Petition to revoke ECOWAS sanctions on Mali

Youth for Peace and Security Africa, YPS-Africa is the largest network of African youth being engaged and equipped with skills and responsibilities to prevent and resolve violent and bloody conflicts and crimes in their communities.

YPS-Africa was registered in Ghana in 2012 with the vision, ‘A Safe and Developed Africa’. It has members and volunteers in 21 African countries who are leading peacebuilding in their communities under the slogan, ‘Making Africa safer for better development’.

We acknowledge the growing challenges faced by ECOWAS on the continent. We also appreciate the efforts and the interventions of the bloc in addressing some of the challenges. At an extraordinary summit of the leaders of the West African States, after the failure of ECOWAS to reach an agreement with the Transitional Government of the Republic of Mali, the bloc chose to impose some draconian sanctions on the Republic of Mali.

These sanctions, which were rejected by the United Nations Security Council, detail: the withdrawal of ECOWAS ambassadors from Mali; the closure of land and air borders between ECOWAS countries and Mali, and the suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS member states and Mali.

On paper, these severe sanctions may be intended to punish the leaders of the Transitional Government of the Republic of Mali and force them to submit to the dictates of ECOWAS but in effect, it is the innocent Malians who are being punished by ECOWAS.

Sanctions in general, around the world, have only brought severe hardship to poor and innocent citizens. They did little to nothing to the leaders of governments. Sanctions have not forced or achieved any desired compromises anywhere. It still baffles YPS-Africa, why ECOWAS chose sanctions to deal with the complex situation in Mali.

The draconian sanctions, in effects in Mali: family members, husbands, brothers and sisters who work in ECOWAS countries can not send money home to their sick mothers, pregnant wives, and children for medicines, food, education, healthcare and school fees. Petty traders and market women (some single parents) who rely on cross-border goods and services for their businesses are forced to close their trades and are now home.

Huge companies are being forced to close down, creating more unemployment. The people of Mali have suffered enough before the imposition of these draconian sanctions by ECOWAS. No country can survive such a blockade, not even Qatar or America.

The People of Mali are literally dying on daily basis in thousands of starvation, suicide, frustrations, depression, and lack of vital medicine. This was not what ECOWAS promised the people. These sanctions are killing people. ECOWAS is killing innocent and poor Malians.

This is a genocide. Why should ordinary Malians be punished for something they have no power to control? The poor Malians do not command the military and do not control the armory of Mali. What is their offense?

If the putting of these severe sanctions on the people of Mali was to force them to remove the military government, then that is unfair. How are sick grandparents, pregnant women, children, petty traders and market women supposed to take guns and bomb against the military government? That is suicide and an impossible mission, no matter how hard ECOWAS punishes these innocent and suffering people.

Our humble demands

In view of the above-unintended hardships, deaths, and depression these draconian sanctions have brought directly on the innocent Malians, we humbly request urgent, humanitarian, and passionate actions to revoke all the sanctions on the people of Mali.

We also ask ECOWAS to continue to explore diplomatic means in dealing with the situations in Mali since any military intervention will kill innocent people.