Subregional environment

Senegal is a member of subregional organizations such as UEMOA (West African Economic and Monetary Union), ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), OHADA (Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa), OAPI (African Organization for Intellectual Copyright).

Au sommaire
West African Economic and Monetary Union
Economic Community of West African States
Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa
African Organization for Intellectual Copyright

1- UEMOA: West African Economic and Monetary Union

Date of creation January 10, 1994
Member states
  1. Benin
  2. Burkina Faso
  3. Ivory Coast
  4. Guinea Bissau
  5. Mali
  6. Niger
  7. Senegal
  8. Togo
Surface 3.509.600 Km2
Population 80.340.000 inhabitants
Objectives
  • Reinforcement of the financial and economic activities competitivity of member state
  • Convergence of member states economic policy and achievements by means of a multilateral surveillance procedure
  • Creation of a a common market based on the free circulation of people, goods, services, capital, on the right of free settlement as well as on a common external tariff and a common commercial policy.
  • Coordination of national sectorial policies throught common achievements and if required common possibility in the main fields of economic activity
  • Harmonization of member states legislation to the extent required for a smooth running of the common market
Institutions
  • Directing bodies (the Head Of States Conference, the Council of Ministers and the UEMOA commission) ;
  • Monitoring bodies (the Courth of Justice, the Audit Office and the Parliament) ;
  • Advisory bodies (the Regional Consular Chamber) ;
  • Independant Specialized Institutions (the West Africa States Central Bank, West African Bank fo Development and the Stock and Shares Stock Exchange).
Achievements
  • Devising of a TEC (Common External Tariff) with entry rates fixed at a maximum of 22 per cent
  • Devising of a PAC (Common Agricultural Policy) since August 1999 with a view to contributing in a sustainable way to the satisfaction of people's need for food, the social and economic development of member states and the reduction of poverty
  • Setting up of a customs union in order to remove from exchanges between member countries, customs duties, quantitative restrictions way in or out, taxes to that effect or any other similar measures likely to affect transactions
  • Creation of a common market with a view to reaching integral tax exemption on agricultural, craft, rearing and industrual products approved within the Union
  • Harmonization of member states legislations in the field on AVT with a rate comprised between 15 and 20% (art 29 of memorandum n°02/98/CM/UEMOA dated December 22,1988)
  • Adoption of UEMOA Customs Code
Web site www.uemoa.int

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2- ECOWAS: Economic Community of West Africa States

Date of creation May 28, 1975 by the treaty of Lagos (Nigeria).
Member States
  1. Benin
  2. Burkina Faso
  3. Cap-Vert
  4. Ivory Coast
  5. Gambia
  6. Ghana
  7. Guinea
  8. Guinea Bissau
  9. Liberia
  10. Mali
  11. Niger
  12. Nigeria
  13. Senegal
  14. Sierra Leone
  15. Togo
Superficie Km2
Population inhabitants
Objectives Promote economic integration "in all the fields of economic activity, notably industry, transports, telecommunications, energy, agriculture, natural resources, trade, monetary and financial issues, cultural and social issues......................". The main objective remains the creation of a large west african common market as well as a monetary union.
Institutions
  • The Conference of Heads of States and Governments
  • The Council of Ministers
  • The Community Parliament
  • The Economic and Social Council
  • The Community Court of Justice
  • The Commission
  • The specialized Institutions (which include on the one hand ECOWAS Investment and Development Bank with it's two subsidaries, ECOWAS Regional Development Funds, and the West Africa Healthcare Organizationn on the other)
Achievements
  • The adoption of the protocol on the free circulation of people which was signed in 1978 and materialized by the abolition of visas for nationals for the community countries, the creation of an ECOWAS traveller's cheque issued in july 1999 to facilitate trading and payment operations, the progressive suppression of customs barriers to encourage intracommunity commercial exchanges
  • The setting up of a Common Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP) adapted on january 19, 2005 with 3 axis:
    1. The improvement of agricultural productivity and competitivity,
    2. The implementation of the intracommunity trading regime,
    3. The harmonization of the external trading regime (protection and harmonizaton of positions in negociations) .
  • ECOWAS has a common flag and anthem which are to be adopted progressively by member states ;
  • The building of a gaz pipeline between Nigeria and Ghana through Togo and Benin
Web site http://www.ecowas.int

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3- OHADA: Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa

Date of creation October 17, 1993 by the treaty of Port Louis (Mauricius)
Member states
  1. Benin
  2. Burkina Faso
  3. Cameroon
  4. Centrafrica
  5. Comores
  6. Congo
  7. Ivory Coast
  8. Gabon
  9. Guinea
  10. Guinea Bissau
  11. Equatorial Guinea
  12. Mali
  13. Niger
  14. Démocratic Republic of Congo(adhesion underway)
  15. Senegal
  16. Chad
  17. Togo
Surface Km2
Population inhabitants
Objectives legal and judicial harmonization in the field of business law in order to guarantee legal security with member stater with a view to encouraging investments.
Institutions
  • the council of Ministers
  • the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration (CCJA)
  • the Permanent Secretariat and the Higher School of Magistrature
Achievements Eight (8) Uniform Acts were adopted within the framenwork of OHADA and came into effect since the setting up of OHADA. These are Uniform Acts :
  1. to do with general commercial law,
  2. to do with trading companies and grassroots economic groups,
  3. to do with sureties organization,
  4. to do with the organization of simplified procedures of recovery and means of execution,
  5. to do with the organization of collective procedures of debtclearance,
  6. to do with arbitration,
  7. to do with accounting law,
  8. on the goods road transport contract,
Web site http://www.ohada.com

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D) OAPI: African Organization For Intellectual Copyright

Date of creation March 02, 1977 by the bangui agreement to take over the African and Malagashi Office for Industrial Property (OAMPI) which was created by the Libreville agreement on september 13, 1962
Member States
  1. Benin
  2. Burkina Faso
  3. Cameroon
  4. Centrafrica
  5. Congo
  6. Ivory Coast
  7. Gabon
  8. Guinea
  9. Guinéa Bissau
  10. Equatorial Guinea
  11. Mali
  12. Mauritania
  13. Niger
  14. Senegal
  15. Chad
  16. Togo
Superficie 7.755.967 Km2
Population about 100 millions inhabitants
Objectives
  • apply the common administrative procedures which derive from the uniform regime of industrial property protection as well as from the provisions of international convention that OAPI member states have ratified, and also provides services related to industrail property;
  • contribute to the promotion of art and literature copyright protection;
  • encourage the creation of copyright national organizations in member states where they do not exist;
  • collect, coordinate and dissemirate information of any king related to the protection of art and literary copyright and communicate it to each member state through OAPI Industrial Property Offical Bulletin;
  • promote the economic development of member states through as an instance efficent protection of intellectual copyright and connected rights;
  • ensure training in intellectual copyright;
  • carry out any other mission related to its object and which may be entrusted to it by member states.
Institutions
  • the Board of Director
  • the General Management
  • the higher Commission for Claims
Web site http://www.oapi.int

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