Mali: Bamako responds to the UN and justifies the exclusion of Guillaume Ngefa from Minusma
Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop here in Moscow on May 20, 2022. (photo illustration) AP - Yuri Kadobnov
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Tension remains high between the Malian transitional authorities and the United Nations.
From Geneva, the UN Human Rights Commissioner strongly criticized, in a letter made public, the State's decision to declare
persona non grata
Guillaume Ngefa, the local director of the human rights division Male, who has since left the country.
Sure of their rights, the Malian authorities immediately responded to these criticisms.
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It is a real court of law and diplomacy that Abdoulaye Diop transmitted by mail.
The Malian Minister for Foreign Affairs responded point by point to the strong criticisms of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, who expressed, in a letter sent on February 6, "
his consternation, his strong protest
", considering that "
the doctrine of persona non grata does not legally apply to United Nations personnel
”.
Based on the UN charter and the agreement between Mali and Minusma, Abdoulaye Diop replies that the State can at any time, without giving reasons for its decision, remove the accreditation of a diplomat, that the UN members must also respect the laws and regulations of the country.
For the minister, the director of the human rights division,
Guillaume Ngefa, has not fulfilled his conditions
, and the authorities' decision is therefore "
founded in law
".
Abdoulaye Diop also returns to “
the actions of
Aminata Dicko
”.
It was this activist's speech at the UN headquarters in New York that angered Bamako in January.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs indicated that "
Ms. Dicko's NGO is not accredited in Mali
", that "
its actions therefore constitute a violation of the law
".
Following these clarifications, Abdoulaye Diop concluded by indicating the government's readiness to strengthen dialogue with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
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