Overview

• Three junta-led states quit ECOWAS earlier this year and formed the Sahel States, stripping the bloc of 16% of its population and more than half its territory.
• Jihadist attacks have surged across the Sahel, Lake Chad region and northern Nigeria, with the Sahel ranked the global terrorism epicentre for the second straight year.
• Trade disruptions have driven import duties on Nigerian goods into Niger up fivefold, fueling widespread smuggling and raising costs for regional traders.
• Coups and controversial constitutional amendments in member countries have heightened democratic backsliding and prompted criticism of ECOWAS’s crisis response.
• ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray and other leaders have called for stronger unity and cooperation to counter security threats, economic strains and geopolitical competition.