all those involved due to political and economic problems. The introduction is now planned for 2020.

Mauritania , one of the founding members, left the community in 2001 in order to orient itself more politically in the Arab-African region ( Arab League , Union of the Arab Maghreb ).

Within the community, the structure is characterized by a strong predominance of Nigeria . The secretariat is also based in Abuja, Nigeria . The country provides more than half of the community's population and economic strength. Within ECOWAS there is still a separate, francophone community with a similar structure, which at least at present must still be viewed as competition with the larger organization.

Organs and institutions

EBID headquarters in Lomé , Togo

ECOWAS Commission ( The ECOWAS Commission ), named Executive Council from 1977 to 2006, in Abuja (Nigeria)

ECOWAS Parliament ( The ECOWAS Parliament ), in Abuja, Nigeria

Community (Court The Community Court of Justice ) in Abuja, Nigeria

Development bank EBID ( ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development ) based in Lomé ( Togo )

West African Health Organization ( West African Health Organization ) in Bobo-Dioulasso ( Burkina Faso )

Multilateral Action Group against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in West Africa ( The Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in West Africa ) based in Dakar ( Senegal )

houses of Parliament

The ECOWAS parliament has 115 members. The number of seats per member state is based on the number of inhabitants. Nigeria has 35 seats, followed by Ghana with 8 seats and Ivory Coast with 7 seats. Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Senegal each send 6, all other countries 5 MPs.

Member states and key figures

Source unless otherwise stated: World Fact Book , Retrieved May 29, 2020

Country	Capital	population	Area (km²)	GDP (million US $ )	Official language
Benin Benin ¹	Porto-Novo	12,864,634	112,622	9.246	French
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso ¹	Ouagadougou	20.835.401	274.200	12,570	French
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast ^{1, 3}	Yamoussoukro	27,481,086	322,463	40,470	French
Gambia Gambia ²	Banjul	2,173,999	11,300	1,482	English
Ghana Ghana ²	Accra	29,340,248	238,533	47.020	English
Guinea-a Guinea ^2.3	Conakry	12,527,440	245.857	10,250	French
Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ¹	Bissau	1,927,104	36,125	1,350	Portuguese
Cape Verde Cape Verde	Praia	583.225	4.033	1,776	Portuguese
Liberia Liberia ^2.3	Monrovia	5,073,296	111,369	3.285	English
Mali Mali ¹	Bamako	19,553,397	1,240,192	15,370	French
Niger Niger ¹	Niamey	22,772,361	1,266,700	8.224	French
Nigeria Nigeria ²	Abuja	214.028.302	923,768	376,400	English
Senegal Senegal ¹	Dakar	15,736,368	196.722	21,110	French
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone ^2.3	Freetown	6,624,933	71,740	3,612	English
Togo Togo ¹	Lomé	8,608,444	56,785	4,767	French

¹ These countries also form the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).
² These countries also form the West African Currency Zone (WAMZ).
³ These countries also form the Mano River Union (MRU).

Morocco first expressed its interest in joining the economic community in 2017. Since then the country has signed numerous bilateral agreements with member states. Nevertheless, Nigeria in particular speaks out against membership.

ECOWAS suspended Mali after the coup in August 2020 .

Leaders

President

The Presidents of the ECOWAS Commission since 2007:

Term of office	President	Member State
January 1, 2007 - February 18, 2010	Mohamed Ibn Chambas	Ghana Ghana
February 18, 2010 - March 1, 2012	James Victor Gbeho	Ghana Ghana
March 1, 2012 - June 4, 2016	Kadré Désiré Ouédraogo	Burkina Faso Burkina Faso
June 4, 2016 - July 27, 2018	Marcel Alain de Souza	Benin Benin
since July 27, 2018	Jean-Claude Kassi Brou	Ivory Coast Ivory Coast

Executive secretaries

The executive secretaries of the Executive Board from 1977 to 2006:

Term of office	Secretary	Member State
January 1977–1985	Aboubakar Diaby Ouattara	Ivory Coast Ivory Coast
1985-1989	Momodu Munu	Sierra Leone Sierra Leone
1989-1993	Abass Bundu	Sierra Leone Sierra Leone
1993-1997	Edouard Benjamin	Guinea-a Guinea
September 1997 - January 31, 2002	Lansana Kouyaté	Guinea-a Guinea
February 1, 2002 - December 31, 2006	Mohamed Ibn Chambas	Ghana Ghana

Chairperson

Mahamadou Issoufou, chairman of ECOWAS

Term of office	Chairperson	Member State
1977-1988	Gnassingbé Eyadéma	Togo Togo
1978-1979	Olusegun Obasanjo	Nigeria Nigeria
1979-1980	Léopold Sédar Senghor	Senegal Senegal
1980-1981	Gnassingbé Eyadéma	Togo Togo
1981-1982	Siaka Stevens	Sierra Leone Sierra Leone
1982-1983	Mathieu Kérékou	Benin Benin
1983-1984	Ahmed Sékou Touré	Guinea-a Guinea
1984-1985	Lansana Conté	Guinea-a Guinea
1985 - August 27, 1985	Muhammadu Buhari	Nigeria Nigeria
August 27, 1985 - 1989	Ibrahim Babangida	Nigeria Nigeria
1989-1990	Dawda Jawara	Gambia Gambia
1990-1991	Blaise Compaoré	Burkina Faso Burkina Faso
1991-1992	Dawda Jawara	Gambia Gambia
1992-1993	Abdou Diouf	Senegal Senegal
1993-1994	Nicéphore Dieudonné Soglo	Benin Benin
1994 - July 27, 1996	Jerry Rawlings	Ghana Ghana
July 27, 1996 - June 8, 1998	Sani Abacha	Nigeria Nigeria
June 9, 1998-1999	Abdulsalami Abubakar	Nigeria Nigeria
1999	Gnassingbé Eyadéma	Togo Togo
1999 - December 21, 2001	Alpha Oumar Konare	Mali Mali
December 21, 2001 - January 31, 2003	Abdoulaye Wade	Senegal Senegal
January 31, 2003 - January 19, 2005	John Agyekum Kufuor	Ghana Ghana
January 19, 2005 - January 19, 2007	Mamadou Tandja	Niger Niger
January 19, 2007 - December 19, 2008	Blaise Compaoré	Burkina Faso Burkina Faso
December 19, 2008 - February 18, 2010	Umaru Yar'Adua	Nigeria Nigeria
February 18, 2010 - February 16, 2012	Goodluck Jonathan	Nigeria Nigeria
February 17, 2012 - March 28, 2014	Alassane Ouattara	Ivory Coast Ivory Coast
March 28, 2014 - May 19, 2015	John Dramani Mahama	Ghana Ghana
May 19, 2015 - June 4, 2016	Macky Sall	Senegal Senegal
June 4, 2016 - June 4, 2017	Ellen Johnson Sirleaf	Liberia Liberia
June 4, 2017 - August 1, 2018	Faure Gnassingbé	Togo Togo
August 1, 2018 - June 29, 2019	Muhammadu Buhari	Nigeria Nigeria
since June 29, 2019	Mahamadou Issoufou	Niger Niger

Web links

Individual evidence

^ Julian Dörr: ECOWAS - African Economic Community . In: Görres-Gesellschaft and Verlag Herder (ed.): Herder Staatslexikon . 8th edition. tape 1 . Herder, Freiburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-451-37511-8 , pp. 1488–1490 ( staatslexikon-online.de ).

^ The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) - a new attempt at integration , author: Rolf Langhammer in: Europa-Archiv , 5/1976, page 163

^ Yearbook of Public Law of the Present. New series, volume 26 - edited by Gerhard Leibholz , Mohr Siebeck Verlag 1977, page 663, ISBN 3166403825

↑ Again, hope dims for Eco's takeoff in 2015 ( Memento from August 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) January 14, 2013 in The Nigeria Guardian (accessed January 15, 2013)

↑ Official website of the ECOWAS Commission . Retrieved August 31, 2017.

^ ECOWAS Parliament. Official website. ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Accessed December 5, 2016. (English) @1@ 2

^ The Community Court of Justice. Official website. Retrieved December 5, 2016.

↑ ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development. Official website. Retrieved December 5, 2016.

^ West African Health Organization. Official website. Accessed December 5, 2016. (English)

↑ Official website of the GIABA . Retrieved August 31, 2017.

↑ About Us - ECOWAS Parliament. ECOWAS. ( Memento of the original from March 7, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 31, 2017. @1@ 2

↑ Morocco's Ecowas bid sparks African fear and suspicion. Financial Times, January 24, 2019.

↑ ECOWAS Suspends Mali, Asks Member States to Close Borders. Leadership, in: AllAfrica.com, August 20, 2020.

[1] Julian Dörr: ECOWAS - African Economic Community . In: Görres-Gesellschaft and Verlag Herder (ed.): Herder Staatslexikon . 8th edition. tape 1 . Herder, Freiburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-451-37511-8 , pp. 1488–1490 ( staatslexikon-online.de ).