YPS-Africa to sue ECOWAS for $6billion compensation for victims of 'illegal' sanctions on Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso

The Youth for Peace and Security Africa (YPS-Africa) will this week file a suit against the chairmanship of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

YPS-Africa is dragging ECOWAS to court to demand a whopping $6 billion compensation to citizens of Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso who suffered adversely after ECOWAS imposed sanctions on the three countries following recent coups.

Addressing a press conference in Accra, Ghana on Tuesday, October 25, the Executive Director of YPS-Africa, Abraham Korbla Klutsey described the ECOWAS sanctions as illegal, harsh, and unnecessary.

According to him, the citizens of the three countries were innocent and shouldn’t have suffered after the coups in their countries.

“It was inhumane on the part of ECOWAS to hold the lives of innocent citizens hostage, as leverage, while negotiating with the military leaders. In effect, ECOWAS was telling the military leaders that if they don't submit to ECOWAS dictates, ECOWAS will starve innocent citizens to death, destroy businesses, and denied sick people medicines, that was morally wrong.

“According to local groups, over 300 people died, thousands of small and big businesses closed downs and some may never come back, and thousands of jobs were lost sending people into severe poverty as a result of the ECOWAS sanctions. There is no article or clause in the ECOWAS chatter that says if there is a coup in a member country, citizens should suffer these kinds of punitive punishment, this why we say the sanctions were illegal,” Abraham Korbla Klutsey said at the press conference.

He continued, “These people deserve justice. YPS-Africa, with the help of some members who are lawyers in Nigeria, and a partner legal firm in Abuja-Nigeria, is filling a human rights case at the ECOWAS court in Abuja this week on behalf of these victims. We are suing the chairmanship of the ECOWAS authority of Heads of State and Government, and the ECOWAS commission.

“Among the reliefs sought, we shall demand $6billion USD compensations from ECOWAS to be distributed and paid to the victims of the illegal, unnecessary, and harsh sanctions. When it becomes necessary, president Akufo Addo may be called as a witness to testify since it was under his tenure as the chairman that the atrocities occurred.”

The suit against the Chairmanship of ECOWAS will be filed on Thursday, October 27, according to the YPS-Africa Executive Directive.

While admitting that a judicial victory would take some time, YPS-Africa in the short term has decided to push for a UN, AU, and ECOWAS resolution barring sanctions targeting innocent civilians to ensure ECOWAS or any other regional bloc does not use sanctions targeting innocent civilians as part of leverages

It also wants to use the move to give hope to all the victims of the sanctions.

Going forward, YPS-Africa is recommending that ECOWAS should help and work with the current heads of state of Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso to fight the surging terrorism and insecurity to bring stability instead of just focusing on elections.

It also wants ECOWAS to encourage adherence to the constitution, and good, sympathetic, listening, and participatory governance among its civilian heads of government.

The advocacy group believes through this, coups will be curbed in the West Africa Region.

Background:

Following the coups in Mali, ECOWAS authority of Heads of State and Governments, chaired by President Akufo Addo had an extraordinary meeting in Accra on 9th January 2022.

From this meeting, as part of their strategies to return the country to civilian rule and help the ordinary Malians, ECOWAS chose to issue broad sanctions, targeting both the ordinary citizens and members of the transitional government of Mali.

The sanctions targeted the general economy, transportation, financial transactions, and trades in Mali, which included the closure of air and land borders between ECOWAS members states and Mali; the suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS member states and Mali; the freezing of the assets of the republic of Mali in the central banks and other commercial banks in all ECOWAS member states; the freezing of assets of public and private enterprises in other ECOWAS member countries; and the rest were directed at the leaders and members of the transitional government of Mali.

The above sanctions meant ordinary people could not send or receive money from abroad, they could not import or export goods and services, they could not travel in and out of the country for any business, education, health or any social services. Both small and big businesses were forced to close down.

People lost their businesses and jobs; became poorer, and were forced to starve, and that included children. Pregnant women and sick people had no money to pay and buy critical medicines and, in some cases too, the Hospitals also run out of medicines.