On Friday, June 16, Mali called before the UN Security Council for the “immediate withdrawal” of the UN mission on its territory (Minusma), which its leader said would be “almost impossible”.
“Realism requires observing the failure of Minusma, whose mandate does not meet the security challenge,” Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop explained to the members of the Council, who must decide on June 29 to renew the mandate of the Minusma peacekeeping mission, which will end of the month expires.
“Minusma appears to be becoming part of the problem by raising community tensions,” and this creates a sense of distrust towards Minusma among the population and a crisis of confidence between the Malian authorities and Minusma,” he said. two days ahead of the junta-organized referendum on a new constitution.
Therefore, “the government of Mali is demanding the immediate withdrawal of Minusma. However, the government is ready to work with the United Nations in this regard,” the minister said, rejecting all options proposed by the UN Secretary-General to change the mission’s mandate.
These statements raise serious questions about the future of the mission and its more than 12,000 soldiers and police officers.
Whether or not to extend it “is a decision that must be made by the Security Council,” noted Minusma chief El Ghassim Wane. But “peacekeeping is based on the principle of host country consent, and without that consent, operations are almost impossible,” he told the press.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed that a status quo was unsustainable and in January had put three options on the table, ranging from an increase in troops to a complete withdrawal of troops if key conditions, including unhindered ones, are not met Movement of Peacekeepers and the Progress of Political Transition.
Finally, earlier in the week, he recommended the council’s workaround: a “reconfiguration” of the mission to focus it on a limited set of priorities while maintaining a constant staffing level.
support from Moscow
Friday’s session highlighted once again the disagreements within the Security Council over the future of Minusma, which was established in 2013 to help stabilize a state threatened by collapse under jihadist pressure, protect civilians, seek peace and Defense of human rights…
Several countries (France, United States, United Kingdom…) have pledged their support to Minusma.
“This is an important issue for Mali, but also for the stability of the entire region,” stressed French Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière.
According to the latest report by Antonio Guterres, countries in the region are also “in favor of” maintaining it.
And the three African countries that make up the Security Council (Mozambique, Ghana and Gabon) believed on Friday that continuing “in close cooperation with the Malian authorities is essential to consolidate progress towards a lasting peace.” ” may be.
But Russia, which has veto power in the Council, has pledged its support to the Malian junta, which has turned to Moscow militarily and politically. “We believe that any proposal here should be based on the opinion of the host country,” said Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebentsia.
“The real problem is not the number of blue helmets, but their function. One of the main tasks of the Malian government is the fight against terrorism, which is not part of the Blue Helmets’ mandate,” he said. He regretted again.
Like Mali, it also viewed the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ report on the 2022 anti-jihadist operation in Moura as “overtly biased”.
This report accuses the Malian army and “foreign” fighters of having executed at least 500 people there. When the UN fails to identify these “foreigners,” Westerners directly blame the private Russian security company Wagner.
“It’s up to the Malian interim authorities to choose their partners, but let’s be clear that the Wagner Group, whether operating independently or under the direct control of Moscow, is not the answer. Neither in Mali nor anywhere else,” British Deputy Ambassador James Kariuki said on Friday.
With AFP