Linking ECOWAS and West African civil society

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was created in 1975 and is made up of 15 member states. It was formed to promote economic cooperation and integration in the region in order to overcome the problem of underdevelopment. However, that goal was undermined by bad governance, human rights violations, authoritarian rule and violent conflict, and ECOWAS was soon impelled to address those issues. In the 1990s it successfully intervened in the Liberian crisis through the Economic Community Cease-Fire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), an alternative body created to address conflict issues. However, through this intervention it became clear that conflict resolution in West Africa was both ad-hoc and outside international legal frameworks. Following this intervention, ECOWAS began to develop clearer norms and a stronger legal basis for regional peace and security.

Following the logic that without peace there can be no development, the original ECOWAS goal of economic development has thus expanded to include peace and security. Alert has supported the further development of ECOWAS’s capacity for conflict resolution through facilitating dialogue between civil society organisations and the ECOWAS Secretariat. A series of meetings between ECOWAS and civil society groups in 2003 to discuss conflict-related issues led to the creation – with Alert’s support – of the West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF). This is a platform which allows members of civil society to influence ECOWAS on human security issues. ECOWAS has agreed to collaborate formally with WACSOF as a representative body. WACSOF makes submissions to ECOWAS prior to each ECOWAS summit, ensuring that the voices and concerns of ordinary people are heard at the highest level

The 4th Annual WACSOF Forum meeting was held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on December 14-17, 2006. Members were appointed to the Executive Committee, and the ad hoc committee was dissolved. International Alert’s role will change in the coming year from administration to programme work such as creating awareness about ECOWAS’ protocols.

• WACSOF website
• ECOWAS website

To read the two main ECOWAS instruments on conflict resolution, click on the links below (these will open in new windows):

• Protocol Relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security
• The Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance

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