Conakry, Guinea – (African Boulevard), The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has maintained the economic sanctions it imposed on Guinea in response to the military coup that overthrew the civilian government last September. ECOWAS leaders met on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa to review sanctions and discuss progress in restoring civil order in Guinea and two other countries in the sub-region, Mali and Burkina Faso, all three of which were ruled by military juntas that came to power in coups.
ContextSincethe military coup of September 2021, Guinea has faced increasing political and economic instability. In response to the coup, ECOWAS imposed a series of economic sanctions on Guinea, including a ban on trade with the military junta and the suspension of Guinea from all ECOWAS institutions.
Reasons for maintaining sanctions: ECOWAS decided to maintain economic sanctions against Guinea for several reasons. First, it believes that the military coup has undermined the political stability of the region. In addition, the military junta has taken a series of actions that have undermined the rule of law and human rights in Guinea. Finally, economic sanctions are seen as a way to pressure the military junta to end its unelected government.
Effects of Sanctions: Economic sanctions have had a significant impact on the Guinean economy. Companies have been forced to lay off employees and suspend operations due to the ban on trade with Guinea. In addition, the sanctions have also had an impact on the Guinean population, which has seen an increase in the price of some basic commodities.
Although these sanctions were put in place to put pressure on the military junta, some might question whether they were really effective. After all, the military junta is still in place, and the situation in Guinea does not seem to have improved.
Some might also question whether economic sanctions are really fair. After all, the Guinean people are not responsible for the military coup, but they are the ones who suffer the economic consequences of the sanctions. Is it fair to punish the population for the actions of the military junta?
Yet, despite these criticisms, it is important to emphasize that economic sanctions are an important means of putting pressure on governments that do not respect democratic norms and human rights. In the case of Guinea, the military junta overthrew a democratically elected government and installed an unelected regime that violated human rights. The economic sanctions are therefore a way for ECOWAS to send a clear signal to the military junta that its actions are unacceptable.
However, these same leaders should be expected to severely sanction foreign forces that interfere in the internal affairs of countries in the sub-region. Maybe they will do it in their next outing!
