United Nations peacekeepers to exit Mali after a decade
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The UN Security Council decided to end the peacekeeping mission in Mali called MINUSMA. This was initiated by the United Nations in April 2013. All 15 members of the security council voted in favour of a French resolution for withdrawal.
After the vote, Mali’s ambassador to the United Nations, Issa Konfourou, said MINUSMA didn’t achieve its main goal, but it did help in other ways.
“MINUSMA has certainly not achieved its fundamental goal of supporting the efforts of the government in securing the country. Nevertheless the people and the government of Mali will like to applaud its contribution in other areas in particular in the area of humanitarian and social assistance,” he said.
The mission had a total of 17,430 people.
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On June 16, Mali’s Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop, said they want the peacekeepers to leave according to the agreed upon timeline, and indicated the Malian government’s willingness to work with the UN on this.
What is in the draft?
- The resolution terminates the mandate of the peacekeeping mission as of June 30th. It orders the mission to initiate the withdrawal of personnel from July 1st.
- The resolution states that the withdrawal will be completed by the end of 2023.
- Mali has stated that there will be no extension to the timeframe.
“The government of Mali will be vigilant in ensuring compliance with this engagement,” Konfourou said.
“As a responsible government, the Malian authorities are committed to closely cooperating with the Secretariat of the United Nations and MINUSMA in the framework of the prompt implementation of this resolution within the established time frame,” he added.
- Where possible and with the Mali’s permission, the resolution allows MINUSMA to respond to “imminent threat of violence to civilians.”
- MINUSMA is also authorised to assist in the safe civilian-led delivery of humanitarian assistance in its immediate vicinity.
Why does Mali want the peacekeeping force out?
There have been rising tensions between Mali and the United Nations of late. The Malian government has accused the mission of heightening tensions in the country.
“MINUSMA seems to have become part of the problem by fuelling community tensions exacerbated by extremely serious allegations which are highly detrimental to peace, reconciliation and national cohesion in Mali,” Diop said.
“This situation generates a feeling of distrust among the populations with regard to MINUSMA,” he added.
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MINUSMA, however, has pointed to a more hostile environment with regard to restrictions on troop and asset movements. It says that these restrictions have prevented it from fulfilling its mandate, which includes investigating what it says are human rights abuses by the Wagner group and the Malian armed forces, which the army and Wagner both deny.
A bloody and expensive mission
It is feared by some western analysts that the withdrawal of the UN force will snuff out the chances of the 2015 peace agreement between the government of Mali and the Tuareg separatists in the north of the country. After the conflict, the negotiated agreement put in place a decentralised arrangement within the Malian state for the separatists. The withdrawal of troops could lead to less protection for these communities in the north of the country from attacks.
The Malian government, however, has guaranteed the safety of all citizens.
“I would like to reassure you of the full engagement of the government of Mali to continue working tirelessly to fulfil its primary mission of protecting the civilian population and their property over all our national territory,” Konfourou said.
The end of MINUSMA would draw to a close a bloody and expensive mission. With 300 fatalities it is the deadliest UN peacekeeping mission. It is also the cosliest mission with a budget of USD 1.2billion.
At the passage of the resolution, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his “profound respect to the memory of the 309 MINUSMA personnel who lost their lives in the service of peace during 10 years the mission was deployed in Mali.”
