The body grew out of the short-lived Sahel-Benin Union, which was itself created by the four original Council members as a partial successor to the dissolved French regional colonial federation of French West Africa.
Since 1966, the Council has possessed a permanent administrative Secretariat based in Abidjan, the largest city of Côte d'Ivore. A Mutual Aid and Loan Guarantee Fund exists to assist poorer members from a common pool.
