ECOWAS and artifact repatriation

ECOWAS

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has emerged as a key regional actor in the movement to repatriate cultural property removed during colonial and post-colonial conflicts. Established in 1975, ECOWAS unites fifteen West African countries under a treaty that promotes economic integration and cultural cooperation. In 2019, its Ministers of Culture adopted a Regional Action Plan for the return of African cultural artefacts to their countries of origin, marking a formal commitment to correct historical injustices and to safeguard regional heritage.

History

ECOWAS was founded by the Treaty of Lagos, signed on 28 May 1975 by the Heads of State of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. Its core objectives include harmonising national policies, reducing trade barriers and promoting human-development initiatives—including cultural affairs—across member states.

Looting and regional impact

West Africa’s museums, palaces and sacred sites suffered extensive plunder under European colonial regimes. Artefacts ranging from royal regalia to ritual objects were extracted and dispersed across Europe and North America. This loss of cultural patrimony weakened local identities and deprived future generations of tangible links to their past. By the late twentieth century, ECOWAS member states recognised that repatriating such objects was essential to restoring cultural continuity and promoting tourism and education in the region.

Repatriation efforts

Individual member states initiated bilateral requests for return of artefacts as early as the 1960s, but these efforts often lacked coordination and leverage. In December 2018, ECOWAS Heads of State adopted a Political Declaration in Abuja instructing the Commission to develop a regional mechanism for repatriation, reflecting a consensus that joint action would carry greater weight in negotiations with former colonial powers. Critics warned that without legal force, the plan risked being a symbolic gesture.

On 17 July 2019 in Cotonou, Benin, ECOWAS Ministers of Culture validated the 2019–2023 Regional Action Plan for the return of cultural artefacts. The Plan sets out six strategic objectives, including establishing a legal framework, mobilising financing, strengthening governance and mapping artefact inventories held abroad. In May 2021, ECOWAS Commissioner Mamadou Traoré led advocacy talks with Liberian authorities to encourage ratification of the 1970 UNESCO Convention and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on cultural property, underscoring ECOWAS’s role in driving member-state compliance with international norms.