Nigeria / Extraordinary summit of Ecowas heads of state and government/ Final communiqué

 

 

Nigeria / Extraordinary summit of Ecowas heads of state and government/ Final communiqué

 

ABUJA, Nigeria, January 11, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Final communiqué

 

1.    At the invitation of H.E. Umar Musa Yar’Adua, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, current Chairman of ECOWAS, an extraordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was held on January 10, 2009 at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

 

2.    The Summit was convened to examine the latest developments in Guinea, following the death of General Lansana Conte, considering in particular the military takeover of government.

 

3.    The following Heads of State and Government attended the Summit:

 

• His Excellency Mr. Blaise Compaore
  

  President of Burkina Faso
  

   

• His Excellency Mr. Laurent Gbagbo
  

  President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire
  

   

• His Excellency Prof. Alhajie Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh
  

  President of the Republic of The Gambia
  

   

• His Excellency John Evans Atta-Mills
  

President of the Republic of Ghana

 

 

• Her Excellency Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
  

  President of the Republic of Liberia
  

 

• His Excellency Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, GCFR
  

  President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
  

 

• His Excellency Ernest Bai Koroma
  

  President of the Republic of Sierra Leone
  

   

• His Excellency Mr. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé
  

  President of the Togolese Republic
  

   

• 
  His Excellency, Seini Oumarou
  

Prime Minister of Niger, representing the

President of the Republic of Niger

 

    The following duly accredited representatives of Heads of State and Government

    also attended the Summit:

 

• His Excellency Jose Brito
  

  Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Community,
  

  Republic of Cape Verde
  

 

• His Excellency João Cardoso
  

  Minister Director of Cabinet of the Presidency,
  

  Republic of Guinea Bissau
  

 

• Ambassador Euloge Hinvi
  

  Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  

  Republic of Benin
  

   

• His Excellency Coulibaly Boubacar Karamoko
  

  Ambassador of the Republic of Mali to Nigeria
  

   

• His Excellency, Daouda Maligueye Sene,
  

  Ambassador of the Republic of Senegal to Nigeria
  

   

4.    The meeting was also attended by the following high ranking officials:

 

• His Excellency Saïd Djinnit
  

United Nations’ Secretary General’s Special Representative for West Africa

 

• Mr. El Ghassim Wane,
  

Representative of the Chairman of the AU Commission

 

5.    The opening speech was made by His Excellency, Umar Musa Yar’Adua, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairman of The Authority of Heads of State and Government.

 

6.     The Summit congratulated the Government and people of Ghana for the exemplary manner in which they conducted the recent general elections and warmly welcomed President John Evans Atta-Mills to their fold.

    

7.    The Summit observed a minute’s silence in memory of the late General Lansana Conte, former President of Guinea, who passed away on December 22, 2008.

 

8.     The Prime Minister of Guinea was invited to make a submission after which he responded to questions and queries from members of the Authority.

 

9.     The Summit proceeded to consider the report of the President of the ECOWAS Commission on the two ECOWAS missions to Guinea in December 2008 and the beginning of January 2009. The meeting further considered the report by the Chairman of the Mediation and Security Council of the Council’s meeting held on January 9 2009.

 

10.    The Summit expressed deep concern at the resurgence of the scourge of coups d’etat in Africa, which represents a very serious setback in the effort to strengthen the democratization process on the Continent. The Summit called for more effective measures at regional and continental levels to deal with the situation, including the early ratification and implementation of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and the AU Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance by ECOWAS Member States that have not yet done so, as well as the effective implementation of these instruments.

 

11.    The Summit reiterated the unflinching commitment of ECOWAS to the principles of democracy and the rule of law, and its rejection of unconstitutional accession to or maintenance of power in line with ECOWAS Protocols and relevant AU instruments.

 

12.     After careful consideration of all the reports and recommendations the Authority decided as follows:

 

a) Strongly condemned the coup d’etat of December 23 2008 in Guinea in conformity with the provisions of Protocol A/SP1/12/01 on Democracy and Good Governance, and reiterated the principled position of ECOWAS against unconstitutional accession to or maintenance of power.

 

b) Suspended Guinea from all meetings of ECOWAS at Heads of State and ministerial levels, until constitutional order is restored.

 

c) Demanded from the Conseil National pour la Démocratie et le Développement (CNDD) to take immediate steps to restore constitutional order in Guinea, in line with ECOWAS Protocols and bearing in mind the decisions adopted by AU Peace and Security Council on the situation in Guinea.

 

13.    Summit took note of the efforts being made by Guinean stakeholders towards the early restoration of constitutional order, including:

 

1. the establishment of a National Transitional Council (NTC), composed of civilians and the military and with legislative powers, with a view to achieving the objectives of the transition. The ECOWAS Commission, in collaboration with its partners, will support the Guinean stakeholders for the speedy establishment of the NTC;
   

 

1. the establishment of a Consultative Forum with representatives from all the Guinean stakeholders, taking into account Guinea’s ethnic and regional diversity as well as gender balance. This Committee shall serve as a vehicle for dialogue that would enable Guineans to enhance national cohesion;
   

 

1. the commitment to conclude the transition in 2009 by organizing credible, free, fair and transparent elections;
   

 

1. the commitment to ensure government stability, a sine qua non for a successful transition;
   

 

1. the pledge by members of the CNDD, the Transitional Prime Minister and Members of his Government not to contest in the elections to be organized in 2009;
   

 

1. the commitment of the transitional authorities to respect human rights and the rule of law, as well as to fight against impunity and drug trafficking.
   

 

14.     To facilitate the restoration of constitutional order in Guinea the Authority agreed on the following accompanying measures:

 

1. ECOWAS shall maintain a permanent and constructive dialogue with CNDD, all Guinean stakeholders and partners to ensure that immediate steps are taken to implement the recommendations towards a quick organization of elections and transfer of power to a democratically elected government.
   

    

2. ECOWAS shall promote the inclusion of Guinea on the agenda of the UN Peace Building Commission as a de facto fragile and post conflict country to allow it to benefit from the UN Peace Building Fund. Further, ECOWAS and the international community would facilitate the launching of a comprehensive security sector reform in Guinea by mobilizing expertise and resources for the exercise.
   
3. ECOWAS, the international community and the internal stakeholders would agree on benchmarks and time lines for the completion of identified tasks on the transition roadmap.
   
4. ECOWAS and the international community will facilitate the completion of the voter registration exercise and the provision of voter identification cards to facilitate the holding of elections in 2009; and to this end, ECOWAS and the international community to facilitate the mobilization of the required resources for the exercise.
   
5. The summit drew attention to the need for adequate funding to ensure a peaceful and successful transition in Guinea. In that regard, it called upon international partners, especially the World Bank, IMF and EU to continue their financial support for the socio-economic programmes in the country in order to keep on track the transition to constitutional rule, democracy and good governance.
   
6. ECOWAS shall strengthen the capacity of the Office of the Special Representative of President of the Commission with relevant officers and equipment to enable it coordinate ECOWAS inputs into the transitional process.
   
7. ECOWAS shall facilitate regular visits to Guinea by the Special Envoy of the Chairman of the Authority.
   
8. The President of the ECOWAS Commission shall submit regular reports on the situation in Guinea to the Chairman of the Authority.
   

 

15.    Summit requested the President of the ECOWAS Commission to transmit the present decision to the Chairman of the AU Commission and to the AU Peace and Security Council for information and appropriate action.

 

16.    The Authority expressed its gratitude to the Chairman for the warm and brotherly welcome and hospitality extended to the Heads of State and all delegations, as well as the excellent facilities placed at their disposal to ensure a smooth and successful meeting.

 

Done at Abuja this 10^th Day of January 2009

 

 

 

SOURCE : Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS)