Niger: UN draws ECOWAS attention to unintended consequences of sanctions on humanitarian operations

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations (UN), and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, have drawn the attention of the Economic Community of the West African States (ECOWAS) on the adverse impact of some of its sanctions on the humanitarian operations conducted by UN Agencies and non-governmental organizations participating in the United Nations Humanitarian Response Plans, Refugee Response Plans, other United Nations humanitarian appeals.

Mr Griffiths in his letter dated 17th August 2023, to ECOWAS, stated that people have reached out to him sharing accounts of major logistical impediments and warning about foreseeable additional obstacles related to some of the measures adopted by ECOWAS – including in terms of procurement, transportation, and banking services.

It is recalled that ECOWAS at its first emergency summit held to address the coup in Niger imposed several sanctions on Niger including the closure of land and air borders and freezing of accounts.

The bloc also gave a seven days ultimatum to the putschists to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations (UN), and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, in his letter to ECOWAS, said “I, therefore, appeal to ECOWAS and its member States to ensure that the sanction measures integrate the necessary standing exemptions for the humanitarian operations of these various actors in Niger. In particular, the exemptions would need to ensure that the safe, timely and unimpeded movement of humanitarian cargo and personnel into and out of Niger, by air and by land, will not be impacted by the sanctions.”

Below is his full letter…

Excellency,

With reference to your letter to the Secretary-General dated 31 July, transmitting the
the decision of the Authority of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) taken at the 51st Extraordinary Summit of the Mediation and Security Council at the Heads of State level in Niger, I would like to bring to your attention the unintended adverse impact of some of ECOWAS’s sanctions on the humanitarian operations conducted by UN Agencies and non-governmental organizations participating in the United Nations Humanitarian Response Plans, Refugee Response Plans, other United Nations humanitarian appeals, or OCHA-coordinated humanitarian “clusters”.

Several have reached out to me sharing accounts of major logistical impediments and
warning about foreseeable additional obstacles related to some of the measures adopted by
ECOWAS – including in terms of procurement, transportation, and banking services.

I, therefore, appeal to ECOWAS and its member States to ensure that the sanction measures integrate the necessary standing exemptions for the humanitarian operations of these various actors in Niger. In particular, the exemptions would need to:

i. Ensure that the safe, timely and unimpeded movement of humanitarian cargo and
personnel into and out of Niger, by air and by land, will not be impacted by the
sanctions.

ii. guarantee the safety of humanitarian flights.

iii. clarify that all commercial and financial transactions necessary to support the
continuation of humanitarian operations in Niger remains permitted and proactively
communicate this decision to financial institutions, relevant authorities and entities in
the private sector.

iv. maintain the provision of utility services as necessary to support humanitarian
operations.

v. exclude from asset freezes all transactions needed to support the delivery of
humanitarian assistance and activities necessary to address the basic human needs of the
population, including the processing or payment of funds, other financial assets, or
economic resources, or the provision of goods and services to targeted actors or
institutions under their control as part of legitimate humanitarian activities.

vi. ensure that humanitarian organizations and their personnel involved in such
transactions do not incur any legal risk for their activities strictly related to the
provision of humanitarian assistance to the population of Niger.

I look forward to working with you to ensure that the population of Niger who has been
directly affected by the crisis can receive the necessary humanitarian assistance.