The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS; french: Communauté Économique des États de l'Afrique Centrale, CEEAC; es, Comunidad Económica de los Estados de África Central, CEEAC; pt, Comunidade Económica dos Estados da África Central, CEEAC) is an Economic Community of the African Union for promotion of regional economic co-operation in

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo ...

. It "aims to achieve collective autonomy, raise the standard of living of its populations and maintain economic stability through harmonious cooperation".

History

Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa

The Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa (or UDEAC from its name in French, ), (in Spanish: , UAEAC), (in Portuguese: , UAEAC), established by the Brazzaville Treaty in 1964, formed a

customs union A customs union is generally defined as a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff.GATTArticle 24 s. 8 (a) Customs unions are established through trade pacts where the participant countries set up ...

with

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...

between members and a

common external tariff A common external tariff (CET) must be introduced when a group of countries forms a customs union. The same customs duties, import quotas, preferences or other non-tariff barriers to trade apply to all goods entering the area, regardless of which ...

for imports from other countries. The treaty became effective in 1966 after it was ratified by the then five member countries—

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

, the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

, Chad, the Republic of Congo, and

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

. Equatorial Guinea joined the Union on 19 December 1983. UDEAC signed a treaty for the establishment of an Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) to promote the entire process of sub-regional integration through the forming of monetary union with the

CFA franc The CFA franc (french: franc CFA, , Franc of the Financial Community of Africa, originally Franc of the French Colonies in Africa, or colloquially ; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight We ...

as a common currency; it was officially superseded by CEMAC in June 1999 (through agreement from 1994). CEMAC currently operates a customs union and monetary union. The common market is in place, but many exceptions to the tariff free regime still exist.

Foundation

At a summit meeting in December 1981, the leaders of the UDEAC agreed in principle to form a wider economic community of Central African states. ECCAS was established on 18 October 1983 by the UDEAC members, São Tomé and Príncipe and the members of the

Economic Community of the Great Lakes States The Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (ECGLC) (in French CEPGL - ''Communauté Économique des Pays des Grand Lacs'') is a sub-regional organization with multiple purposes created by the signing of the Agreement of Gisenyi in Rwanda ...

(CEPGL established in 1976 by the DR Congo, Burundi and Rwanda).

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

remained an observer until 1999, when it became a full member. ECCAS began functioning in 1985, but was inactive for several years because of financial difficulties (non-payment of membership fees by the member states) and the conflict in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

area. The war in the DR Congo was particularly divisive, as Rwanda and Angola fought on opposing sides. ECCAS has been designated a pillar of the

African Economic Community The African Economic Community (AEC) is an organization of African Union states establishing grounds for mutual economic development among the majority of African states. The stated goals of the organization include the creation of free trade ...

(AEC), but formal contact between the AEC and ECCAS was only established in October 1999 due to the inactivity of ECCAS since 1992 (ECCAS signed the Protocol on Relations between the AEC and the

regional bloc A trade bloc is a type of intergovernmental agreement, often part of a regional intergovernmental organization, where barriers to trade (tariffs and others) are reduced or eliminated among the participating states. Trade blocs can be stand-alone ...

s (RECs) in October 1999). The AEC again confirmed the importance of ECCAS as the major economic community in Central Africa at the third preparatory meeting of its Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in June 1999. Presided over by President

Pierre Buyoya Pierre Buyoya (24 November 1949 – 17 December 2020) was a Burundian army officer and politician who served two terms as President of Burundi in 1987 to 1993 and 1996 to 2003. He was the second-longest serving president in Burundian history. An ...

of Burundi, the summit was held in Libreville on 6 February 1998. The

Heads of State A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

and

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

present at the summit committed themselves to the resurrection of the organisation. The Prime Minister of

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

also indicated that his country would become a fully fledged member. The summit approved a budget of 10 million

French franc The franc (, ; sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It w ...

s for 1998 and requested the Secretariat to: * Obtain assistance from

UNECA The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA; french: link=no, Commission économique pour l'Afrique, CEA) was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its ...

to evaluate the operational activities of the secretariat; to evaluate the contributions due by member states; and the salaries and salary structures of employees of the secretariat * Convene an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers as soon as possible to evaluate the recommendations of UNECA; the Council should then draw up proposals for a new administrative structure for the secretariat and revised contributions due by each member state. The summit also requested countries in the region to find lasting and peaceful solutions to their political problems. The chairman also appealed to member countries to support the complete lifting of the

embargo Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they m ...

placed on his country. During the inauguration of President Bongo of

on 21 January 1999, a mini-summit of ECCAS leaders was held. The leaders discussed problems concerning the functioning of ECCAS and the creation of a third Deputy Secretary-General post, designated for Angola. Angola formally joined the Community during this summit.

Recent events

The 10th Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government took place in Malabo in June 2002. This Summit decided to adopt a protocol on the establishment of a Network of Parliamentarians of Central Africa (REPAC) and to adopt the standing orders of the Council for Peace and Security in Central Africa (COPAX), including the Defence and Security Commission (CDS), Multinational Force of Central Africa (FOMAC) and the Early Warning Mechanism of Central Africa (MARAC). Rwanda was also officially welcomed upon its return as a full member of ECCAS. On January 24, 2003, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

(EU) concluded a financial agreement with ECCAS and CEMAC, conditional on ECCAS and CEMAC merging into one organization, with ECCAS taking responsibility for the peace and security of the sub-region through its security pact COPAX. CEMAC is not one of the pillars of the

, but its members are associated with it through Economic Community of Central African States. The EU had multiple peacekeeping missions in the DR Congo:

Operation Artemis Operation Artemis, formally European Union Force Democratic Republic of the Congo (EUFOR), was a short-term European Union-led UN-authorised military mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the Ituri conflict. ARTEMIS is consider ...

(June to September 2003), EUPOL Kinshasa (from October 2003) and EUSEC DR Congo (from May 2005). The 11th Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government in Brazzaville during January 2004 welcomed the fact that the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of a Council for Peace and Security in Central Africa (COPAX) had received the required number of ratifications to enter into force. The Summit also adopted a declaration on the implementation of

NEPAD The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is an economic development program of the African Union. NEPAD was adopted at the 37th session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in July 2001 in Lusaka, Zambia. NEPAD aims to p ...

in Central Africa as well as a declaration on gender equality. On September 23, 2009, pursuant to Presidential Determination 2009-26 and as published in the Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 183 (Presidential Documents 48363) ECCAS was made eligible under the U.S. Arms Export Control Act for the furnishing of defense articles and defense services. This makes the ECCAS organization and (theoretically) the countries under their charter eligible for U.S. Foreign Military Sales Program (i.e. government to government sales and assistance) pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act and for other such U.S. assistance as directed by a USG contract to U.S. industry for such support pursuant to the (ITA

In 2007, Rwanda decided to leave the organisation in order to remove overlap in its membership in regional trade blocks and so that it could better focus on its membership in the East African Community, EAC and

COMESA The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whi ...

. Rwanda was a founding member of the organisation and had been a part of it since 18 October 1981. It subsequently rejoined ECCAS in 2016.

Economic integration

Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa

The Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (or CEMAC from its name in French: ''Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale'', in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''Comunidad Económica y Monetaria de África Central'', and in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

: ''Comunidade Económica e Monetária da África Central'') is an organization of states of

established by

, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and

to promote

economic integration Economic integration is the unification of economic policies between different states, through the partial or full abolition of tariff and non-tariff restrictions on trade. The trade-stimulation effects intended by means of economic integrati ...

among countries that share a common currency, the

. UDEAC signed a treaty for the establishment of CEMAC to promote the entire process of sub-regional integration through the forming of

monetary union A currency union (also known as monetary union) is an intergovernmental agreement that involves two or more states sharing the same currency. These states may not necessarily have any further integration (such as an economic and monetary union, ...

with the Central Africa

as a common currency; it was officially superseded by CEMAC in June 1999 (through agreement from 1994). CEMAC's objectives are the promotion of trade, the institution of a genuine common market, and greater solidarity among peoples and towards under-privileged countries and regions. In 1994, it succeeded in introducing quota restrictions and reductions in the range and amount of tariffs. Currently, CEMAC countries share a common financial, regulatory, and legal structure, and maintain a common external tariff on imports from non-CEMAC countries. In theory, tariffs have been eliminated on trade within CEMAC, but full implementation of this has been delayed. Movement of capital within CEMAC is free.

Objectives

The ultimate goal is to establish a Central African

Common Market The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

. At the Malabo Heads of State and Government Conference in 1999, four priority fields for the organization were identified: * to develop capacities to maintain peace, security and stability - as essential prerequisites for economic and social development * to develop physical,

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

and

monetary Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are ...

integration * to develop a culture of human integration * to establish an autonomous financing mechanism for ECCAS

Structure

* Conference of Heads of State and Government * Council of Ministers * Secretariat General (one secretary-general elected for four years and three assistant secretaries-general) * Court of Justice * Consultative Commission

Treaties and protocols

* Treaty Establishing the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) * Protocol Establishing the Network of Parliamentarians of ECCAS (REPAC) * Mutual Assistance Pact Between Member States of ECCAS * Protocol Relating to the Establishment of a Mutual Security Pact in Central Africa (COPAX)

Appendices to the ECCAS Treaty

* Protocol on the

Rules of Origin Rules of origin are the rules to attribute a country of origin to a product in order to determine its "economic nationality". The need to establish rules of origin stems from the fact that the implementation of trade policy measures, such as tari ...

for products to be traded between member states of the ECCAS * Protocol on Non-Tariff Trade Barriers * Protocol on the

Re-export Re-exportation, also called entrepot trade, is a form of international trade in which a country exports goods which it previously imported without altering them. One such example could be when one member of a free trade agreement charges lower ...

of goods within the ECCAS * Protocol on

Transit Transit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Transit'' (1979 film), a 1979 Israeli film * ''Transit'' (2005 film), a film produced by MTV and Staying-Alive about four people in countries in the world * ''Transit'' (2006 film), a 2006 ...

and Transit facilities * Protocol on Customs cooperation within the ECCAS * Protocol on the Fund for Compensation for Loss of Revenue * Protocol on Freedom of movement and Rights of Establishment of nationals of member states within the ECCAS * Protocol on the

Clearing House Clearing house or Clearinghouse may refer to: Banking and finance * Clearing house (finance) * Automated clearing house * ACH Network, an electronic network for financial transactions in the U.S. * Bankers' clearing house * Cheque clearing * Cl ...

for the ECCAS * Protocol on Cooperation in Agricultural development between member states of the ECCAS * Protocol on Cooperation in Industrial development between member states of the ECCAS * Protocol on Cooperation in Transport and Communications between member states of the ECCAS * Protocol on Cooperation in Science and Technology between member states of the ECCAS * Protocol on

Energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...

cooperation between member states of the ECCAS * Protocol on Cooperation in Natural resources between member states of the ECCAS * Protocol on Cooperation in the development of Human resources, Education, Training and Culture between member states of the ECCAS * Protocol on Cooperation in Tourism between member states of the ECCAS * Protocol on the Simplification and Harmonization of Trade documents and Procedures within the ECCAS * Protocol on the Situation of Landlocked, Semi-Landlocked, Island, Part-Island and/or Least Advanced Countries

Peace and security activities

Central African states adopted a pact of non-aggression at the end of the fifth meeting of the UN Consultative Committee on Security in Central Africa held in

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

, Cameroon. The pact, adopted on 9 September 1994, was arrived at after five days of meeting and discussions between military experts and ministers of

, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea,

and São Tomé and Príncipe. At a summit conference of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa which took place in Yaoundé on 25–26 February 1999, member states decided to create an organisation for the promotion, maintenance and consolidation of peace and security in Central Africa, which would be called the Council for Peace and Security in Central Africa (COPAX). The COPAX Protocol has now entered into force.

Technical organs of the COPAX council

* The Central African Early-Warning System (MARAC), which collects and analyses data for the early detection and prevention of crises. * The Defence and Security Commission (CDS), which is the meeting of chiefs of staff of national armies and commanders-in-chief of police and gendarmerie forces from the different member states. Its role is to plan, organize and provide advice to the decision-making bodies of the community in order to initiate military operations if needed. * The Multinational Force of Central Africa (FOMAC), which is a non-permanent force consisting of military contingents from member states, whose purpose is to accomplish missions of peace, security and humanitarian relief. The standing orders for COPAX, including those of CDS, MARAC and FOMAC were adopted in June 2002 at the 10th Ordinary Summit in Malabo. In January 2000,

hosted a regional peacekeeping exercise "Gabon 2000" with the objective of increasing the capacity of ECCAS states in the field of peacekeeping and conflict prevention and management. This exercise represented a direct application of the French RECAMP-concept (reinforcement of African peacekeeping capacities). Extraordinary Summits of both ECCAS and CEMAC took place in Libreville on 23 June 2000. Foreign ministers from 10 Central African states met in the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

on 16 and 17 August 2001 to discuss security in their war-torn region. The meeting was sponsored by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

, and only Rwanda declined to attend. A meeting of Defence Chiefs of Staff was held in Brazzaville in October 2003, at which it was decided that a

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

-size peacekeeping force would be created in order to intervene in unstable Central African areas. This could then form one of the African Union's five planned brigades of the African Standby Force, one brigade for each region (

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, Central,

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

and

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

). The meeting recommended that military planners from each of the ECCAS states form a group to work out the details for the force. They also suggested the establishment of a joint peacekeeping training centre and military exercises every two years. The first of these is to take place in Chad.

MICOPAX

The Mission for the consolidation of peace in Central African Republic (MICOPAX) is a peace operation in the

led by the ECCAS. It's involved in the

Central African Republic Bush War The Central African Republic Bush War was a civil war in the Central African Republic between Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR) rebels and government forces. The rebellion began after François Bozizé seized the nation's preside ...

and 2012–2013 Central African Republic conflict.

References

External links

CEEAC

CEMAC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Economic Community Of Central African States African Union International economic organizations International organizations based in Africa Economy of Cameroon Economy of the Central African Republic Economy of Chad Economy of the Republic of the Congo Economy of Equatorial Guinea Economy of Gabon Organizations established in 1981 Regional Economic Communities of the African Union Trade blocs United Nations General Assembly observers Intergovernmental organizations established by treaty 1981 establishments in Africa