Correction (Sep. 2023): It's since come to our attention that South Sudan's suspension had already been lifted at the time this article was published. For details, see our September 2023 African Union map update. The text of this article has now been corrected, but the map has not.
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| Map by Evan Centanni, from blank map by Eric Gaba. License: CC BY-SA |
Mali Suspended from AU for Second Time in Less Than a Year
PolGeoNow readers may remember that Mali was suspended from membership in the African Union (AU) last August, after a military faction overthrew the country's government. That suspension was reversed in October, when a civilian transitional government came to power. But with military figures once again taking over the country late last month, the AU has once again suspended Mali's membership. The new suspension was imposed on June 6.
Besides being the second time in less than a year, this is actually Mali's third AU suspension overall - the first was imposed in response to yet another military takeover back in 2012. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), from which Mali was also suspended in August, has also again suspended the country's membership. It's a bit unclear when the first ECOWAS suspension had officially ended - the bloc said last October that it was lifting the economic sanctions it had imposed on Mali, but the announcement didn't explicitly say that the country's membership privileges had been restored.
Country Short Name: • Mali (English, French) Official Name: • Republic of Mali (English) • République du Mali (French) Capital: Bamako |
Which countries are suspended from the African Union?
Mali is the only one of the AU's 55 member countries that's currently suspended.The AU
routinely suspends any member country that goes through an
unconstitutional change of leadership, especially if it involves military intervention in civilian politics. On the other hand, the rules generally turn a blind eye to leaders who stay in power unconstitutionally, or who had already seized power before the rules took effect. Suspended countries are still considered
members, but are temporarily shut out of the organization's
meetings and denied a vote in the group's decision-making.
The African Union includes every
independent, internationally-recognized country with a capital in Africa, including the
partially-recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
(SADR), which claims to be
the government of Western Sahara. Two cities on the North African
coast, as well as some outlying islands, are controlled by non-African
countries, leaving them outside the African
Union for practical purposes. However, even many of those are still claimed by AU member
countries in principle.
Learn More: Which Countries Are (and Aren't) in the African Union?
You can see past and future updates to this map by viewing all African Union articles or all African Union suspensions updates on PolGeoNow.