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We, the
Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS):
The President of the
Republic of BENIN
The President of
BURKINA FASO
The Prime Minister
of the Republic of CAPE VERDE
The President of
the Republic of COTE D'IVOIRE
The President of
the Republic of The GAMBIA
The President of
the Republic of GHANA
The President of
the Republic of GUINEA
The President of
the Republic of GUINEA BISSAU
The President of
the Interim Government of
National Unity of
the Republic of LIBERIA
The President of
the Republic of MALI
The President of
the Islamic Republic of MAURITANIA
The President of
the Republic of NIGER
The President of
the Federal Republic of NIGERIA
The President of
the Republic of SENEGAL
The Head of State
and Chairman of the
National
Provisional Ruling Council of the Republic of SIERRA LEONE
The President of
the TOGOLESE Republic
ARTICLE 3 : AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
1. The aims of
the Community are to promote co-operation and integration, leading to the
establishment of an economic union in West Africa
in order to raise the living standards of its peoples, and to maintain and
enhance economic stability, foster relations among Member States and
contribute to the progress and development of the African Continent.
2. In order
to achieve the aims set out in the paragraph above, and in accordance with
the relevant provisions of this Treaty, the Community shall, by stages,
ensure;
a) the harmonisation
and co-ordination of national policies and the promotion of integration
programmes, projects and activities, particularly in food, agriculture and
natural resources, industry, transport and communications, energy, trade,
money and finance, taxation, economic reform policies, human resources,
education, information, culture, science, technology, services, health,
tourism, legal matters;
b) the
harmonisation and co-ordination of policies for the protection of
the environment;
c) the promotion
of the establishment of joint production enterprises;
d) the
establishment of a common market through:
i) the
liberalisation of trade by the abolition, among Member States, of customs
duties levied on imports and exports, and the abolition among Member
States, of non-tariff barriers in order to establish a free trade area at
the Community level;
ii) the adoption
of a common external tariff and.,a common trade policy vis-a-vis third
countries;
iii) the removal,
between Member States, of obstacles to the free movement of persons, goods,
service and capital, and to the right of residence and establishment;
e) the
establishment of an economic union through the adoption of common policies
in the
economic, financial
social and cultural sectors, and the creation of a monetary union.
f) the promotion of
joint ventures by private sectors enterprises and other economic operators,
in particular through the adoption of a regional agreement on cross-border
investments;
g) the adoption of
measures for the integration of the private sectors, particularly the
creation of an enabling environment to promote small and medium
scale enterprises;
h) the establishment of
an enabling legal environment;
i) the harmonisation of
national investment codes leading to the adoption of a single Community
investment code;
j) the harmonisation of
standards and measures;
k) the promotion of
balanced development of the region, paying attention to the special
problems of each Member
State particularly
those of landlocked and small island Member States;
l) the
encouragement and strengthening of relations and the promotion of the flow
of information particularly among rural populations, women and youth
organisations and socio-professional organisations such as associations of
the media, business men and women, workers, and trade unions;
m) the adoption of a
Community population policy which takes into account the need for a balance
between demographic factors and socioeconomic development;
n) the establishment of
a fund for co-operation, compensation and development; and
o) any other activity
that Member States may decide to undertake jointly with a view to attaining
Community objectives.
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
THE HIGH CONTRACTING
PARTIES, in pursuit of the objectives stated in Article 3 of this
Treaty, solemnly
affirm and declare their adherence to the following principles:
a) equality and
inter-dependence of Member States;
b) solidarity and
collective self-reliance;
c) inter-State
co-operation, harmonisation of policies and integration of programmes;
d) non-aggression
between Member States;
e) maintenance of
regional peace, stability and security through the promotion and
strengthening of good neighbourliness;
f) peaceful settlement
of disputes among Member
States, active
Co-operation between neighbouring countries and promotion of a peaceful
environment as a prerequisite for economic development;
g) recognition
promotion and protection of human and peoples' rights in accordance with
the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights;
h) accountability,
economic and social justice and popular participation in development;
i) recognition and
observance of the rules and principles of the Community;
j) promotion and
consolidation of a democratic system of governance in each Member
State as envisaged by the Declaration of Political Principles adopted in
Abuja on 6 July, 1991; and
k) equitable and just
distribution of the costs and benefits of economic co-operation and
integration.
:
GENERAL UNDERTAKINGS
1 . Member States
undertake to create favourable conditions for the attainment of the
objectives of the Community, and particularly to take all necessary
measures to harmonise their strategies and policies, and to refrain from
any action that may hinder the attainment of the said objectives.
2. Each Member
State shall, in accordance with its constitutional procedures, take all
necessary measures to ensure the enactment and dissemination of such
legislative and statutory texts as may be necessary for the implementation
of the provisions of this Treaty.
3. Each Member State
undertakes to honour its obligations under this Treaty and to abide by the
decisions and regulations of the Community
CO-OPERATION
IN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
AGRICULTURAL
DEVELOPMENT AND FOOD SECURITY
1. Member States
shall co-operate in the development of agriculture, forestry, livestock and
fisheries in order to:
a) ensure food security;
b) increase production and productivity in agriculture, livestock,
fisheries and forestry,
and improve conditions of work and generate employment opportunities in
rural areas;
c) enhance agricultural production through processing locally, animal and
plant products.; and
d) protect the prices of export commodities on the international market.
2. To this end,
and in order to promote the integration, of production structures, Member
States shall co-operate in the following fields:
a)
the production of agricultural inputs, fertilizers, pesticides, selected
seeds, Agricultural
machinery and equipment and veterinary products;
b)
the development of river and lac basins;
c) the
development and protection of marine and fishery resources;
d) plant
and animal protection;
e) the
harmonisation of agricultural development strategies and policies
particularly
pricing and price support policies on the production, trade and marketing
of major agricultural
products and inputs; and
f) the
harmonisation of food security policies paying particular attention to:
i) the reduction of losses in food production;
ii) the strengthening of existing institutions for the management of
natural calamities,
agricultural diseases and pest control;
iii) the conclusion of agreements on food security at the regional
level; and
iv) the provision of food aid to Member States in the event. of
serious food shortage.
g) the
establishment of an early warning system; and
h) the
adoption of a common agricultural policy especially in the fields of
research, training, production, preservation, processing and
marketing of the products of agriculture, forestry, livestock and
fisheries.
CO-OPERATION IN
INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND ENERGY
INDUSTRY
1.
For the purpose of promoting industrial development of Member States
and integrating their economies, Member States shall, harmonise their
industrialisation policies.
2. In this connection,
Member States shall:
a)
strengthen the industrial base of the Community, modernise the priority
sectors and foster self-sustained and self-reliant development;
b) promote
joint industrial development projects as well as the creation of
multinational enterprises in priority industrial sub-sectors likely to
contribute to the development of agriculture, transport and communications,
natural resources and energy.
3. In order
to create a solid basic for industrialisation and promote collective self
reliance, Member States shall:
a)
ensure, on the one hand, the development of industries essential for
collective self- reliance and, on the other, the modernisation of priority
sectors of the economy especially:
i) food
and agro-based industries;
ii) building
and construction industries;
iii)
metallurgical industries;
iv)
mechanical industries;
v)
electrical, electronics and computer industries;
vi)
pharmaceutical, chemical and petrochemical industries;.
vii) forestry
industries;
viii) energy
industries;
ix) textile
and leather industries;
x) transport
and communications industries;
xi)
bio-technology industries;
xii) tourist
and cultural industries.
b) give priority and encouragement to the establishment and
strengthening of private and public multinational industrial projects
likely to promote integration;
c) ensure the promotion of medium and small-scale industries;
d) promote intermediate industries that have strong linkages to the
economy in
order
to increase the local component of industrial output within the Community;
e) prepare a regional master plan for the establishment of industries
particularly those whose construction cost and volume of production exceed
national, financial. and absorptive capacities;
f) encourage the establishment of specialised institutions for the financing
of West African
multinational industrial projects;
g) facilitate the establishment of West African multinational
enterprises and encourage the participation of West African
entrepreneurs in the regional industrialisation process.
h) promote the sale and consumption of strategic industrial products
manufactured in Member States;
i) promote technical co-operation and the exchange of experience in
the field of industrial technology and implement technical training programmes
among Member States;
j) establish a regional data and statistical information base to
support
industrial
development at the regional and continental levels;
k) promote, on the basis of natural resource endowments, industrial
specialisation in order to enhance complementarity and expand the
intra-Community trade base; and
l) adopt common standards and appropriate quality control systems.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Member States
shall:
a)
strengthen their national scientific and technological capabilities in
order to bring about the socioeconomic transformation required to improve
the quality of life of their population;
b) ensure
the proper application of science and technology to the development of
agriculture, transport and communications, industry, health and hygiene,
energy, education and manpower and the conservation of the environment;
c) reduce
their dependence on foreign technology and promote their individual and
collective technological self-reliance;
d)
co-operate in the development, acquisition and dissemination of appropriate
technologies; and
e)
strengthen existing scientific research institutions and take all necessary
measures to prepare and implement joint scientific research and
technological development programmes.
2. In their
co-operation in this field, Member States shall:
a) harmonise, at the Community level, their national policies
on scientific and technological research with a view to
facilitating their integration into the national economic and social
development plans;
h)
co-ordinate their programmes in applied research, research for development,
scientific and technological services;
c)
harmonise their national technological development plans by placing special
emphasis on indigenous and adapted technologies as well as their
regulations on industrial property and transfer of technology;
d)
co-ordinate their positions on all scientific and technical questions
forming the subject of international negotiations;
e) carry
out a permanent exchange of information and documentation and establish
Community data networks and data banks;
f)
develop joint programmes for training scientific and technological cadres,
including the training and further training of skilled manpower;
g)
promote exchanges of researchers and specialists among Member States in
order
to make full
use of the technical skills available within the Community; and
h)
harmonise the educational systems in order to adapt better educational
scientific
and
technical training to the specific development needs of the West
African environment.
ENERGY
1. Member States shall
co-ordinate and harmonise their policies and programmes in the field of
energy.
2. To this end, they
shall:
a)
ensure the effective development of the energy resources of the region;
b)
establish appropriate co-operation mechanisms with a view to ensuring a
regular
supply of hydrocarbons;
c) promote
the development of new and renewable energy particularly solar energy in
the framework of the policy of
diversification of sources of energy;
d)
harmonise their national energy development plans by ensuring particularly
the inter- connection of electricity distribution networks;
e) articulate a
common energy policy, particularly, in the field of research, exploitation,
production and distribution;
f) establish an
adequate mechanism for the collective solution of the energy development
problems within the Community, particularly those relating to energy transmission,
the shortage of skilled technicians and financial resources for the
implementation of energy projects of Member States.
CO-OPERATION IN ENVIRONMENT AND
NATURAL
RESOURCES
ENVIRONMENT
1 . Member States
undertake to protect, preserve and enhance the natural environment of the
region and co-operate in the event of natural disasters.
2. To this end,
they shall adopt policies, strategies and programmes at national and
regional levels and establish appropriate institutions to protect. preserve
and enhance the environment, control erosion, deforestation,
desertification, locusts and other pests.
HAZARDOUS
AND TOXIC WASTES
1 . Member States
undertake, individually and collectively, to take every appropriate step to
prohibit the importation, transiting, dumping and burying of hazardous and
toxic wastes in their respective territories.
2. They further
undertake to adopt all necessary measures to establish a regional
dump-watch to prevent the importation, transiting, dumping and NATURAL RESOURCES
1 . Member States
shall harmonise and co-ordinate their policies and programmes in the field
of natural resources.
2. To this end, they
shall:
a) seek
better knowledge and undertake an assessment of their natural resources
potential;
b) improve
methods of pricing and marketing of raw materials through a concerted
policy;
c)
exchange information on the prospection, mapping, production and processing
of mineral resources, as well as on the prospection, exploitation and
distribution of water resources;
d)
co-ordinate their programmes for development and utilisation of mineral and
water resources;
e) promote
vertical and horizontal inter-industrial relationships which may be
established among Member States in the course of developing such resources;
f) promote
the continuous training of skilled manpower and prepare and implement joint
training and further training programmes for cadres in order to develop the
human resources and the appropriate technological capabilities required for
the exploration, exploitation and processing of mineral and water
resources;
g)
co-ordinate their positions in all international negotiations on raw
materials; and
h) develop
a system of transfer of expertise and exchange of scientific, technical and
economic remote sensing data among Member States.
CO-OPERATION IN
TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS AND TOURISM
TRANSPORT
AND COMMUNICATIONS
1.
For the purpose of ensuring the harmonious integration of the physical
infrastructures. of Member
States and the
promotion and facilitation of the movement of persons, goods and services
within the Community, Member States undertake to:
a) evolve
common transport and communications policies, laws and regulations;
b) develop
an extensive network of all-weather highways within the Community,
priority being given to the inter-State highways;
c) formulate
plans for. the improvement and integration of railway and road networks in
the region;
d) formulate
programmes for the improvement of coastal shipping services and inter-state
inland waterways and the harmonisation of policies on maritime transport
and services;
e) co-ordinate
their positions in international negotiations in the area of maritime
transport;
f) encourage
co-operation in flight-scheduling, leasing of aircraft and granting and
joint use of fifth freedom rights to airlines of the region;
g) promote the
development of regional air transportation services and endeavour to bring
about the merger of national airlines in order to promote. their efficiency
and profitability;
h) facilitate
the development of human resources through the harmonisation and
coordination of their national training programmes and policies in the area
of transportation in general and air transport in particular;
i) endeavour to
standardise equipment used in transport and communications and establish
common facilities for production, maintenance and repair.
2. Member States also
undertake to encourage the establishment and promotion of joint ventures
and Community enterprises and the participation of the private sector in
the areas of transport and
CO-OPERATION IN TRADE, CUSTOMS,
TAXATION,STATISTICS,
MONEY AND
PAYMENTS
LIBERALISATION OF TRADE
There shall be
progressively established in the course of a period of ten (10) years effective
from 1 January, 1990 as stipulated in Article 54, a Customs Union among the
Member States. Within this union, Customs duties or other charges
with equivalent effect on Community originating imports shall be
eliminated.
Quota, quantitative or
like restrictions or prohibitions and administrative obstacles to trade
among the Member States shall also be removed. Furthermore, a common
external tariff in respect of all goods imported into the Member States
from third countries shall be established and maintained. Article.
CO-OPERATION
IN HUMAN RESOURCES, INFORMATION,SOCIAL AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS
HUMAN RESOURCES
1. Member States
undertake to co-operate in the full development and utilisation of
their human right resources.
2. To this end,
they shall take measures to:
a) strengthen co-operation among themselves in the fields of
education, training and employment; and to harmonise and co-ordinate their
policies and programmes in these areas;
b)
consolidate their existing, training institutions, improve the efficacy of
their educational systems, encourage exchanges between
schools and universities, establish equivalences
of academic, professional and
technical qualifications, encourage literacy, promote the teaching
and practice of the official languages of the Community, and establish
regional centres of excellence in various disciplines;
c) encourage the exchange of skilled manpower between Member States.
SOCIAL AFFAIRS
1 . Member States
undertake to cooperate with a view to mobilise, the various sections of the
population and ensuring their effective integration and involvement in the
social development of the region.
2. For the
purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article, Member States undertake to:
a) encourage the exchange of experiences and information on literacy,
professional training and
employment;
b) harmonise their labour laws and social security legislations;
c) promote women's and youth organisations and professional associations as
a means of
ensuring mass involvement in the activities of the Community;
d)
encourage and strengthen co-operation amongst themselves in
health matters; and
e) promote and enhance the practice of sports with a view to bringing
together the youth of the region and ensuring their balanced
development.
CULTURAL AFFAIRS
1. Member
States undertake to pursue the objectives of the Community Cultural
Framework Agreement.
2. To this end,
Member States undertake to:
a) encourage the
promotion, by every means possible, of all forms of cultural exchange;
b) Promote,
develop and, where necessary. ii-nl)rove structures and mechanisms for the
production, propagation and utilisation of cultural industries; and
c) promote the
learning and dissemination of a West African language as a factor in
Community integration.
WOMEN AND DEVELOPMENT
1. Member States
undertake to formulate, harmonise, co-ordinate and establish appropriate
policies and mechanisms, for enhancement of the economic, social and cultural
conditions of women.
2. To this end,
Member States shall take all measures necessary to:
a) identify and assess all constraints that inhibit women from
maximising their contribution to
regional development efforts; and
b) provide
a framework within which the constraints will be addressed and for the
incorporate of
women's concerns and needs into the normal operations of the society;
3. At the
Community level. Member States shell:
a) stimulate dialogue among themselves on the kinds of projects
and programmes aimed at
integrating women into the development process;
b) establish a mechanism for co-operation with bilateral,
multilateral and non-governmental
organisations; and
c) promote and development
mechanisms to encourage the exchange of experiences and
d)
OFFICIAL AND WOKING
LANGUAGES
1 . The
official languages of the Community shall be all West African languages so
designated by the Authority as well as English, French and Portuguese.
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