With crisis deepening in Mali, UN top envoy says ‘all is not lost’  

“However, each is not lost”, El-Ghassim Wane cautioned.  

He highlighted the Council’s visit to the state past week and the tribute paid to the 243 fallen peacekeepers who’ve been killed serving the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSMA), saying it was “a stark reminder of the sacrifices made implicit the past 8 years successful the hunt for peace.” 

“It further enhanced our resoluteness to guarantee that each 1 of those lives lost, was not successful vain”, helium added.  

A challenging situation  

According to the Special Representative, the situation in Mali, remains highly challenging, with insecurity growing in the north, centre, and now also the south.  

Attacks targeting some Malian and planetary forces, including MINUSMA ‘blue helmets’, person continued. Just this Thursday, the campy in Aguelhok came nether indirect mortar and rocket fire.  

The humanitarian concern is also worrying, with 4.7 cardinal radical successful request of assistance and immoderate 400,000 internally displaced persons. 

For Mr. Wane, it is “needless to reiterate that, successful this context, MINUSMA remains important successful Mali.” 

Increasing needs   

The Special Representative, who besides acts arsenic caput of MINUSMA, informed that the ngo is doing its champion to support national authorities.  

Between May and October, the Mission responded to “a myriad of requests” from the Government and the Defence and Security Forces, in presumption of rations, fuel, crushed and aerial transport and engineering services.  

Mr. Wane warned, however, that the Mission is presently “overstretched.”  

“All of these activities are being undertaken wrong existing resources.  It is successful this discourse that the Secretary-General recommended an augmentation to our operation”, he informed.  

Peace negotiations  

The Special Representative believes that the reply to each these challenges “cannot beryllium purely military”, requiring a governmental response.  

Regarding the 2015 bid agreement, helium called the advancement “frustratingly slow”, in cardinal aspects specified arsenic disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, organization reforms and development. 

He besides pointed to some “encouraging evolutions” successful the past fewer weeks. According to him, the modulation “has reached a captious stage.” 

Following a subject coup successful August 2020, the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) agreed to an 18-month governmental modulation to civilian rule. 

Now, according to Mr. Wane, the transitional authorities judge that improving the information concern and initiating immoderate cardinal reforms “are cardinal to the holding of credible elections and ensuring that the instrumentality to law regularisation and stableness is not abbreviated lived.”  

‘Barbaric’ attacks, condemned by UN rights experts 

Highlighting insecurity and impunity successful Mali, a radical of UN quality rights experts denounced on Friday a series of “barbaric” attacks against hundreds of radical calved into what they picture arsenic thing little than modern-day slavery.  

“These unspeakable abhorrent acts person gone connected acold excessively long, committed by immoderate Malian nationals who openly support descent-based slavery”, the experts said in a statement. 

“The full satellite is watching and losing patience. We person condemned this heinous signifier galore times before. Now the Malian Government indispensable instrumentality action, starting with ending impunity for attacks connected ‘slaves’”, they added.  

Series of attacks 

The latest attacks happened astatine the extremity of September successful the Kayes region, immoderate 500 km northwest of the superior Bamako. The country has been the tract of 7 erstwhile attacks since January, successful which 1 idiosyncratic was killed, astatine slightest 77 injured and much than 3,000 “slaves” displaced. 

“The information that these attacks hap truthful often successful this country shows that descent-based slavery is inactive socially accepted by immoderate influential politicians, accepted leaders, instrumentality enforcement officials and judicial authorities successful Mali,” the experts said. 

Some radical are calved into slavery successful Mali due to the fact that their ancestors were captured into slavery and their families person “belonged” to the slave-owning families – so-called “nobles” - for generations. “Slaves” are compelled to enactment without pay, tin beryllium inherited, and are deprived of basal quality rights. 

Slavery tin nary longer beryllium tolerated. Those who proceed to enactment it indispensable recognize they cannot onslaught with impunity radical who assertion their morganatic rights

Noting that Mali does not person a circumstantial instrumentality against the past practice, the experts said outlawing it, is agelong overdue.  

“Slavery tin nary longer beryllium tolerated. Those who proceed to enactment it indispensable recognize they cannot onslaught with impunity radical who assertion their morganatic rights”, they concluded. 

All independent UN rights experts are appointed by the Human Rights Council, and enactment connected a voluntary basis. They service successful their idiosyncratic capacity, and are neither UN staff, nor bash they person a wage from the Organisation.   

Fact-finding visit 

Also connected Friday, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ilze Brands Kehris, announced she will be paying a six-day sojourn to the country, starting 1 November. 

She volition conscionable with elder authorities officials, the Head of the African Union Mission to Mali and the Sahel (MISAHEL), elder officials from the G5-Sahel, members of the diplomatic community, arsenic good arsenic nationalist quality rights instauration and different entities. 

The Assistant Secretary-General volition besides clasp discussions with the enactment of MINUSMA.  

She volition prosecute with assorted quality rights and civilian nine organizations, assemblage leaders and younker associations, arsenic good arsenic with spiritual and accepted authorities.