2(a) Whether or not Niger has breached WETO’s membership requirements by

defaulting in payment and refusing to accept amendment of the 1% increase in

contribution.

The basic premise of international law is the principle of pacta sunt servanda,1
meaning that states that have undertaken treaty obligations, should abide by them.
Since membership in international organisations is, as a rule, based on a multilateral
treaty, the principle applies also to such organisations. The Vienna Convention on
the Law of Treaties provides for rules applicable in the case of breach of multilateral
treaties, which can also be applied to international organisations.

If a state violates a provision of a multilateral treaty that is essential to the

accomplishment of its object or purpose, under Article 60 of the Vienna Convention,
such breach is considered material.2 In such case, the other parties may, by
unanimous agreement, suspend the operation of the treaty in whole or in part, or
terminate it either in the relations between themselves and the defaulting state, or
between all the parties to the treaty.3 Moreover, an international organization is
obliged to refrain from acts which would defeat the object and purpose of a treaty 4
and may not invoke the rules of the organization as justification for its failure to
perform the treaty.5

In the present case, the countries agreed to establish the WETO to administer and
manage telecommunication network in the region on a cost effective basis. One of
the requirements of membership is that a member state must set aside 2% of its
GDP for telecommunication development. From 2021 till 2024, telecommunication
has developed therefore there is a need for improvement. Niger, as a founding
member was very much aware of this when it defaulted in payment. This default
amounts to a material breach of WETO because it undermines the mandate of
WETO, which has a relatively limited number of members and when one party
defaults, this has arguably a greater impact than would such action in a global
organization.

1
Article 26 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties between States and International Organizations or
between International Organizations 1986
2
ibid Article 60(3)(b)
3
ibid Article 60(2)
4
ibid Article 18
5
ibid Article 27(2)
With regards to the amendment of a treaty, the general rule as outlined by Article 39
is that a treaty may be amended by agreement between the parties and the consent
of an international organization to an agreement shall be governed by the rules of
that organization. It is noteworthy to state that a cost effective basis is achieving a
desired outcome at the lowest possible cost, therefore it can be argued that
increasing the contribution may not be cost effective to Niger, considering the
outbreak of COVID between 2021 and 2023, where most countries got into financial
debts buying treatments for citizens. However, a party should not invoke the rules of
the organization as justification for not performing its duties subject to Article 18.

From the discussion above, Niger has breached WETO’s membership requirements
by defaulting on payment of its contributions towards telecommunication
development and refusing to accept the 1% amendment, which would still make it
cost effective.

Membership of states in international organizations is a legal bond which gives rise

to rights and obligations. They are implemented on the basis of the statutory
provisions of a given international organization. In a situation where the
implementation of these rights and obligations seems impossible, the membership
ties are severed on the initiative of an international organization or a member state. 6
An example where a member state was suspended from an international
organization for interfering with its functions was when the Council of Europe (CoE)
independently took action and suspended Russia’s membership for violating the
mandate of the organization, which was to not repeat the atrocities of World War 2
where there was a mass violation of human rights.7 These proceedings constitute an
organized sanction, the purpose of which is to identify specific actions that are
contrary to the objectives of the CoE and cause the Russian Federation to stop
taking such actions.

6
Sabina Kubas SUSPENSION, WITHDRAWAL AND EXPULSION OF A MEMBER STATE FROM THE COUNCIL OF
EUROPE Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego t. XVII, 19 (1) 2022, s. 171-179
7
Acording to Article 3 CoE Statute “each member of the Council of Europe recognizes the principle of the rule
of law and the principle that all persons within its jurisdiction shall enjoy human rights and fundamental
freedoms; it must also sincerely and profoundly collaborate to achieve the purpose of the Council’’