ECOWAS VIOLATED INTERNATIONAL LAW

Many African Stream followers may know the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has enacted sanctions and other measures to punish the Sahelian states of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger for recent popular coups.

President Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso told a Burkinabé crowd that such measures violate international law, adding, 'You cannot close ports to a landlocked country.' He may have been referring to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Multiple coups have rocked West Africa since ECOWAS was established in 1975. However, the regional body has not responded to previous coups with sanctions and threats of military intervention.

Why do you think ECOWAS imposed such measures on Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger? Let us know in the comments.