Mali reconciliation efforts must be supported, says UN expert

​French

GENEVA (19 August 2019) The Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali, Alioune Tine, has welcomed reconciliation initiatives launched in central Mali by traditional and religious leaders, civil society members and the local authorities.

“The importance of such initiatives cannot be stressed enough in the current context, including in light of a UNICEF warning issued on 13 August which underlines the disproportionate impact that intercommunal violence has had on children, with a dramatic increase in the number killed so far in 2019,” Tine said.

“The recent public report by the Human Rights and Protection Division of the UN force in Mali, MINUSMA, on events in the Dogon village of Sobane Da has also emphasised the needless death, destruction and displacement of civilians caused by such incidents,” the expert said, referring to an attack on 9 June in which 35 people were reported to have been killed.

The Independent Expert stressed that the reconciliation process was an encouraging development. He noted that it had been boosted by Prime Minister Boubou Cissé’s recent visits to central Mali.

“This process should also contribute to ending impunity and promoting justice and reconciliation. It must be supported in whatever way possible by all concerned, including in particular by relevant regional and sub-regional bodies, as well as by the international community,” said Tine.

The Independent Expert stressed that the use of arms was not the way to resolve the Malian crisis. “Progress can be made only by protecting human rights alongside development, together with efforts to obtain peace and security,” he said.

ENDS

Mr. Alioune Tine (Senegal) took office as Independent Expert on the human rights situation in Mali on 1 May 2018. The mandate of independent expert was renewed by the Human Rights Council on 23 March 2018 for a period of one year to assist the Government of Mali in its actions to promote and protect human rights and in the implementation of the recommendations made in Council resolutions. Mr. Tine was a founding member and President of the African Meeting for the Defense of Human Rights (RADDHO) and Coordinator of the Forum of African NGOs at the World Conference against Racism in 2000. Between 2014 and 2018 Mr. Tine was Amnesty International's Regional Director for West and Central Africa. He has published many articles and studies on literature and human rights.

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The Independent Experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

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