On July 6, 2024, the military regimes of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger signed a treaty called the “Confederation of Sahel States” in Niamey, cementing their departure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). A day later, Facebook posts circulated in Ethiopia claiming the three nations had created an entirely new country governed by a common constitution with a single currency. However, this is false: under the terms of the agreement, the member states retain their sovereignty. The main purpose of the pact is to promote cooperation in areas of common interest, such as defence and trade.
An Amharic post published on July 7, 2024, reads: “The West African countries of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali were united.”
In turn, ECOWAS suspended each of the new regimes from the regional bloc and imposed strict sanctions on Niger and Mali (archived here).
Amid deteriorating relations, the three countries announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS in January 2024, accusing the group of being ineffective in fighting the Jihadist insurgency in the region and of being manipulated by former colonial power France (archived here).
Similarly, Article 4 provides that the three states shall cooperate in matters of defence and security, diplomacy and development while “retaining their independence and sovereignty”.
There is nothing in the treaty about a single currency, either, although the idea was raised in earlier talks and is a possibility in the future (archived here).
Rather, the charter commits the member states to cooperate as regional partners in sectors such as security and trade.
“The confederate states cooperate on economic and financial progress with a view of carrying out structuring investments,” the charter stipulates.
