Accreditation Regulatory Framework in the SOAC Member States

The West African Accreditation System (SOAC) was created by Article 6 of the UEMOA (West Africa Economic and Monetary Union) Council of Ministers Regulation N ° 03/2010 / CM / UEMOA on a scheme for the harmonization of accreditation, certification, standardization and metrology activities in the region. Article 20 (1) of the Regulation states that “Accreditation activities within the Union are covered by SOAC”; Paragraph 2 states that Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) established in the States of the Union shall be accredited by SOAC or shall be evaluated by a procedure or system that it verifies and approves.
The regulations of the UEMOA Council of Ministers, in accordance with the UEMOA Treaty, article 43, are of general scope. They are mandatory in all their elements and are directly applicable in the Member States. The Community texts are thus superior to the Laws, Decrees and Orders of the Member States; a lower legal (i.e. ministerial order) text cannot contradict a higher-range text (i.e. Law) .
SOAC's activities were officially launched in March 2018 in Côte d'Ivoire. For this purpose, the provisions, referred to above, of Regulation No. 03/2010 / CM / UEMOA apply directly in the Member States.
In addition, in Côte d'Ivoire, Law No. 2013-866 of 23 December 2013 on the standardization and promotion of quality and its implementing decree have made the accreditation compulsory for Conformity Assessment (CAB) .
The different texts governing the SOAC can be downloaded here:
General texts

• UEMOA Treaty;
• Regulation No. 3/2010 / CM. / UEMOA on the Harmonization Scheme for Accreditation, Certification, Standardization and Metrology Activities in UEMOA