ECOWAS Heads of State have expressed strong support to President Blaise 
Compaore of Burkina Faso for his mediation efforts in the Guinean crisis and 
have urged him to speed up the dialogue among the Guinean political actors 
with the aim of: 

•	establishing a new transitional authority to ensure a short and 
peaceful transition to constitutional order through credible, free and fair 
elections;

•	ensuring that the Chairman and members of the CNDD, the Prime Minister 
and those who hold high offices in the new transitional authority will not be 
candidates in the forthcoming presidential elections; as well as 
•	setting up benchmarks in the transition chronogram already agreed and 
ensuring a timely achievement of the set benchmarks.

In a communiqué issued at their day-long extraordinary summit on 17th October 
2009 in Abuja, the Heads of State, welcomed the decision of the Secretary 
General of the United Nations to establish the Commission of Enquiry to 
investigate the 28th September 2009 violence in Guinea, the Heads of State 
called on all concerned Guinean parties and other stakeholders to fully 
cooperate with the Commission. 

They directed the President of the ECOWAS Commission to work with the UN 
Secretary General, the Chairperson of the AU to create a conducive and 
enabling environment, including the provision of a security cover, to allow 
the Commission of Enquiry to undertake its mission. 

The President of the ECOWAS will also work with the AU on a regime of targeted 
sanctions against individuals who would pose a threat to the implementation of 
the transitional agenda. 

According to the summit, he will also work with the new transitional authority 
and subsequently the new government at the end of the transition, in designing 
a programme for security sector reform, with the support of the AU, the UN and 
other partners. 

They strongly condemned the brutal acts, rapes and the massacre perpetrated by 
armed troops under the authority of the against women and unarmed civilians 
during a gathering of members of the Forces Vives on 28th September 2009. 

In view of the atrocities committed on 28th September 2009 and the steps taken 
by the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD) authorities to 
acquire new weapons, the Heads of State imposed an arms embargo on Guinea 
under the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, their Ammunitions 
and Related Materials, and directs the President of the ECOWAS Commission to 
take all necessary measures to obtain the support of the African Union, the 
European Union and the United Nations in the implementation and enforcement of 
the embargo.

They also directed the ECOWAS Commission to implement the relevant provisions 
of the Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, and recommended to the 
international community to impose total embargo on arms shipment for Guinea.

On Niger, after considering the referendum held on 4th August 2009 and the 
circumstances of its organization as being against the Constitution of Niger 
and a violation of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good 
Governance, the Heads of State called on the Nigerien authorities to desist 
from further acts that could deepen divisions within the country and 
exacerbate the political atmosphere. 

In this regard, the Heads of State imposed on Niger sanctions stipulated under 
Article 45 (a) and (b) of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and 
Good Governance, by “the refusal to support candidates presented by the Member 
State concerned for elective posts in the international organisations; and 
refusal to organize ECOWAS meetings in the Member State concerned’’.

They also urgently requested President Mamadou Tandja and the Niger 
authorities to suspend indefinitely the legislative elections scheduled for 
20th October 2009 in favour of dialogue with the other leading political 
parties on resolving the political crisis in the country.  

The summit appointed former Head of State of Nigeria, retired General 
Abdulsalami Abubakar, as ECOWAS Mediator for Niger and urged him to convene 
immediately a meeting of Nigerien stakeholders in Abuja to re-establish 
political dialogue aimed at creating national consensus on the way forward.

In addition, they immediately despatched a team composed of President Ellen 
Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia and General Abubakar Abdulsalami to Niamey to meet 
President Tandja on Sunday, 18th October 2009 to present their message and 
facilitate dialogue between the stakeholders.  

The Heads of State further decided that failure by President Tandja to comply 
with their decisions “would lead to the automatic and immediate imposition of 
full sanctions as stipulated under Article 45 of the Supplementary Protocol on 
Democracy and Good Governance and a referral of the Niger file to the African 
Union for similar action”.

According to Article 45, it means “suspension of the Member State concerned 
from all ECOWAS decision-making bodies. During the period of the suspension 
the Member State concerned shall be obliged to pay its dues for the period”. 
They directed the President of the ECOWAS Commission to transmit their present 
decision to the Chairman of the AU Commission and to the AU Peace and Security 
Council for appropriate action.

The Heads of State reiterated the unflinching commitment of Member States to 
the principles of democracy and the rule of law, and their rejection of 
unconstitutional accession to, or maintenance of power in line with, ECOWAS 
Protocols and relevant AU instruments.

They thus called for more effective measures at regional and continental 
levels to combat the violation of and the temptation to violate national, 
regional and continental instruments, principles and norms on democracy and 
good governance.