Eritrea Withdraws from IGAD, Citing Loss of Mandate

Eritrea has formally withdrawn its membership from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday, marking a decisive break with a regional body it says has “forfeited its legal mandate and authority.”

In a press release issued in Asmara, the Eritrean government said it had officially notified the IGAD Secretary General of its decision. The move follows years of mounting frustration with the organization’s direction, credibility, and political conduct.

Eritrea recalled that it played a central role in the revitalization of IGAD in 1993, working closely with member states to shape it into a platform for regional peace, stability, and economic integration. That vision, the statement said, has long since eroded. Since 2005 in particular, IGAD has increasingly acted in ways that run counter to its founding principles, at times serving as a political instrument against specific member states — most notably Eritrea.

Those developments led Asmara to suspend its IGAD membership in April 2007. Eritrea rejoined the bloc in June 2023, hoping the organization would undertake meaningful reform and correct what it described as a poor institutional record. According to the Foreign Ministry, those expectations were not met.

“IGAD has continued to renege on its statutory obligations,” the statement said, arguing that the organization has undermined its own relevance while failing to contribute substantively to regional stability or cooperation.

As a result, Eritrea said it could no longer justify remaining part of an institution that offers “no discernible strategic benefit” to its members or to the peoples of the region.

The announcement underscores Asmara’s long-held position that regional mechanisms must operate within clear legal mandates, respect sovereignty, and deliver tangible outcomes — not political posturing.

The statement was issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Asmara on 12 December 2025.