Almost ten years ago, on 10 December 1999, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) adopted the Protocol Relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peace-Keeping and Security and hence passed “probably (...) the most ambitious instrument on the regulation of collective security ever attempted to date” (Abass 2000: 212). After three military interventions in the 1990ies ECOWAS, a purely economically
intended community at the beginning, was in need of better legal foundations for its missions. The interventions in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau were largely characterized by political disputes mostly between anglophone and francophone members of ECOWAS, by weak legal foundations and massive shortcomings in financing, training and equipping the military missions. None of the three interventions can be seen as a pure success. There is even
a controversy debate whether the ECOWAS interventions might have prolonged instead of shortened the civil wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau (see Howe 1996).
The Protocol Relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peace-Keeping and Security was therefore the attempt to put future ECOWAS interventions on better ground. The outcome was promising, but still bears many deficiancies. Some relate to the provisions made in the Protocol, some relate to the nature of ECOWAS. The sucess or failure of ECOWAS´ military engagement in securing peace in the region is vital for the all-african efforts to build up regional peace-keeping powers within the framework of the African Union and furthermore for the decentralization of the peacekeeping efforts of the United Nations. If ECOWAS found a way to manage matters of peace and security at its own this could be a encouraging example for other regions in the world. Reality however shows a different picture. The present paper wants to examine how succesful exactly ECOWAS was in creating the
Protocol Relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peace-Keeping and Security (in the following short “the Mechanism”) and to what extent the Mechanism can be a solution to the failures made at prior military interventions. For this purpose in the following the ECOWAS intervention in the Liberian civil war in 1990 will be examined against the background of earlier ECOWAS protocols and the against the Mechanism.
At a glance
- Grade: 2.0 (1.0 is the best grade)
- Examines the 1990 ECOWAS intervention in Liberia against earlier protocols and the Mechanism
- 16 sources in the bibliography
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Economic Community of West African States
2.1 The Beginnings from 1975 to 1989
2.2 Excursion: The civil war in Liberia
2.3 The ECOWAS intervention in Liberia at first sight
2.4 Assessing ECOWAS legal foundations to the ECOMOG mission
2.5 The ECOWAS Protocol relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peace-keeping and Security
3. Evaluation of the Mechanism and Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines whether the 1999 ECOWAS Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peace-Keeping and Security addresses shortcomings associated with earlier military interventions. It considers the 1990 intervention in Liberia alongside earlier ECOWAS legal instruments and the decision-making provisions of the Mechanism.
- The origins and institutional development of ECOWAS
- The Liberian civil war and the establishment of ECOMOG
- Legal foundations for regional intervention
- The 1999 Mechanism and its decision-making bodies
- Regional rivalries, security culture and peacekeeping capacity
Excerpt from the Book
The ECOWAS intervention in Liberia at first sight
Knowing that the international community particulary the United States, “historical godfather and Cold War patron of Liberia” (Adebajo 2002: 49), and the United Nations Security Council did not pay much attention to the disaster occuring in West Africa, ECOWAS felt the need to act on their own although it had never launched such a complex military mission on its own. The civil war in Liberia broke out at a time when all eyes were focused on the end of the Cold War and the forthcoming Gulf War. Also the wish to signal to the world that African subregional organizations were capable of responding to immanent challenges gave motivation to the establishment of an own peacekeeping force (Howe 1996: 152).
Therefore, on 30 May 1990 an ECOWAS summit in Banjul, Gambia, established a five-member Standing Mediation Committee (SMC) with a mandate to mediate disputes and conflicts (Weller 1994: ECOWAS Decision A/DEC.9/5/90; doc. nr. 20). As the MSC decided on the establishment of ECOMOG its own establishment seems crucial for questions of authorization and responsibility in dealing with the Liberian crisis. It could not be drawn from the decision at hand, however, who voted for the establishement of the SMC. According to the ECOWAS Treaty of 1975 all security issues has to be dealt with by consensus (see Haacke/Willimas 2008: 131). Körner states that Nigeria enforced the decision to establish the SMC with the self-confidence of a regional power (Körner 1999: 47).
One of the five members of the SMC was to be current Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government who should also serve as Chairman of the SMC. The other four members were to be appointed by the Authority. It is not stated, however, how this was supposed to happen. Membership should rotate every three years. “Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Mali, and Togo were elected as the first members.” (Adebajo 2002: 51) What is eyecatching is that there is only speech of conflict between two or more member states and no word of an intra-state conflict for what it was actually set up for.
Chapter Summaries
Introduction: The paper introduces the 1999 Mechanism and sets out its question about the legal and practical difficulties associated with earlier ECOWAS interventions.
The Economic Community of West African States: This chapter traces ECOWAS’s early institutions and security protocols before examining the Liberian civil war, the ECOMOG intervention and its legal foundations. It then analyses the institutions, voting rules and intervention provisions established by the 1999 Mechanism.
Evaluation of the Mechanism and Conclusion: The final chapter considers regional rivalries, Nigerian influence, security culture and the challenges of collective decision-making and resourcing.
Keywords
ECOWAS, conflict prevention, conflict management, regional security, peacekeeping, Liberia, ECOMOG, military intervention, legal foundations, Mediation and Security Council, decision-making, West Africa, security culture
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this paper about?
It examines the ECOWAS security Mechanism and its relationship to problems encountered during earlier regional military interventions.
What are the central topics?
The central topics include regional peacekeeping, the legal basis for intervention, institutional decision-making and the Liberian civil war.
What is the main research question?
The paper asks how successfully ECOWAS created the Mechanism and to what extent it can address failures associated with previous military interventions.
What method does the author use?
The author conducts a legal and institutional analysis of ECOWAS treaties, protocols and decisions, using the 1990 intervention in Liberia as a case and drawing on published scholarship.
What does the main body cover?
It discusses the origins of ECOWAS, the Liberian conflict, the establishment of ECOMOG, earlier legal provisions and the institutions and procedures of the 1999 Mechanism.
Which keywords characterise the paper?
Key terms include ECOWAS, ECOMOG, Liberia, peacekeeping, regional security, conflict management and decision-making.
Why is the intervention in Liberia important to the analysis?
It provides the case through which the author examines earlier legal and institutional arrangements before considering the later Mechanism.
What role does the Mediation and Security Council play in the discussion?
The paper examines its membership, voting requirements and authority to make decisions on peace and security, including the deployment of missions.
Does the paper consider relations among ECOWAS member states?
Yes. It discusses tensions between anglophone and francophone members, Nigeria’s role and the potential influence of national interests on collective action.
- Quote paper
- Isabel Meyer (Author), 2009, ECOWAS: The Protocol Relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peace-Keeping and Security, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/157547
