Burkina Faso has issued a new biometric passport without the logo of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The passport redesign reflects the nation’s severed ties with ECOWAS, following sanctions imposed on Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali after military coups in the three countries.
Announcing the passport update on Tuesday, Burkina Faso’s security minister, Mahamadou Sana, said: “On this passport, there’s no ECOWAS logo and no mention of ECOWAS either. Since January, Burkina Faso has decided to withdraw from this body, and this is just a realisation of the action already taken by Burkina Faso.”
The decision to omit the ECOWAS emblem is symbolic of a broader rejection of the bloc’s policies, particularly its response to the recent political upheavals. While ECOWAS imposed only suspensions on the three countries, they have denounced any potential return, accusing the bloc of abandoning pan-Africanism in favour of selfish interests.
He said that old passports are valid until they expire.
Those seeking new passports will pay a fee according to a previously fixed rate of 50,000 West African CFA francs ($84.46), but “certain amenities around the new passport may be subject to taxes,” he said.
The new document is made from polycarbonate, according to the head of the National Identification Office (ONI), Parfait Loure.
The Chinese company Emptech designed the new passport.
“The new passport belongs to the latest generation of passports recommended by international civil aviation authorities,” according to Loure, who said it is the culmination of a process launched in 2022 that makes Burkina Faso the first country in West Africa and the 10th on the continent to acquire a state-of-the-art identification document.
Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger withdrew last year from ECOWAS, which had threatened to militarily intervene in those countries after a coup in Niger in July 2023.
They formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) earlier this year and announced the creation of a joint military force to counter spiralling security challenges posed in their countries by terrorist groups.