Strengthening Enablers of Peace and Security in the Mano River Union

The Mano River is a sub-region within West Africa that consists of Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. In 1973, the Mano River Union (MRU) was established between Liberia and Sierra Leone mainly to deepen collaboration and mutual assistance in matters of common interest in economic, social, technical, scientific and administrative fields. Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire joined the Union in 1980 and 2008, respectively. Despite the enthusiasm with which the MRU was established, the dreams of the Union as contained in the Mano River Declaration remains stillborn due to the violent conflicts and political instabilities that ravaged the MRU member states and the entire Mano River sub-region. Given the devastating impact of the conflict in the Mano River in the late 1990s and early 2000s and the threats it posed to the stability of the entire West African region, enormous resources were deployed by regional and global bodies to restore order and promote stability in the Mano River region.

This edition of the Nextier SPD Policy Weekly accounts for the stillbirth of the Mano River Union. It also explains why the failure to address the structural enablers of conflicts in the Mano River sub-region may stifle the actualisation of the normative principles of the MRU and other nascent frameworks for cooperation in the sub-region.

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