The Confederation of Sahel States (AES) has raised serious concerns at the United Nations over growing restrictions to its members’ right of access to the sea, denouncing these obstacles as violations of international law driven by political motives.
Addressing delegates at the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) in Awaza, Turkmenistan, on August 5, 2025, the AES, represented by Malian Prime Minister General Abdoulaye Maïga, called on the UN to explicitly condemn measures it claims are designed to economically and strategically isolate its member states.
The AES, comprising Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, highlighted the challenges faced by its nearly 75 million people living across almost three million square kilometers of landlocked territory.
Despite rich natural resources, the confederation underlined how unilateral corridor closures by neighbouring states act as political pressure tactics that exacerbate structural limitations.
Citing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Montego Bay, 1982) and the 1965 Convention on Transit Trade of Land-Locked States, the AES affirmed: “access to and from the sea constitutes an enforceable right.”
It warned that over the past two years, this right has been increasingly curtailed amid regional diplomatic tensions and contested trade routes.
The confederation singled out Guinea, Mauritania, and Togo for their positive stance, noting: “These coastal countries have kept their borders and transit routes open despite external pressures.”
The speech also reflected on commitments made under the Vienna Programme of Action 2014–2024 and stressed the urgency of a new decade focused on economic and logistical recovery for LLDCs.
On regional initiatives, the AES revealed plans to establish a Confederal Bank for Investment and Development before the end of 2025, aimed at financing infrastructure, energy, industrialisation, and economic diversification projects. It stressed the importance of “increased local processing of raw materials” to lessen dependency on external supply chains.
Prime Minister Maïga also addressed security concerns, noting ongoing military operations against armed groups in the Sahel, claiming “significant results in dismantling armed groups,” while reaffirming allegations of foreign state support to these factions.
Regarding fiscal matters, the AES voiced support for the United Nations Framework Convention on Cooperation in Tax Matters, linking “transparency in trade, the fight against tax fraud by multinationals, and the ability of states to mobilise their own resources.” The confederation believes binding rules could reduce revenue losses tied to resource exploitation.
Closing the address, the AES called for reforming risk assessment systems used by international financial institutions, arguing that current criteria unfairly penalise low-income landlocked countries and urging that by 2030, these institutions adopt more realistic benchmarks.
Throughout the intervention, the AES sought to challenge the often crisis-ridden portrayal of the Sahel, emphasizing instead “a political will for recovery and regional integration” and affirming its commitment to cooperate with partners while respecting sovereignty and strategic choices of member states.
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