Remodeling Responsibility To Protect In The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), On Conflict Management

Abstract

This paper attempts to analyze the roles of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Responsibility to protect (R2P), regulating regional peace and security in ECOWAS, based on the theory of cosmopolitanism. The research was conducted by exploring a historical overview of the evolution of R2P in ECOWAS as a necessary yardstick to investigate the phenomena. The paper also analyzes the first humanitarian intervention in Liberia (1989 1997) as it was this civil war which transformed the roles of ECOWAS in R2P. Despite its many institutional and political weaknesses and limitations, ECOWAS has been developing a variety of tools and mechanisms to respond effectively to complex disasters and emergencies (both natural and manmade) by building up comprehensive regional security architecture. Furthermore, it has become the first and only regional or international organization that enshrines the principle of ‘responsibility to protect’ (R2P) in its Constitutive Act. This regional approach to and formal endorsement of the R2P principle allowed it to assume a particular place in the promotion of peace and security in its area. This article aims to critically assess the effectiveness of the ECOWAS on the member states by exploring its real capacity in preventing and responding to emergencies and violent conflicts, and therefore in rendering the principle of R2P operational. The outcome of the research reveals that, the formalization of principles does not necessarily mean their effective implementation. The organization’s use of the R2P principle is also greatly conditioned by internal and external factors.