UN’s Guterres calls on Mali to “expedite” return to civilian rule

The UN chief has called on Mali’s ruling junta to “expedite” the process of returning power to elected civilians by early 2024 as earlier promised, according to a quarterly Security Council report.

In this report, on the eve of a Council meeting this Wednesday April 12, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed his concern about the persistent violence against civilians and its impact on the population at large, and the “impasse” concerning the important peace agreement between the Malian state and armed groups in the north.

The West African country has been plagued by the spread of jihadism and violence of all kinds since the outbreak of insurgencies in the north in 2012. The violence has spread to the center of the country and into neighboring Niger, Burkina Faso and further south. A UN stabilization mission, MINUSMA, has been deployed in Mali since 2013, with about 13,800 troops and police so far.
Guterres, however, noted some “progress” that has been made on the democratic transition, citing a draft for a new constitution and a new electoral management authority, though he added that “critical activities identified in the electoral timetable” have faced delays.

“With less than a year left before the planned end of the transition, it behooves the Malian authorities to do all that is in their power to expedite the process, with a view to meeting the agreed deadline for the return to constitutional order,” he said. A referendum on the draft constitution was due to be held on 19 March but has been postponed until further notice. The UN chief expressed concern at the “ongoing impasse” and “continued paralysis” in the application of a peace deal, signed in 2015, with armed groups, some of whom, in particular Tuareg groups, are at loggerheads with the junta.