The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS; , CEEAC; , CEEAC; , CEEAC) is an Economic Community of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

for promotion of regional economic co-operation in

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

. It "aims to achieve collective autonomy, raise the

standard of living Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available to an individual, community or society. A contributing factor to an individual's quality of life, standard of living is generally concerned with objective metrics outsid ...

of its populations and maintain economic stability through harmonious cooperation".

History

Foundation

At a summit meeting in December 1981, the leaders of the Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa (French acronym 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 São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main isla ...

and the members of the Economic Community of the Great Lakes States (CEPGL established in 1976 by the

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

and

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

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 spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

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 a ...

(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 blocs (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 Libreville (; ) is the capital and largest city of Gabon, located on the Gabon Estuary. Libreville occupies of the northwestern province of Estuaire Province, Estuaire. Libreville is also a port on the Gabon Estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. A ...

on 6 February 1998. The

Heads of State A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

and

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

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

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

French franc The franc (; , ; currency sign, 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 amoun ...

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

UNECA The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA; , CEA) was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its member states (the nations of the Africa, African contin ...

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 The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

also appealed to member countries to support the complete lifting of the

embargo Economic sanctions or embargoes are commercial and financial penalties applied by states or institutions against states, groups, or individuals. Economic sanctions are a form of coercion that attempts to get an actor to change its behavior throu ...

placed on his country. During the

inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

of President Bongo of

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

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 Malabo ( , ; formerly ) is the capital of Equatorial Guinea in the province of Bioko Norte. It is located on the north coast of the island of Bioko (, and as ''Fernando Pó'' by the Europeans). In 2018, the city had a population of approxim ...

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).

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 union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(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 Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed w ...

missions in the

: Operation Artemis (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 Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...

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 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,

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. On 1 September 2020, Gilberto Da Piedade Verissimo of Angola was appointed President of the ECCAS Commission with Francisca Tatchouop Belobe as vice-President. In response to the

2023 Gabonese coup d'état On 30 August 2023, a coup d'état occurred in Gabon shortly after the announcement that incumbent president Ali Bongo had won the general election held on 26 August. It was the eighth successful coup to occur in West and Central Africa since 2 ...

, the ECCAS condemned the military use of force and asked for restoration of constitutional order. It also suspended Gabon's membership in the bloc on 5 September and moved its headquarters from Libreville to

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

. On 7 June 2025, Rwanda announced its departure from the ECCAS, citing the bloc's "instrumentalisation" by the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Economic integration

Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa

The Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (or CEMAC from its name in French) is an organization established by

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

Republic of Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

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 barriers to trade, non-tariff restrictions on trade. The trade-stimulation effects intended by ...

among countries that share a common currency, the

West African CFA franc The West African CFA franc ( or simply , ISO 4217 code: XOF; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the currency used by eight independent states in West Africa which make up the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA): Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d' ...

Objectives

The ultimate goal is to establish a Central African

Common Market A single market, sometimes called common market or internal market, is a type of trade bloc in which most trade barriers have been removed (for goods) with some common policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the factors of ...

. 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 (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

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: med ...

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 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 t ...

of goods within the ECCAS * Protocol on

Transit Transit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Transit'' (1980 film), a 1980 Israeli film * ''Transit'' (1986 film), a Canadian short film * ''Transit'' (2005 film), a film produced by MTV and Staying-Alive about four people in countrie ...

and Transit facilities * Protocol on

Customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...

cooperation within the ECCAS * Protocol on the Fund for Compensation for Loss of Revenue * Protocol on

Freedom of movement Freedom of movement, mobility rights, or the right to travel is a human rights concept encompassing the right of individuals to travel from place to place within the territory of a country,Jérémiee Gilbert, ''Nomadic Peoples and Human Rights'' ...

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 Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

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 city, capital city of Cameroon. It has a population of more than 2.8 million which makes it the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region o ...

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

and

. 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 The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

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

. In January 2000,

hosted a regional

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

on 23 June 2000.

Foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

s from 10 Central African states met in the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

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 the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, and only

declined to attend. A meeting of Defence

Chiefs of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

was held in

in October 2003, at which it was decided that a

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, 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 ...

-size peacekeeping force would be created in order to intervene in unstable Central African areas. This could then form one of the

'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 (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

West West 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 Romance langu ...

, Central,

East East 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 fact that ea ...

and

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

). 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 exercise A military exercise, training exercise, maneuver (manoeuvre), or war game is the employment of military resources in Military education and training, training for military operations. Military exercises are conducted to explore the effects of ...

s every two years. The first of these is to take place in

MICOPAX

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

led by the ECCAS. It is involved in the

Central African Republic Bush War The Central African Bush War was a civil war in the Central African Republic which lasted from 2004 to 2007 between Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR) rebels and government forces. The rebellion began after François Bozizé seiz ...

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