The African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat on Friday said the bloc will soon meet to discuss whether or not to lift sanctions imposed on Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea following military coups reported The Africa News.
The AU as well as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) suspended the membership of the three nations after they underwent military coups since 2020. Suspension of membership means they can neither take part in activities of the AU nor have a vote on decisions.
Notably, Ecowas has adjusted sanctions but retained pressure on the countries to resume civilian-led governance.
“This issue has not yet been discussed, there will be a meeting of the Peace and Security Council that will examine these requests, so there is no decision yet in this sense,” Faki told AFP without specifying a timeframe.
Foreign Ministers of Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mali began lobbying to get their countries reinstated to the 55-member bloc. On Thursday, they even met with Comoran Foreign Minister Dhoihir Dhoulkamal, whose country will hold the rotating presidency of the AU.
Last week, the three foreign ministers announced their joint diplomatic campaign in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou.
Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop also held meetings with Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde and his Rwandan and Algerian counterparts.
The Malian foreign ministry said the joint delegation would continue to have meetings with Faki, Comoran President Azali Assoumani, a senior ECOWAS official, and other foreign ministers.
The AU is yet to announce a date for the meeting to discuss lifting the sanctions.
The African bloc’s representatives will be meeting this weekend in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, in a summit aimed at accelerating the creation of a free trade area. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is aimed at boosting intra-African trade by 60 percent by 2034 by eliminating almost all tariffs.
