The transitional authorities have mandated a group of lawyers to challenge the sanctions of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).
On Monday 21 February, the Transitional Charter was amended to allow Colonel Assimi Goïta to preside over Mali’s destiny for the next five years. In this context, a communiqué announced the introduction of two appeals to the Court of Justice of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).
The first, the document stated, “seeks the annulment of the decisions” taken on 9 January by West African leaders. The second aims “to request the suspension of the execution of the sanctions in view of the seriously prejudicial effects on the state of Mali, the Malian and African populations living in Mali.”
These appeals to the regional court based in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) were filed by a pool of six Malian lawyers led by Moustapha S. M. Cissé, President of the Malian Bar Association.
The UEMOA Court of Justice registered these appeals on 15 February 2022. The sanctions pronounced by the regional organisation against Mali include the closure of borders with ECOWAS member countries, the freezing of Malian assets in the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) and the suspension of transactions except for basic necessities and pharmaceutical products.
ID/lb/abj/APA