ISTANBUL
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is celebrating its 50th anniversary Wednesday.
Beyond economics, the bloc took on a critical role in maintaining regional peace and security, deploying peacekeeping forces and mediating political crises across West Africa, solidifying its position as a key player in the region’s stability and development.
The following is a timeline of key events that shaped ECOWAS and West Africa during the bloc’s 50-year history:
1975 - ECOWAS was founded on May 28, by 15 West African countries, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo, through the Treaty of Lagos to promote regional economic integration and cooperation.
1977 - Cape Verde became a member of ECOWAS by formally signing the ECOWAS Treaty, bringing the total number of member states to 16.
1978 - The Protocol on Non-Aggression was adopted, committing member states to refrain from armed aggression against one another and to resolve disputes peacefully, strengthening regional security and stability.
1979 - ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS) was launched to promote free trade by gradually removing tariffs and non-tariff barriers among member countries, initially covering agricultural goods, livestock, unprocessed products and artisan handcrafted items.
The Protocol Relating to Free Movement of Persons, Residence and Establishment was published in the official journal of ECOWAS in June, aiming to facilitate the free movement of citizens across member states to promote regional integration and economic cooperation.
1986 - The Protocol on Mutual Assistance in Defense, signed in 1981, was ratified, laying the groundwork for collective security and cooperation among member states in the event of external aggression or threats to regional peace. It established mechanisms such as the Defense Council, the Defense Commission, and the Allied Armed Forces of the Community (AAFC) to coordinate mutual defense efforts.
1990 - The ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) was created to conduct peacekeeping operations, and it launched a full-scale military intervention in Liberia to help end the civil war and restore peace, marking one of the first major regional interventions by ECOWAS. Liberia was dragged into its first civil war when the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) led by Charles Taylor -- who later ruled the country from 1997 to 2003 -- launched an uprising against then-President Samuel Doe’s regime.
1993 - A revised ECOWAS treaty was signed in the Beninese city of Cotonou aimed at deepening economic integration, establishing a common market, and creating institutions like a regional parliament, a court of justice, and economic and social councils while also strengthening the bloc’s role in conflict resolution and peacekeeping.
1997 - In May, the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), formed by a group of Sierra Leone soldiers, seized power in a coup, ousting President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. The AFRC allied itself with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), a rebel group, to establish a new government. ECOMOG intervened in Sierra Leone with sanctions and limited military action while diplomatic efforts continued.
1998 - In February, ECOMOG launched a major military offensive, recaptured the capital Freetown and ousted the junta, enabling President Kabbah to return to power in March. However, government and ECOMOG forces were unable to secure the entire country and the civil war persisted through 1998.
1999 - ECOWAS played a key role in brokering the Lome Peace Agreement to end the civil war in Sierra Leone and continued peacekeeping efforts in the region.
ECOMOG was deployed in Guinea-Bissau for a ceasefire monitoring mission in February 1999 to observe the ceasefire process initiated by ECOWAS in 1998, following which a civil war erupted after President Joao Bernardo Vieira dismissed army chief Ansumane Mane over alleged support for Senegalese separatists, sparking a military uprising.
2000 - Mauritania, one of the founding members, withdrew from the bloc, citing a desire to focus on its membership in the Arab Maghreb Union and disagreements over ECOWAS’s proposed single currency.
2003 - ECOWAS played a key role in addressing the Second Liberian Civil War by supporting peace talks that led to the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in Ghana. It also deployed troops under the name of the ECOWAS Mission in Liberia (ECOMIL) to oversee the implementation of the agreement and maintain security.
ECOWAS took part in various mediation attempts during the First Ivorian Civil War, which broke out in 2002. These initiatives resulted in the Linas-Marcoussis Peace Accord (LMA) in 2003, and ECOWAS troops were once again deployed for a ceasefire monitoring mission under the ECOWAS Mission in Côte d'Ivoire (ECOMICI).
2007 - In June, at the 32nd Ordinary Summit in Abuja, Nigeria, ECOWAS Vision 2020 was launched, aiming to transform the organization into a "community of people" by focusing on economic integration, peace, security, good governance and sustainable development.
2010 - Following the disputed November election in Ivory Coast, incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo refused to concede defeat to Alassane Ouattara, who was declared the winner by the Independent Electoral Commission and recognized internationally. ECOWAS suspended Ivory Coast and imposed sanctions on Gbagbo’s regime while mediating the post-election crisis, recognizing Ouattara as the legitimate president.
2011 - ECOWAS intensified diplomatic efforts and threatened military intervention in Ivory Coast, contributing to Gbagbo’s removal and Ouattara’s restoration, while continuing regional peacekeeping and integration initiatives.
2012 - ECOWAS condemned the March 22 military coup in Mali, imposed sanctions, mediated a transitional agreement to restore constitutional order, and planned the military intervention of the Africa-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) to address the northern rebellion, with deployment authorized by the UN in December.
2013 - AFISMA was deployed in January to counter the rebellion in Mali, and ECOWAS facilitated the transition of AFISMA to the UN’s Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) by July, to restore stability and state authority.
2017 - ECOWAS launched the “Operation Restore Democracy,” later renamed the ECOWAS Mission in Gambia (ECOMIG), after outgoing President Yahya Jammeh refused to step down following his defeat in the December 2016 election, enabling the peaceful inauguration of the duly elected winner Adama Barrow.
2021 - ECOWAS actively mediated political crises in Guinea and Mali following military coups, imposing sanctions, suspending both countries from its governing bodies, and deploying mediation missions to facilitate democratic transitions.
2022 - ECOWAS continued its suspension of Mali and Guinea and imposed further sanctions, suspended Burkina Faso after its January and September coups, and mediated through missions led by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to restore constitutional order and regional stability.
2023 - ECOWAS sustained mediation efforts in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso and suspended and sanctioned Niger after its July coup. ECOWAS threatened military intervention in Niger, issuing a one-week ultimatum to the junta to restore deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, though no military intervention occurred, as ECOWAS maintained diplomacy and kept imposing sanctions. Mali and Burkina Faso sided with Niger amid an intervention threat, and the three countries created the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) as a mutual defense pact in September.
2024 - The AES countries announced their intent to withdraw from ECOWAS on Jan. 28, citing dissatisfaction with ECOWAS sanctions and perceived foreign influence. ECOWAS lifted some sanctions on Niger and Mali in February 2024 for humanitarian reasons, and appointed mediators to negotiate with the Sahel alliance. The troika of countries later formalized the AES as a confederation on July 6, signing a treaty to deepen their mutual defense pact and expand cooperation in defense, economic, and social sectors. ECOWAS set a six-month transition period from Jan. 29, 2025 to July 29, 2025 on Dec. 15 to encourage the AES to reconsider their exit.
2025 - Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger officially withdrew from ECOWAS on Jan. 29, leaving the West African bloc with 12 member states.
