UN chief urges continued international support for Mali amid growing terrorist threat

The UN Secretary-General has stressed the need for continued international commitment to Mali, as the country continues to navigate the path to political stability while confronting numerous obstacles, including terrorism, and now the COVID-19 pandemic.

António Guterres was addressing the Security Council which held a briefing on the West African country, where a UN mission, known by the French acronym, MINUSMA – the most dangerous place to serve as a ‘blue helmet’ – has been supporting the government since 2013.

“Building a politically stable and more secure Mali requires our collective and sustained commitment and MINUSMA’s continued support. We owe this to the people of Mali and the Sahel region, who deserve a better future”, he told ministers and ambassadors attending the meeting.

Though encouraged by government efforts to address the crisis, Mr. Guterres urged the Malian authorities to take greater action to combat impunity, which is essential to ending the violence.

The Secretary-General also reported on progress in implementing the Peace Agreement signed in 2015 by the authorities and two coalitions of armed groups.

The deal came in the wake of the conflict in 2012, which led to the occupation of northern Mali by radical Islamists, including the ancient desert city of Timbuktu.

In the past year alone, Mali has held an inclusive national dialogue, while more than 1,000 former combatants with the armed movements have been integrated into the national forces.

Reconstituted units are now in the north, marking the first formal presence of the army there since 2012, thus paving the way for greater state administration and other developments.

“These mostly positive developments are promising. I encourage the signatory parties to strengthen mutual trust and to work together to keep up the momentum in the peace process, which remains the only pathway to a politically stable and more secure Mali.”

Mr. Guterres underscored the various ways MINUSMA – officially the UN Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali – has been supporting the country.

MINUSMA has also joined national efforts to counter the COVID-19 pandemic, which threatens to increase the number of people requiring humanitarian aid to five million in the coming months.

The pandemic has also added to the UN mission’s already challenging operating environment. So far, 100 personnel have contracted the disease, and two peacekeepers have died.

Original source: UN News 
Published on 11 June 2020