UN mission in Mali ends after a decade

Following tensions between the United Nations and Mali's military council, the country's foreign minister has called for the immediate withdrawal of the UN mission. This demand was made on 16 June by the Malian minister, Abdoulaye Diop, before the UN Security Council, which he accuses of having failed to stabilise the country.  

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was established by the Security Council on 25 April 2013 in order to support the political processes and the transition of the country's authorities. The resolution was finally adopted on 25 June 2014 and the Council further decided that the Mission should focus on tasks such as "ensuring security, stabilisation and protection of civilians; supporting national political dialogue and reconciliation; and assisting in the restoration of state authority, the reconstruction of the security sector and the promotion and protection of human rights in that country".  

The Council's proposed resolution for the extension of the troop exit process states that the mission should withdraw more than 13,000 authorised operatives and will have until 31 December to conduct a safe and orderly exit, which will also be reviewed by the Security Council. The draft resolution also includes that, until 31 December, the mission's operatives will be authorised to consult with the Malian authorities on possible responses to imminent threats against civilians. 

Mali has asked to shorten this six-month period for the departure of the UN operatives, which would make the already difficult withdrawal of the blue helmets more difficult. The vote on the resolution, which was scheduled for Tuesday, will be postponed to Friday of this week due to the need for both the UN Council and Mali to continue discussions. The future of the UN mission will be voted on by all 15 members of the Council and nine votes will be needed to pass it.

MINUSMA's efforts to contain the violence of the Islamist rebellion have been criticised for its inability to protect civilians from jihadist attacks even with a budget of $1.26 billion. Since the start of the mission, more than 300 MINUSMA operatives have been killed during peacekeeping operations, making it the UN mission with the highest number of human casualties. The tensions that have arisen between the Malian military and the mission in recent months are mainly due to the intervention of the Wagner Group, who are in the area at the request of the Malian government, an ally of Vladimir Putin's Russia.