ECOWAS Approves Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger as Non-Member States of GIABA

The Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS has approved the admission of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger as non-member states of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).

According to a statement from GIABA, this decision was reached at the 68th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority held on December 14, 2025, in Abuja, Nigeria. The meeting was chaired by Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio, who currently serves as Chair of the ECOWAS Authority.

The approval requires the three countries to make a firm political commitment to implement all obligations of GIABA membership. This includes addressing weaknesses in their systems for combating money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing, as well as cooperating fully with GIABA’s compliance standards.

Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger officially withdrew from ECOWAS on January 29, 2025, after forming a new regional bloc known as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

Before the ECOWAS decision, GIABA’s Ministerial Committee had already recommended their admission as non-ECOWAS members during its second Extraordinary Session held on July 19, 2025, in Accra.

Under GIABA’s Establishment Statute, countries that are not ECOWAS members may join the organization if they meet specific eligibility requirements.

With this latest decision, GIABA now has five non-ECOWAS member states, including São Tomé and Príncipe and the Union of Comoros.