Mali
Expected Council Action
In April, the Council is expected to be briefed in consultations by the Secretariat and consider the options included in the 26 March report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of resolution 2085 (S/2013/189). A new resolution establishing a UN mission in Mali is a likely outcome.
AFISMA’s authorisation expires on 20 December 2013.
Key Recent Developments
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman briefed Council members on 27 February on developments on the ground in consultations at which Council members also discussed the content of a letter to the Secretary-General from the interim President of Mali, Dioncounda Traoré (S/2013/113). The letter requested the rapid deployment of the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) to restore state authority and sovereignty prior to its possible transformation into a UN stabilisation and peacekeeping operation. Although it seems that a clearer request from the interim government will be needed, Council members have started their preliminary thinking about the establishment of a peacekeeping operation. In a letter to the Secretary-General (S/2013/129), the Council concentrated on the reference to the transformation of AFISMA into a UN peacekeeping operation made by Traoré and requested the inclusion of recommendations on options in terms of size, mandate and composition of such an operation in the upcoming Secretary-General’s report.
A 28 February communiqué of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) supported the formal request by Mali to the UN to take steps towards the transformation of AFISMA into a UN peacekeeping operation as soon as conditions allowed.
On 7 March, the AU’s Peace and Security Council approved the revised joint strategic concept of operations of AFISMA and the Malian Defence and Security Forces (MDSF). AFISMA revised its total strength to 9,620 personnel, including 171 civilians, 590 police officers and 8,859 military personnel. The revised concept of operations described as the main constraint for the full deployment of AFISMA the insufficient access to financial and logistical support within the envisaged timeline. In a 7 March letter to the Secretary-General, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ramtane Lamamra, echoed the desire of the AU Peace and Security Council for the new UN operation to have a peace enforcement mandate (S/2013/163). He also requested a logistics support package for AFISMA, to be funded through UN-assessed contributions, in order to help complete the deployment of contingents and sustain operations on the ground.
On 10 March, the UN Secretariat sent a week-long exploratory mission to Mali, headed by Edmond Mulet, the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, to explore options for a UN mission, assess the situation on the ground and identify the potential risks that might arise.
Opération Serval, which France launched on 11 January, has successfully rolled back the gains of the terrorist and insurgent groups who seized northern Mali shortly after the 22 March 2012 coup d’état, but combat operations are still ongoing, particularly in Gao and Kidal. Although jihadist leaders Abou Zeid of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and Mokhtar Belmokhtar of the al-Mua’qi’oon Biddam Brigade were reportedly killed in the operations, at press time, only the former had been confirmed by France.
Following the political roadmap approved by the Malian National Assembly on 29 January, the interim government established, on 6 March, a Commission of Dialogue and Reconciliation whose members have yet to be appointed.
On 18 March, Council members were briefed in consultations by the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, who stressed that impartiality of humanitarian work and protection of civilians must be a top priority in the UN involvement in Mali.
The Secretary-General’s report was circulated on 26 March among Council members. The two options that appear in the report include beefing-up the current multidimensional presence in Bamako and transforming it into an integrated political presence with a better resourced AFISMA. AFISMA would then have “an offensive combat and stabilisation mandate, focusing on extremist armed groups”, together with bilateral military efforts. AFISMA would then transition to a UN stabilisation mission once certain critical benchmarks are met. The second option advocates for an integrated stabilisation mission with a military strength of 11,200 under Chapter VII alongside a parallel force to conduct counterterrorism operations beyond the scope of the UN’s mandate. The report rules out the possibility of a UN operation under a peace enforcement mandate as was requested by the AU, ECOWAS and many Malian interlocutors.
At press time, the Council was expecting a briefing by Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, on 27 March in consultations.
Human Rights-Related Developments
On 12 March, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kyung-wha Kang, presented to the Human Rights Council (HRC) the Mali report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights covering the period from January to November 2012 as well as an update on the current situation (A/HRC/22/33 and Corr.1 of 7 January 2013). Kang said that the High Commissioner deployed a monitoring mission of human rights officers to Mali on 18 February. According to the preliminary findings of the mission, the military intervention was followed by a serious escalation in retaliatory violence by government forces that appeared to be targeting members of the Peuhl, Tuareg and Arab ethnic groups—perceived to be supportive of the armed groups—and led to the displacement of these populations. The mission also reported cases of gender-based violence and lack of progress in investigating human rights violations. She concluded that plans were underway to reinforce the UN human rights team in Mali. Speaking after Kang, Justice Minister Malick Coulibaly underlined Mali’s commitment to justice, as demonstrated by its referral of the situation to the International Criminal Court. On 21 March, the HRC adopted a resolution condemning the human rights violations in Mali, especially in the north, established a mandate of an independent expert on the situation of human rights in Mali, and asked the High Commissioner to present an updated report at the next session of the HRC.
Key Issues
A key overarching issue is to stabilise the security situation in the north in order to minimise the threats to a future peacekeeping operation. A related issue will be to define who will be in charge of counterinsurgency operations.
Ensuring that AFISMA has adequate financial and logistical support to fulfil its mandate in the transition towards a UN stabilisation operation is another key issue.
As the Council discusses the mandate of the UN mission, other key issues include:
- considering a role for the mission to address both the divisions within the government and the MDSF in parallel with the need to facilitate a wider negotiation process with minority groups;
- addressing the difficulty of providing sufficient electoral support in a timely manner for the 7 and 21 July presidential and parliamentary elections, respectively; and
- ensuring that, if there are AFISMA troops who will be re-hatted, that these have not committed human rights violations.
Addressing the potentially destabilising spillover effects from Mali to an already fragile region will be an ongoing issue.
Options
Regarding the establishment of a stabilisation operation, immediate options for the Council include:
- establishing a full-fledged peacekeeping operation aimed at ensuring stability and security in Mali; assigning a parallel force to operate in Mali (and potentially in the subregion) alongside the UN mission in order to conduct major combat and counterterrorism operations;
- ensuring that AFISMA has the basic financial and logistical support to attain its objectives before the transition starts;
- including in the mandate of the mission a role in facilitating the return to constitutional order, including dialogue with minorities;
- assigning the work of building electoral management capacities to the current UN office in Bamako or a regional organisation, taking into account that the UN mission might not be fully deployed for the July elections; and
- establishing a vetting mechanism to ensure that all re-hatted AFISMA troops respect international human rights standards beyond the force commander and his deputy, as per the current internal screening policy.
Further options include:
- stressing the importance for donors to quickly honour the pledges they made in support of Mali, AFISMA and its troop-contributing countries at the 29 January Addis Ababa donor conference; and
- reiterating the call for the Secretary-General and his Special Envoy for the Sahel, Romano Prodi, to finalise as soon as possible the much delayed UN integrated strategy for the Sahel region encompassing security, governance, development, human rights and humanitarian issues as requested by resolution 2056 of 5 July 2012.
Council Dynamics
Council members seem to agree that a new UN stabilisation operation in Mali will be more predictably and sustainably resourced than AFISMA under its current configuration. The idea of having a mission that is structurally integrated seems to enjoy wide acceptance among Council members.
Although France wanted to speed up the transition towards a stabilisation operation, some countries, especially other permanent members, preferred to receive a clearer assessment of the situation on the ground from the Secretariat before starting to discuss the new mandate.
Views differ when it comes to the emphasis on the political mandate of the mission and the dimension of the UN presence in Bamako. Some members are sympathetic to the reservations the interim government seems to have about a heavy UN footprint in Bamako, while others are more aware of the centrality of governance issues that led to the current situation in Mali.
France is the penholder on Mali.
| Security Council Resolutions | |
| 20 December 2012 S/RES/2085 | This resolution authorised the deployment of AFISMA for an initial period of one year. |
| 5 July 2012 S/RES/2056 | This resolution expressed the Council’s full support for the joint efforts of ECOWAS, the AU and the transitional authorities in Mali trying to re-establish constitutionality and territorial integrity. |
| Security Council Presidential Statement | |
| 10 December 2012S/PRST/2012/26 | This presidential statement expressed serious concern over the insecurity and the significant ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Sahel region, “which is further complicated by the presence of armed groups, including separatist movements, terrorist and criminal networks, and their increased activities, as well as the continued proliferation of weapons from within and outside the region that threaten peace, security, and stability. |
| Security Council Letters | |
| 15 March 2013 S/2013/163 | This was a letter from the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security to the Secretary-General requesting the new UN operation in Mali to have a peace enforcement mandate. |
| 27 February 2013 S/2013/129 | This was a letter from the president of the Council to the Secretary-General requesting recommendations for a UN peacekeeping operation in Mali. |
| 25 February 2013 S/2013/113 | This letter from the interim President of Mali requested the rapid deployment of AFISMA. |
| Secretary-General’s Reports | |
| 26 March 2013 S/2013/189 | This report contained the Secretary-General’s recommendations for a UN mission in Mali. |
