A potentially explosive meeting on Mali at the UN Security Council
French soldiers from Operation Barkhane, in Gossi.
Mali has accused France of supporting the jihadists.
Bamako should present the evidence this Tuesday before the UN Security Council.
© Army General Staff/ France
Text by: David Baché
4 mins
The Secretary General of the United Nations presents this Tuesday, October 18 his report on the situation in Mali before the Security Council, for the period June-September.
A potentially explosive presentation on several topics.
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During the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the country, last June, the conditions of exercise of the Minusma had raised a certain number of dissatisfactions, both on the UN side and on the Malian side.
The report which will be presented today, but which RFI has already been able to consult, is therefore a form of crucial “
progress report
” for the continuation of the Mission in the country.
Second point: the accusations made by the Malian transitional authorities against France: since August, Mali has been promising to reveal evidence of French support for jihadist groups.
On this subject, the Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs claims to have "
several pieces of evidence
" showing that France arms and informs jihadist groups in Mali.
This is what he wrote on August 15 in a letter addressed directly to the President of the UN Security Council.
Abdoulaye Diop has been calling for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council for two months, but none of the members of the Council has relayed this request (not even Russia, yet Mali's new strategic ally in its fight against terrorism), to so this meeting was never organized.
Evidence of French support for jihadist groups?
But the opportunity is therefore finally offered today to Abdoulaye Diop to speak before the Security Council, since the head of Malian diplomacy will be personally present.
The revelations he may make will therefore be particularly scrutinized.
Last month, during the speech of the interim Prime Minister of Mali before the General Assembly of the United Nations, Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga had not spared France and his civilian government described as "
junta at the service of obscurantism
" .
, without however taking advantage of this forum to publicly reveal evidence of Paris' support for Sahelian terrorist groups.
On the context in Mali and the presence of the UN mission, the Secretary General's report notes, despite ongoing Malian military operations, a "
peak of activity
" by terrorist groups (the Jnim, linked to AQIM and the EIGS, Sahelian branch of the Islamic State group) and an "
insecurity
" which "
continues to spread to the west and south of the country
".
The withdrawal of the French Barkhane force, which ended during the summer, deprived the Minusma of the "
support
" it provided.
António Guterres therefore calls for an “
emergency
” increase in the military personnel of Minusma.
Significant “
persistent deficiencies
are also deplored with regard to the air resources of the UN mission, which notably lacks combat helicopters in Gao and Kidal.
Obstacles to UN travel
On the question of human rights, which was already a point of great tension last June during the renewal of the mandate of the Minusma, the report points to new allegations of violations.
They are committed mainly by jihadist groups, but also by the Malian army.
Thirty-two UN investigations are currently underway.
Moreover, on more than forty occasions, the air or land movements of the Minusma would still have been hampered by the Malian authorities, particularly in the center and in the east of the country.
Mali has already written "
observations
" on the UN report, which RFI was also able to consult.
Bamako maintains that jihadist groups are "
disbanded
" in the country, that the allegations of violence against the Malian army have "
no real basis
", and regrets the absence of "
thorough verification
" on the part of the Minusma.
Malian diplomacy even denounces a "
negative and hostile posture contrary to the approach
" of aid "
which justifies its presence in Mali
".
Bamako wants better "
coordination
" of Minusma with the strategic priorities of the Malian transitional government, particularly in the Center.
Ivorian soldiers
Finally, the fate of the 46 Ivorian soldiers still detained in Bamako since last July 10 (date of their arrival in Mali within a UN framework, but with procedures marred by irregularities, and accused since by the Malian transitional authorities of having attempted to affect national security) is not supposed to be at the heart of the exchanges, but it could very well be invited there.
The question is addressed both in the Secretary General's report, which "
again calls for the release of the 46 Ivorian soldiers
", and in the responses of the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which recalls that "
the file is following its legal course
" but that "
the government remains open to a diplomatic solution
".
No resolution being planned at the end of this meeting, it will not be followed by any vote, but the content of the exchanges could prove to be decisive for the continuation of relations between the UN mission and the Malian transitional authorities.
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