Challenges of Regional Collective Security

Disputes and civil wars, with the attendant breakdown of law and order, and dire consequences for peace, security, and development, continue to plague the continent of Africa. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional grouping of sixteen West African countries founded on May 28, 1975, to promote cooperation and integration through the establishment of an economic union in West Africa in order to raise the living standards of its peoples, foster relations among member states, and to contribute to the progress and development of the African continent. Convinced that economic progress could not be achieved unless the conditions for security were assured in all member states of the Community, ECOWAS expanded its mission to include security responsibilities. ECOWAS member states established ECOMOG to deal with the insecurity that followed the collapse of the state structure in the Republic of Liberia in 1990. The force has since controlled several conflicts in the West African sub-region. To adapt to the changes that had taken place within the Community since its formation, and based on its experience in Liberia, the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government in May 1993 requested a review of the ECOWAS Treaty. A revised Treaty was endorsed and adopted by the Authority in Cotonou, Benin, in July 1993. Member States undertook to cooperate with the Community in establishing and strengthening appropriate mechanisms for the timely prevention and resolution of conflicts. This undertaking culminated in the signing, in Togo, on 10 December 1999, of the Protocol on Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security. Among other things, the Protocol calls for the establishment of a military force known as the ECOWAS Standby Force (ESF). The force is designed to meet the security needs of the sub-region.