Economic Community of West African States

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional organization founded in 1975 to promote economic integration, cooperation, and peace among West African states.

ECOWAS Commission: The executive institution that implements ECOWAS policies and manages its programs. It carries out decisions and coordinates the Community’s day-to-day work.
ECOWAS Standby Force: A planned regional force intended for peace support and other collective security missions under ECOWAS and African Union frameworks. It represents the Community’s ambition to respond collectively to regional crises.
Treaty of Lagos: The 1975 treaty that established the Economic Community of West African States. This founding agreement set ECOWAS’s original aims and institutional framework.
West African Economic and Monetary Union: A West African organization founded in 1994 to deepen economic and monetary integration among eight countries sharing the CFA franc. It overlaps geographically with ECOWAS but has a narrower membership and stronger monetary integration.
West African CFA franc: A currency used by several West African states, issued within the West African Economic and Monetary Union. Its separate monetary arrangement highlights the unevenness of ECOWAS-wide economic integration.
ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government: ECOWAS’s highest decision-making body, composed of the member states’ heads of state and government. It sets the Community’s general direction and adopts major regional decisions.
ECOWAS Monitoring Group: A West African military coalition deployed by ECOWAS in several conflicts during the 1990s and early 2000s. Its interventions in Liberia and Sierra Leone tested regional peacekeeping in practice.
Revised ECOWAS Treaty: The 1993 treaty that revised ECOWAS’s founding agreement and broadened its integration and peace-and-security mandate. It formalized the Community’s shift beyond economic cooperation toward regional security.
African Union: A continental organization founded in 2002 to advance African cooperation, integration, peace, and development. The AU provides the continental framework within which ECOWAS pursues regional objectives.
ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance: A 2001 protocol setting regional principles for constitutional government, elections, and democratic governance. It gives ECOWAS a basis for responding to unconstitutional changes of government.

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