AFTER a decade of operation, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, is set to conclude on June 30, following a Security Council vote on a draft resolution. The resolution, seen by Reuters, will grant a six-month period for the 13,000-strong mission to withdraw.
The decision comes in the wake of long-standing tensions between the UN and Mali’s military junta, which escalated this month when Mali’s Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop, urged the force to depart ‘without delay.’
Under the draft resolution, MINUSMA’s operations will be scaled down to providing security for UN personnel, facilities, and convoys, along with facilitating medical evacuations for U.N. staff. However, the resolution also authorises MINUSMA, until the end of the year, to respond to imminent threats of violence against civilians and support the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, in consultation with Malian authorities.
While the French-drafted resolution is still being discussed by the 15 members of the Security Council, diplomats expect minimal changes before the
planned vote on Thursday. The resolution requires a minimum of nine favourable votes and no vetoes from Russia, China, the United States, Britain, or France to pass.
MINUSMA has faced scepticism from Russia and China, and support from Western countries has waned since 2021, with Britain, Germany, and Sweden announcing the withdrawal of their troops. France, which had a separate force in Mali, withdrew it last year following disagreements with the government.
The Russian and Chinese scepticism towards MINUSMA, along with Western countries’ troop withdrawals, signals a shifting landscape for the peacekeeping mission. Meanwhile, internal discussions are underway to develop an exit plan for MINUSMA in coordination with Malian authorities.
Since its launch in 2013, MINUSMA has operated in response to the occupation of northern Mali by separatist rebels and al Qaeda-linked insurgents. While French troops successfully pushed back the militants, Mali has since become a centre of violent activity that has spread across West Africa, leading to mass displacement. MINUSMA has been the United Nations’ deadliest ongoing combat mission, with over 170 peacekeepers losing their lives in the fighting.
The U. had been expected to extend MINUSMA’s mandate for another year, but Mali’s request for the force to leave altered the course of action. The mission has faced criticism from Mali’s military leaders and civilians for its perceived limited efforts to address the ongoing violence. The UN has repeatedly expressed frustration over restrictions on troop and aircraft movements, which hindered the fulfilment of its mandate, including investigations into alleged rights abuses by groups such as Wagner and Mali’s army.
While some African nations desired the continuation and potential expansion of MINUSMA’s troop presence, discussions this year reflected divergent views. The mission has played a crucial role in protecting cities surrounded by militants, facilitating medical evacuations for Malian soldiers, and assisting with the transportation of government officials across conflict zones. It has also coordinated talks between rival armed groups, following the 2015 Algiers Accords peace agreement, and has been involved in arranging next year’s presidential elections, which some hope will reinstate civilian rule in Mali.
(with Reuters)
