9.4 a) Case Study: Mali Flashcards
(19 cards)
What are the key points about Mali?
- 26th largest country in the world
- Straight borders- colonial legacy
- Landlocked- trade is difficult
- North-south contrast
- Tuareg dominates the north of the country
- Colonial legacy- division of Taureg lands
- Separatist pressure for Awazad region.
- Exports: Gold, cotton, lumber
What is the contrast between rural and urban in mali?
- Rural:
○ 8.5% electricity
○ 33% water
○ 11.5% paved roads
○ 48% clinics- Urban:
○ 86% electricity
○ 92.5% water
○ 84% paved roads
○ 89% clinics
- Urban:
What are the long term challenges to sovereignty and TI?
○ Entire government replaced due to conflict
○ Received support from French, UN and neighbouring countries.
○ Ethnic tensions- governments neglected rural groups
○ Revolt- neglected rural groups, jihadist and tuareg- uprising. Want to reipose their version of Islamic law.
○ Ansar Dine took over rebellion
○ Humanitarian crisis in Sahel- drought impacting millions.
○ MUNISMA- 2015 peace deal. Largest UN peacekeeping mission in the world.
○ Government losing territory- violence. Islamic state groups revolting.
○ Many African refugees
○ G5 Sahel joint force- France and Africa agreement.
What are the short term challenges to sovereignty and TI?
○ Since 2013- 162 peacekeepers killed.
○ Military resources are sparse- Canadian troops are being deployed to help.
○ Canada has been in Mali since 2006
○ January 2013- operation Serval- French intervention.
○ DDR programmes (Disarmement, demobilisation and reintegration)- guarantee economic benefits.
○ In response to complaints from the UN security council- UN and mali government agreed on an “accelerated DDR”.
What are the foreign armed actors?
Operation Barkhane
USA
EU
What is operation Barkhane?
○ French
○ 1,500 troops in northern Mali
○ Frances largest overseas opeartion
○ 600M budget per year
○ Counterterrorism priority
What about the USA?
○ Pan-sahel initiative
○ Trans saharian counterterrorism initiative
What about the EU?
○ EU training mission in Mali
○ EU and capacity assistance training program- migration.
What are the opportunities for stability?
● The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) is charged with “ensuring security, stabilization and protection of civilians; supporting national political dialogue and reconciliation; and assisting the reestablishment of State authority, the rebuilding of the security sector, and the promotion and protection of human rights in that country.” If MINUSMA can be successful, this will allow Mali to grow economically.
● Continuing French Involvement in the country through Operation Barkhane has the goal of helping these countries’ governments to maintain control of their territory while also preventing the region from becoming a safe haven for Islamist terrorist groups. If they are successful, stability can be brought to the region and it can prosper.
● The full implementation of the 2015 Algiers Peace Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali. This peace agreement was agreed between state and non-state actors in 2015, but was never fully implemented. To date (2020) it has only been 23% implemented with none of its 5 pillars satisfied. If it can be implemented, Mali has a much better chance for peace and stability[1].- NOW HAS BEEN COMPLETELY TERMINATED BY GOV AS OF JAN 25 2024
What are the opportunities for growth?
● Mali has worked hard to diversity its economy in recent years. It is still a primary product dependent country (gold and cotton), but investment from the World Bank and the African Development bank is helping it to change. In 2018, 93% of its exports were gold. This isn’t great, but the market for Mali’s gold has expanded hugely in recent years (by 850% since 2014 and so this is a considerable opportunity for the country[2].
● FDI from China into Mali has the potential to transform the Malian economy. China has helped many African countries to look beyond the help of their former colonial masters and Mali is no exception. In 2014 China signed a $11 billion investment deal with Mali, $9.5 billion of which is slated for railway construction and repairs. Of this, $8 million is going to the construction of a 900-km railway connecting Bamako to the port capital of Conakry in Guinea. This could revolutionise Mali’s trading links with the rest of the world.
Mali is a member of ECOWAS - the Economic Community of West African States. It currently has crippling sanctions levied upon it for the civil unrest in the country. If it can become more stable it will have these sanctions lifted, potentially resulting in a huge increase in trade with its neighbours.
What are the challenges- inequality?
● There continue to be huge regional inequalities in Mali. The poor Northern areas are much less developed. Girls in the North are 15x less likely to receive a secondary education than girls in the South.
● There are deep rooted cultural and ethic divisions in Mali which are hard to solve.
● There are large inequalities between men and women in Mali. Mali ranks 143/146 in the UN’s Gender Inequality Index. Women are poorly educated, have fewer rights and have a traditional role. Over-coming gender inequalities will enable the country to develop.
● The new Chinese railway will also create inequalities by making the South of the Country more connected and better able to trade with other countries.
● Climate change will adversely affect the North more than the South by making droughts more likely.
● The North continues to suffer from droughts while the South does not.
● Islamic State controlled areas increase gender inequality by further reducing the rights of women.
● Continued and increasing inequality between rural and urban areas.
What are the challenges- injustice?
● Poor governance by the Malian government has meant that they cannot sufficiently police their own borders. There are high levels of crime including human trafficking, drug smuggling, kidnapping, embezzlement, corruption and murder. Mali is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. In 2019 it was ranked 130/180[3].
● There are constant high levels of human rights abuses. In 2019, Dogon Militia men massacred 150 civilians in Ogossagou village. They have not been brought to justice.Islamic State and Al-Qaeda killed over 150 civilians in 2019 as well as 16 UN Peacekeepers. State security forced murdered 50 suspects without trial in 2019. None have been prosecuted[4].
Children in Mali have been denied their childhood. In 2019, 150 children were killed by explosive devices, there were 99 cases of children being used by armed groups in the first six months of 2019, over 900 schools remained closed and 270,000 children were denied their rightto education.
What is one challenge to the sovereignty and TI of mali?
Separatism: the Tuareg ethnic group has declared independence for Azawad, an area of northeast Mali
- The claims for secession are based on Tuareg teritorial and cultural rights in this area. The current international boundaries in this part of West Africa were drawn up by European colonial powers over 100 years ago There was little regard for tribal lands and this resulted in arbitrary division of the Tuareg between Mali and neighbouring countries (Figure 9.26) -The Tuareg seek greater autonomy in Azawad (Figure 9.27). This area has been marginalised and neglected by the Bamako-based national government, 1000 km to the south. The most recent military coup in 2012 was caused by dissatisfaction with the government for its ineffective governance of the north and failure to handle the many conflicts in the area.
What is another challenge to sovereignty and TI in mali?
Terrorism and extremist activity in addition to separatist rebellions there have been attacks by Islamist groups
- There has been rapid growth in insurgency from new armed groups. These include those linked to Al-Qaeda, Islamic State, and others with ethnic or political affiliations. There have been serious extremist attacks on Malian and regional military forces and UN and French peacekeeping forces Trafficking of people, smuggling of arms and other contraband have occurred across the remote porous borders between Mall, Niger and Burkina Faso. Security has been threatened by extremists trying to create a safe haven in the Sahel as a base for attacks elsewhere Schools have been targeted which reduces access to education and increases vulnerability to sex exploitation, forced labour and recruitment of children to armed forces Health facilities have been destroyed and ethnic and inter-community rivalries have been exploited in attacks on civilians
What are the global governance strategies in mali?
- United Nations Stabilisation Mission
o 12.000 military personnel
o 1700 police
o 2019-20 budget US$1.14 billion - MINUSMA
o Support for 2015 Peace and Reconciliation Agreement, legal and democratic and opening of dialogue with terrorist leaders
o Restoration of state authority/rule of law
o Protection of civilians/human rights
o Promoting co-operation between security forces
What are the UN agencies in mali?
UNHCR- integration of refugee and IDP returnees
OCHA- coordination of operations for all involved, data exchange over food security/malnutrition
WFP- food security operates UN Humanitarian Air Service for access to remote
UNDP- agenda for sustainable development-SDGs
UNICEF rights of the child in health, hygiene, education, protection against child marriage
What are the regional organisations and the organisations from the mali gov?
National military forces supported by:
- Regional forces from G5 sahel countries for security
- ECOWAS and African union for mediation
Examples of other national contributions:
- Security 5100 French troops-significant, long-term security, the British military are training forces in the Sahel in counter-terrorism
- Youth training project- japanese financial support partnering UNDP
What NGO’s are in Mali?
NCO strategies include reducing food insecurity, poverty, inequalities and injustices such as gender inequality improving living conditions providing medical aid attempting negotiation with rebel groups to allow access to people in most need
What is the Sahel alliance?
Launched in 2017 to provide a co-ordinated response to the development and security challenges faced by G5 Sahel countries-Mall Niger, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Chad.
