On 19 February 2005, following the death of President Gnassingbe Eyadema on February 5 and the pronouncement of his son, Faure Gnassingbé, as President, ECOWAS placed an arms embargo on Togo until Faure Gnassingbé stepped down and the constitutional process was followed. The African Union and ECOWAS saw his swearing in as an effective coup d'état.
On 20 February 2005, following the lead of ECOWAS, the Commission of the AU asked its members to support the ECOWAS embargo and adopted an equivalent embargo on 25 February 2005. Although there seems to be no formal AU document which refers to the establishment of the embargo, the Communiqué from 25 February 2005 is assumed to imply the establishment of such an embargo.
On 27 May 2005, the same day as the presidential elections in Togo, the AU issued a positive Communiqué on the situation in Togo. Although this document did not directly refer to the lifting of the embargo and other sanctions, it can be taken to imply that the embargo is no longer in force.