Liptako-Gourma Charter

The Government of Burkina Faso, the Government of the Republic of Mali and the Government of the Republic of the Niger, hereinafter referred to as “the Contracting Parties”,

Reaffirming their commitment to international and regional legality, including as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, the Constitutive Act of the African Union and the Revised Treaty of the Economic Community of West African States,

Convinced of the need to continue the heroic struggles waged by African peoples and countries for political independence, human dignity and economic emancipation,

Faithful to the objectives and ideals of the Liptako-Gourma Integrated Development Authority,

Guided by the spirit of fraternity, solidarity and friendship,

Committed to strengthening the age-old ties between their peoples,

Determined to fully exercise and ensure respect for national and international sovereignty,

Resolved to defend the national unity and integrity of their respective States,

Considering the multifaceted threats to the region shared by the three States,

Aware of the responsibility to protect civilian populations in all circumstances,

Recalling the natural right of States to individual and collective self-defence,

Have agreed as follows:

Article 1

By virtue of this Charter, known as the Liptako-Gourma Charter, the Contracting Parties establish among themselves the Alliance of Sahel States, abbreviated “AES”.

Article 2

The purpose of the Charter is to establish a collective defence and mutual assistance architecture for the Contracting Parties.

Article 3

The Contracting Parties shall subsequently set up the operating organs and related mechanisms of the Alliance and establish its terms of reference.

Article 4

The Contracting Parties undertake to combat terrorism in all its forms and organized crime in the region where the borders of the three countries meet.

Article 5

The Contracting Parties shall also work to prevent, manage and quell any armed rebellion or other threat to the territorial integrity or sovereignty of each of the member countries of the Alliance, preferably through peaceful and diplomatic means and, if necessary, using force to deal with breaches of the peace and stability.

Article 6

Any attack on the sovereignty or territorial integrity of one or more of the Contracting Parties shall be considered an act of aggression against the other Parties and shall give rise to a duty of assistance and help on the part of all the Parties, individually or collectively, including the use of armed force, in order to restore and ensure security within the area covered by the Alliance.

Article 7

Aggression, as referred to in article 6, also includes any attack against the defence and security forces of one or more Contracting Parties, including when they are deployed in a national capacity in a theatre of operations outside the territory of the Alliance, as well as any attack carried out anywhere against the ships or aircraft of one or more of the Parties.

Article 8

The Parties undertake not to:

– Resort, among themselves, to threats or the use of force or aggression against the territorial integrity or political independence of any Party

– Use their armed forces to blockade the ports, roads, coasts or strategic infrastructure of any Party

– Carry out attacks or aggression against another Party or third States from a territory made available by any Party

– Allow armed groups, irregular armed forces or mercenaries to carry out attacks against a country of the Alliance from the territory of any Party

Article 9

Decisions of the Alliance shall be taken unanimously by the States Parties.

Article 10

The Alliance shall be financed by contributions from the States Parties.

Article 11

This Charter may be open to any other State which shares the geographical, political and sociocultural realities of the Alliance and which accepts its purposes.

Requests for accession shall be accepted unanimously by the States Parties.

Article 12

Any proposed amendments to this Charter shall be subject to the unanimous acceptance of the States Parties.

The requested amendment shall be notified to the other States Parties through the diplomatic channel three months in advance.

Article 13

Any dispute that may arise over the interpretation or application of this Charter shall be settled through the diplomatic channel.

Article 14

This Charter may be terminated by any of the Contracting Parties. The party wishing to terminate the Charter shall provide six months’ notice to all the other signatories of the Charter by means of a letter sent through the diplomatic channel, the receipt of which shall be acknowledged.

Article 15

This Charter shall be supplemented by additional texts, in order to implement the provisions of article 3.

Article 16

The Parties accept the terms of this Charter, which shall enter into force upon its signature by all the Parties.

Article 17

The Republic of Mali, which is designated as the depositary of this Charter, shall transmit certified copies to the other States Parties.

The depositary shall receive, and submit to the States Parties for their unanimous decision, any new request for membership of the Alliance, in accordance with the provisions of article 11 of this Charter.

DONE on 16 September 2023 at Bamako.

For Burkina Faso:
Captain Ibrahim Traoré
Transitional President,
Head of State

For the Republic of Mali:
Colonel Assimi Goïta
Transitional President,
Head of State

For the Republic of the Niger:
General Abdourahamane Tiani
Head of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland,
Head of State