Burkina Faso has launched a brand new biometric passport with out the brand of the Financial Group of West African States, additional solidifying its break from the regional bloc.
The transfer comes after Burkina Faso, together with Niger and Mali, severed ties with ECOWAS following navy coups within the three international locations.
The choice to challenge passports with out the ECOWAS insignia was introduced by Burkina Faso’s Safety Minister, Mahamadou Sana, on Tuesday.
Sana acknowledged, “This passport doesn’t function the ECOWAS brand or any point out of ECOWAS. Since January, Burkina Faso has determined to withdraw from this physique, and that is merely a realisation of the motion already taken by Burkina Faso.”
The three nations severed relations with the 15-member bloc after ECOWAS imposed sanctions in response to the navy takeovers.
Though the organisation solely issued a suspension, it has demanded that the international locations return to constitutional order earlier than the sanctions are lifted.
Nevertheless, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have all rejected any plans to reintegrate, accusing ECOWAS of betraying the pan-African beliefs for which it was based.
Regardless of its departure, Burkina Faso’s passport stays comparatively sturdy, ranked 78th globally and offering visa-free entry to 60 locations, together with present ECOWAS member international locations, in keeping with the Henley Passport Index.
ECOWAS has expressed considerations that the withdrawal of those nations may undermine the free motion of individuals and items inside its borders, impacting the bloc’s 400 million residents.
President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria, who at present chairs ECOWAS, has been actively attempting to steer the three international locations to rethink their exit, emphasising that the organisation stays open to sustaining pleasant relations.