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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged Mali’s ruling junta to accelerate the pace of returning power to elected civilians by early 2024 as it has pledged to do. This clarion call to the Sahel country is contained in a report to the Security Council.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged Mali’s ruling junta to accelerate the pace of returning power to elected civilians by early 2024 as it has pledged to do. This clarion call to the Sahel country is contained in a report to the Security Council.
In the report, Mr. Guterres also voiced concerns about the persistence of violence and its impact on the population, and the “impasse” in which an important peace agreement between the Malian state and armed groups in the north is located. A U.N. stabilization mission, Minusma, has been deployed in Mali since 2013, with about 13,800 troops and police so far. The security turmoil goes hand in hand with a deep humanitarian and political crisis. Mali has been the scene of two putsches since 2020 and is ruled by a junta. The junta has pledged under international pressure to step down by March 2024.
In his quarterly report, Guterres notes “progress” on this path, such as the drafting of a constitution and the creation of an election management authority.
But, he said there has been a delay in the implementation of some key activities with less than a year to go before the end of the transition. It is incumbent on the Malian authorities to do everything in their power to accelerate this process so that constitutional order is restored within the agreed timeframe, the UN chief said.
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In the meantime, the junta has just announced the indefinite postponement of a referendum on the constitution, precipitating the issue. The government claims an improvement in the security situation and the neutralization of hundreds of terrorists during these three months.
