Burkina Faso suspended from the bodies of the Francophonie
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - La Francophonie, an organisation grouoing French-speaking countries, has suspended Bukina Faso following the 24 January coup.
The Permanent Council of La Francophonie (CPF), which held a virtual extraordinary session on Tuesday in Paris, announced the suspension of the West African country at the end of the meeting.
The Secretary General of La Francophonie, Louise Mushikiwabo, referring to her recent condemnation of the military coup in Burkina Faso, recalled that the seizure of power by force is a violation of the commitments made by the member states and governments in the Bamako Declaration, the statement said.
In a resolution adopted unanimously, the CPF condemned these events and decided, in accordance with the provisions of the Bamako Declaration, to suspend Burkina Faso from the bodies of La Francophonie.
However, the resolution maintains multilateral Francophone cooperation programmes in support of the process of restoring constitutional and democratic order, as well as those directly benefiting the civilian population, the resolution said.
The CPF demanded the immediate and unconditional release of President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré and called on the Patriotic Movement for the Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR) junta to guarantee respect for the rights and fundamental freedoms of all.
The Council asked the Secretary General to mobilise La Francophonie to support, at the political and technical levels, the transition process and the return to constitutional order in Burkina Faso.
The statement announced that the democracy and security deficit in the Francophone space will be on the agenda for discussion at the 40th session of the Ministerial Conference of La Francophonie (CMF), to be held on 16 March 2022 in Paris.
It also announced the postponement by one year of the IXth Games of La Francophonie, which will scheduled for Kinshasa in 2023, to a date not yet specified.
-0- PANA TNDD/JSG/BBA/MA 9Feb2022
