LIPTAKO-GOURMA CHARTER ESTABLISHING THE ALLIANCE OF SAHEL STATES
BETWEEN:
THE BURKINA FASO
THE REPUBLIC OF MALI THE JQUE REPUBLIC OF NIGER
The Government of Burkina Faso;
The Government of the Republic of Mali;
The Government of the Republic of Niger;
Hereinafter referred to as “the Contracting Parties”;
Reaffirming their commitment to international and regional equality, enshrined in particular by the Charter of the United Nations, the Constitutive Act of the African Union and the Revised ECOWAS Treaty;
Convinced of the need to continue the heroic struggles waged by the African peoples and countries for political independence, human dignity and economic emancipation;
Faithful to the objectives and ideals of the Integrated Development Authority of the States of Liptako-Gourma; Guided by the spirit of fraternity, solidarity and friendship;
Committed to strengthening the centuries-old ties between their Peoples:
Determined to fully exercise and ensure respect for national and international sovereignty;
Resolved to defend national unity and the integrity of the respective States;
Considering the multifaceted threats to the space common to the three States
Conscious of the responsibility to protect civilian populations in all circumstances;
Recalling the natural right of States to individual or collective self-defense:
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
By this Charter, called the Liptako-Gourma Charter, the Contracting Parties establish among themselves the Alliance of Sahel States, abbreviated “AFS”.
Article 2
The objective of the Charter is to establish an architecture of collective defense and mutual assistance to the Contracting Parties
Article 3
The Contracting Parties will subsequently establish the bodies necessary for the operation and subsequent mechanisms of the Alliance and will define the modalities of its operation.
Article 4
The Contracting Parties undertake to combat terrorism in all its forms and organized crime in the common area of the Alliance.
Article 5
The Contracting Parties will also work to prevent, manage and resolve any armed rebellion or other threat affecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of each of the member countries of the Alliance, favoring peaceful and diplomatic and, if necessary, to use force to deal with situations of disruption of peace and stability.
Article 6
Any attack on the sovereignty and integrity of the territory of one or more Contracting Parties will be considered as an aggression against the other Parties and will engage a duty of assistance and relief of all Parties, individually or collectively, including including the use of force, to restore and ensure security within the space covered by the Alliance.
Article 7
Aggression, as referred to in Article 6, also includes any attack against the Defense and Security Forces of one or more Contracting Parties, including when they are deployed in a national capacity in a theater of war. operation outside Alliance space; attack road and in all places, against the ships or aircraft of one or more Parties.
Article 8
The Parties undertake to:
- not resort to threats, use of force or aggression between themselves, either against the territorial integrity or political independence of a Party;
- not blockade ports, roads, coasts or strategic infrastructure of a Party by armed forces;
- not from a territory made available by a Party, perpetrate attacks or aggression against another Party or third States; not from the territory of a Party allow armed groups, irregular armed forces or mercenaries to carry out attacks against a country in the field.
Article 9
The Alliance's decisions are taken unanimously by the States Parties.
Article 10
The financing of the Alliance is ensured by contributions from State Parties.
Section 11
This Charter may be open to any other State sharing the same geographic, political and socio-cultural realities which accepts the objectives of the Alliance. The application for membership is accepted unanimously by the States Parties.
Article 12
Any proposed modification of this Charter is subject to the unanimous acceptance of the States Parties. The request for modification must be notified to the other States Parties through diplomatic channels, with three (03) months' notice.
Article 13
Any dispute arising from the interpretation or application of this Charter shall be resolved through diplomatic channels.
Article 14
This Charter may be denounced by any Contracting Party. The denunciation must be notified by its author to all other signatory Parties to the Charter, by letter transmitted through diplomatic channels with acknowledgment of receipt and six (06) months' notice.
Article 15
This Charter will be supplemented by additional texts, with a view to implementing the provisions provided for in Article 3.
Section 16
The Stakeholders accept the terms of this Charter which comes into force upon signature by all Parties.
Section 17
The Republic of Mali, designated depositary of this Charter, transmits the certified copies to the other States Parties.
The depositary receives and submits to the unanimous decision of the States Parties any new request for membership in the Alliance, in accordance with the provisions provided for in Article 11 of this Charter.
Done today September 16, 2023 in Bamako
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