Resolution 2584 (2021)
Adopted by the Security Council at its 8809th meeting, on 29 June 2021
The Security Council,
Recalling all its previous resolutions, statements of its President and press statements on the situation in Mali,
Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Mali, emphasizing that the Malian authorities have primary responsibility for the provision of stability, security and protection of civilians throughout the territory of Mali, urging the Malian authorities to uphold their efforts to meet their obligations in that regard, and expressing great concern at the violent and unilateral actions taken by non-State actors hampering the return of State authority and basic social services,
Reaffirming the basic principles of peacekeeping, including consent of the parties, impartiality and non-use of force, except in self-defence and defence of the mandate, recognizing that the mandate of each peacekeeping mission is specific to the need and situation of the country concerned, and recalling its Presidential Statement of 14 May 2018 (S/PRST/2018/10),
Expressing grave concern about the continued deterioration of the political, security and humanitarian situation in Mali, including through the persistence of a high level of attacks by terrorist groups in the North and in the Centre, and the continuation of intercommunal violence in the Centre, which led to human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law and have caused the loss of numerous innocent lives as well as numerous internally displaced persons and refugees in neighbouring countries, people in critical need of assistance and children without access to education due to school closures, and have hindered humanitarian access, expressing concern over the extension of insecurity to Southern Mali, further expressing concern over the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the significant ongoing food crisis in Mali, and further expressing deep concern that the situation in Mali negatively impacts that of neighbouring countries and of the Sahel region,
Emphasizing that security and stability in Mali are inextricably linked to that of the Sahel and West Africa, as well as to that of Libya and North Africa,
Strongly condemning the continued attacks against civilians, representatives from local, regional and State institutions, as well as national, international and UN security forces, including the Malian Defence and Security Forces (MDSF), the G5 Sahel joint force (FC-G5S), the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the French forces and the European partners, including Task Force Takuba, and the European Union Training Mission in Mali (EUTM Mali), paying tribute to the bravery and sacrifices made by the soldiers engaged in Mali and the Sahel, especially to those who lost their lives, and calling for continuing support to the MDSF in their fight against terrorism,
Welcoming the appointment of El-Ghassim Wane as the new Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Mali,
Underlining that lasting peace and security in the Sahel region will not be achieved without a combination of political, security, peacebuilding and sustainable development efforts benefitting all regions of Mali, as well as the full, effective and inclusive implementation of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali (“the Agreement”), and ensures full, equal and meaningful participation of women and youth, and welcoming in this regard the increased representation of women in the Comité de suivi de l’Accord (CSA),
Recognizing that an integrated and coherent approach among relevant political, security and developmental actors, within and outside of the United Nations system, consistent with their respective mandates, is critical to building and sustaining peace in Mali and the Sahel welcoming the appointment of a Special Coordinator for development in the Sahel, noting the involvement of the Peacebuilding Commission on the Sahel and recalling the necessity to boost the implementation of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS) and the United Nations Support Plan for the Sahel,
Welcoming the Ndjamena Summit of the G5 Sahel and their partners of 16 February 2021 which called for a civil and political surge and further welcoming the steps taken in advancing the “Coalition for the Sahel”, aimed at fighting against terrorism, strengthening the Sahelian States’ military capabilities, supporting the restoration of State authority throughout the territory, and bolstering development assistance, the Takuba Task Force, a multinational special forces task force designed to advise, assist and accompany the MDSF, the Partnership for Security and Stability in the Sahel and the Sahel Alliance,
Recalling the establishment of the transitional arrangements in Mali, including a Transition Charter, a Transition Action Plan, and an election calendar, welcoming the mediation by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the role of the Monitoring Mechanism it has announced to ensure respect of these arrangements, including the electoral calendar unveiled on 15th April 2021,
Strongly condemning the violation of the Transition Charter constituted by the arbitrary arrest of the transitional leaders by elements of the Defense and Security forces on 24 May 2021, calling for the immediate resumption of the inclusive transition in Mali leading to elections and constitutional order within the established 18-month timeline, in accordance with the Transition Charter, including presidential election on 27 February 2022 as per the transition government’s electoral calendar, and taking note of the conclusions of the ECOWAS extraordinary Summit on the political situation in Mali held on 30 May 2021,
Reiterating that the UN and other international partners remain firmly committed to the implementation of the Agreement as a means to achieve long-term peace and stability in Mali, welcoming the updated Feuille de route on the implementation of the Agreement, efforts by the CSA to enhance its role in support of this implementation, and the first two meetings of the CSA outside of Bamako held in Kidal and Kayes, but expressing a significant impatience with parties over the persistent delays in the implementation of the Agreement, which contribute to a political and security vacuum jeopardizing the stability and development of Mali, stressing the need for increased ownership and prioritization in the implementation of the Agreement, and reiterating that engaging in hostilities in violation of the Agreement as well as actions taken that obstruct, or that obstruct by prolonged delay, or that threaten the implementation of the Agreement constitute a basis for sanctions designations pursuant to resolution 2374 (2017), among other designation criteria,
Stressing that stabilization of the situation in Central Mali requires the Malian authorities and relevant stakeholders to agree on and effectively implement a comprehensive politically led strategy, and to pursue simultaneous and coordinated action on security, governance, sustainable development, reconciliation, accountability, as well as protection and promotion of human rights,
Strongly condemning all violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law, including those involving extrajudicial and summary executions, arbitrary arrests and detentions and ill-treatment of prisoners, sexual and gender-based violence, and trafficking in persons, as well as killing, maiming, recruitment and use of children, attacks against schools, humanitarian actors and services, and medical personnel and infrastructure identified as such, and calling upon all parties to bring an end to such violations and abuses and to comply with their obligations under applicable international law,
Reiterating, in this regard, the importance of holding accountable all those responsible for such acts and that some of such acts referred to in the paragraph above may amount to crimes under the Rome Statute, taking note that, acting upon the referral of the transitional authorities of Mali dated 13 July 2012, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened on 16 January 2013 an investigation into alleged crimes committed on the territory of Mali since January 2012, and further taking note of the finalization of the work of the International Commission of Inquiry established in accordance with the Agreement and as requested by resolution 2364 (2017),
Underlining the importance of socio-economic development for sustaining peace in Mali through sustainable economic development including infrastructure development, industrialization, poverty eradication, job creation, agricultural modernization and promotion of entrepreneurship, expressing the need for continued support to Mali taking into account its national priorities and needs, underscoring the importance of the rule of law in support of socio-economic development, and noting that AU PCRD highlights the need for undertaking comprehensive institution-building to enhance good economic governance through the reinforcement of fiscal and financial management institutions in support of effective revenue collection, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms and anti-corruption structures to ensure accountability and transparency,
Emphasizing the need for adequate risk assessment and risk management strategies, by the Government of Mali and the United Nations, of ecological changes, natural disasters, drought, desertification, land degradation, food insecurity, energy access, climate change, among other factors, on the security and stability of Mali,
Commending troop- and police- contributing countries of MINUSMA for their contribution, paying tribute to the peacekeepers who risk, as well as lost, their lives in this respect,
Welcoming MINUSMA’s efforts to implement its adaptation plan, with a view to integrating all mission components and increasing its protection, mobility, reactivity and flexibility, notably by setting-up a Mobile Task Force,
Expressing concern over reports of some training and capabilities shortfalls of MINUSMA units, undeclared caveats, non-compliance with orders, and emphasizing the importance of transparency and accountability of the mission’s performance,
Recognizing that, in light of the specific and challenging environment in which it is deployed, MINUSMA interacts with other security presences which have the potential to be mutually beneficial instruments to restore peace and stability in Mali and the Sahel region,
Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General (S/2021/519) and the letter of the Secretary-General (S/2021/520),
Determining that the situation in Mali continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security,
Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,
Implementation of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, Political Implementation of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, Political Transition and electionsTransition and elections
1. Calls on all Malian stakeholders to facilitate the resumption and full realization of the Political Transition and the handover of power to elected civilian authorities, reaffirms in this regard the imperative need to respect the transition period of 18 months as decided during the meeting of ECOWAS Heads of States on 15 September 2020 and as set out in the Transition Charter, further reaffirms the announced elections calendar with presidential and legislative elections scheduled for 27 February 2022 and further calls for the swift operationalization of the mechanism to ensure respect for the time-limited Political Transition that should closely involve the United Nations and the critical other partners of Mali;
2. Calls on the Malian Transition Government to organize free and fair presidential, as well as legislative, regional and local elections and a constitutional referendum, as appropriate, within the 18-month timeline, as announced in the electoral calendar, conducted in a transparent and inclusive manner, with the full, equal and meaningful participation of women, youth, refugees and internally displaced persons, reiterates in this regard decisions that the Head of the Transition, the Vice-president and the Prime minister of the Transition should not under any circumstances be candidates for the forthcoming presidential election, and insists on the need to prioritize building trust, engaging in dialogue and willingness to compromise, in order to make sure the Transition is consensual, inclusive and lays the foundations for a more stable, democratic and peaceful country;
3. Welcomes the steps taken in advancing the implementation of the Agreement but regrets the slow pace of its implementation, urges the Government of Mali and the Plateforme and Coordination armed groups (“the Malian parties”) to accelerate this implementation, through significant, meaningful and irreversible measures, and recalls its readiness to respond with measures pursuant to resolution 2374 (2017) should the parties engage in hostilities in violation of the Agreement, take actions that obstruct, or that obstruct by prolonged delay, or that threaten the implementation of the Agreement;
4. Urges the Malian parties to effectively fulfil the following priority measures before the end of MINUSMA’s current mandate:
– achieve the Political Transition, the return to constitutional order and the power handover to democratically elected civilian authorities within the 18-month timeline set out in the Transition Charter and in accordance with the demands expressed by ECOWAS on 30 May 2021 with presidential election on 27 February 2022,
– reach agreement on the sequencing of political and institutional reform processes stipulated by the Agreement and the constitutional reform, consistent with the Agreement’s provisions and the conclusions of the National Inclusive Dialogue,
– reach agreement on the design and start implementation of an inclusive security sector reform, consistent with the Agreement’s provisions,
– redeploy all the elements who underwent the accelerated disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) process, pursue this process with a view to vet, integrate into the MDSF and train 2,000 additional elements of the signatory armed groups, and launch the socio-economic reinsertion of ex-combatants willing to return to a civilian life,
– finalize the legal framework for the Territorial Police and start vetting and recruiting its members, including former members of the signatory armed groups,
– launch all sixteen Sustainable Development Fund projects approved by the steering committee, especially those regarding the Northern Development Zone, and prioritize other interventions of this Fund,
– increase the meaningful representation of women in all the CSA mechanisms, including its subcommittees and operationalize the women’s observatory, including its regional branches;
5. Calls upon the Malian authorities and all parties in Mali to ensure full, equal and meaningful participation of women in the mechanisms established by the Agreement to support and monitor its implementation, and in the Political Transition and electoral processes, as both candidates and voters, including by meeting at least the 30 per cent quota for women in all political functions and offices as defined in Mali’s legislation, addressing risk of harm and ensuring necessary protection for women in these roles, and providing evidence of progress towards completion of Agreement-related targets laid out in Mali’s third national plan (2019–2023) for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), and requests the Secretary-General to pay specific attention to these points in its regular reporting on MINUSMA;
6. Encourages the Panel of Experts established pursuant to resolution 2374 (2017) to identify parties responsible for potential lack of implementation of the priority measures referenced in paragraph 4 through its regular reporting and interim updates, expresses its intent, should these priority measures not be implemented by the end of MINUSMA’s current mandate, to respond with measures pursuant to resolution 2374 (2017) on individuals and entities who are thus obstructing or threatening the implementation of the Agreement, and stresses that individuals or entities placed on the 2374 sanctions list shall not benefit from any financial, operational or logistical support from United Nations entities deployed in Mali, until their removal from the list and without prejudice to the exemptions set by paragraphs 2, 5, 6 and 7 of resolution 2374 (2017);
7. Calls upon all parties in Mali to strictly abide by the arrangements in place for a cessation of hostilities, and demands that all armed groups reject violence, cut off all ties with terrorist organizations and transnational organized crime, take concrete steps to prevent human rights abuses against civilians, put an end to recruitment and use of child soldiers, cease any activities hampering the return of State authority and basic social services, and recognize without conditions the unity and territorial integrity of the Malian State within the framework of the Agreement;
8. Urges all parties in Mali to cooperate fully with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and MINUSMA in the implementation of the Agreement, as well as to ensure the safety, security and freedom of movement of MINUSMA’s personnel with unhindered and immediate access throughout the territory of Mali;
9. Calls for the inclusion within national and regional strategies of programs to address the stigma of sexual and gender-based violence, bring justice to victims and survivors, and support their reintegration into their communities, and further calls for the views of the victims and survivors to be taken into account in the design, establishment, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of these programs;
10. Urges more structured exchanges between the Malian parties between sessions of the CSA, acknowledges the role of the CSA to reconcile disagreements between the Malian parties, recalls the provisions of the Pact for Peace signed on 15 October 2018 between the Government of Mali and the United Nations recognizing the enforceability of the decisions and arbitrations of the international mediation team in case of divergence in the implementation of the Agreement, and calls on the members of the CSA and other relevant international partners, to increase their engagement in support to the implementation of the Agreement in coordination with the SRSG and MINUSMA;
11. Calls upon the Independent Observer to continue to make public, including through presentation to the CSA, regular reports containing concrete recommendations on steps to be taken by all parties to accelerate the full, effective and inclusive implementation of the Agreement, and further calls upon all parties to fully cooperate with the Carter Center in order to facilitate the implementation of its mandate as Independent Observer;
12. Calls upon the Malian parties to agree on and set-up a national mechanism to follow-up on the recommendations of the International Commission of Inquiry;
13. Encourages all relevant United Nations agencies, as well as bilateral, regional and multilateral partners to provide the necessary support to contribute to the implementation of the Agreement by the Malian parties, in particular its provisions pertaining to sustainable development;
Situation in Central MaliSituation in Central Mali
14. Reiterates that the Malian authorities have primary responsibility to protect civilians in Mali, urges these authorities to take expedited action to protect civilians throughout the country, and to prevent, minimize and address civilian harm that might result from operations undertaken by the MDSF;
15. Urges the Malian authorities to fulfil the following priority measures before the end of MINUSMA’s current mandate:
– agree on and effectively implement a comprehensive politically-led strategy guided by clear steps and indicators, to protect civilians, reduce intercommunal violence, and re-establish State presence and authority as well as basic social services in Central Mali, including civil administrators, internal security forces (police, gendarmerie, garde nationale), and judicial entities, ensuring their responsiveness and accountability, and addressing the need for extra protection for women and children in vulnerable situations and marginalized groups,
– fight against impunity for violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, including but not limited to bringing to justice the individuals accused of perpetrating the massacres that killed hundreds of civilians in 2019 and 2020, by holding the corresponding trials, and by communicating progress to the people of Mali, including the families of victims, – disarm without delay all militias, reinforce reconciliation initiatives, and advance community violence reduction efforts;
16. Encourages the Malian authorities, with the help of their partners, to continue pursuing sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development in Central Mali, notably through development projects on education, infrastructures, and public health, with a special attention to youth;
MINUSMA’s mandate
General principles
17. Decides to extend the mandate of MINUSMA until 30 June 2022;
18. Decides that MINUSMA shall continue to comprise up to 13,289 military personnel and 1,920 police personnel;
19. Requests the Secretary-General, in light of the growing level of insecurity and physical violence against the civilian populations in Central Mali, to provide no later than 15 July 2021, a report on the progress of the Force Adaptation Plan implementation and recommendations on the force levels and ceiling of MINUSMA uniformed personnel, including planning assumptions and estimated costs, suggesting deployment phases and providing a detailed description and a timeline for the necessary new infrastructure works, information on how this would extend the field capability of MINUSMA, and how it would accompany a government-led strategy for the Centre, and expresses its intent to discuss MINUSMA’s force level based on this proposal;
20. Authorizes MINUSMA to use all necessary means to carry out its mandate;
21. Decides that the primary strategic priority of MINUSMA is to support the implementation of the Agreement by the Malian parties, as well as by other relevant Malian stakeholders, and the Political Transition, and further decides that the second strategic priority of MINUSMA is to facilitate the implementation by Malian actors of a comprehensive politically-led strategy to protect civilians, reduce intercommunal violence, and re-establish State presence, State authority and basic social services in Central Mali, through the implementation of its mandated tasks;
22. Stresses that MINUSMA’s mandate should be implemented based on a prioritization of tasks established in paragraphs 21 above and 30 and 31 below, requests the Secretary-General to reflect this prioritization in the deployment of the mission and to align budgetary resources accordingly, while ensuring appropriate resources for the implementation of the mandate, affirms, in this regard, that the support to the implementation of the Agreement and to the full realization of the Political Transition should be given priority in decisions about the use of available capacity and resources, that the SRSG, in consultation with the Force Commander and the Police Commissioner should be given sufficient flexibility to deploy MINUSMA contingents between sectors to rapidly respond, in line with MINUSMA’s mandate, to the dynamic security situation in both North and Central Mali, that the SRSG, in consultation with the Force Commander, should ensure that sufficient mission resources are allocated to the implementation of the second strategic priority;
23. Requests MINUSMA to continue to carry out its mandate with a proactive, robust, flexible and agile posture;
24. Requests MINUSMA to ensure the safety, security and freedom of movement of United Nations and associated personnel, to protect installations and equipment, and, in this context, to periodically review all safety and security measures;
25. Expresses its full support to the continuation of the implementation of MINUSMA’s adaptation plan, requests the Secretary-General to take all appropriate measures to accelerate this implementation, notably in generating required assets, and encourages Member states to contribute to the plan by providing the capabilities needed for its success, particularly air assets;
26. Encourages the Secretary-General to implement and keep under continuous update the integrated strategic framework setting the United Nations’ overall vision, joint priorities and internal division of labour to sustain peace in Mali, including enhanced coordination with donors, requests the Secretary-General to ensure an efficient division of tasks and complementarity of efforts between MINUSMA, its Trust Fund, the Peacebuilding Fund, the United Nations Country Team (UNCT), and other UN entities based on their mandates and comparative advantages as well as to continuously adjust their deployment according to the progress made in the implementation of MINUSMA’s mandate, while stressing the importance of adequate resources and capacity for the UNCT, underscores the critical nature of enhanced UNCT presence and activity in the Northern and Central regions of Mali to facilitate integration across the UN system and longer term peacebuilding, and calls on Member States and relevant organizations to consider providing the necessary voluntary funding to this end;
27. Requests MINUSMA to increase its efforts to improve coordination between its civil, military and police components, by reinforcing its integrated approach to operational planning and intelligence as well as through intra-mission dedicated coordination mechanisms;
28. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to ensure close coordination and information sharing, where appropriate, between MINUSMA, the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), sub-regional organizations, including ECOWAS and the G5 Sahel, as well as Member States in the region;
29. Requests MINUSMA to improve its communication efforts to raise awareness on its mandate and its role, as well as to underscore the role and responsibilities of the Malian authorities to protect civilians and implement the Agreement;
Priority tasksPriority tasks
30. Decides that MINUSMA’s mandate shall include the following priority tasks:
(a) Support to the implementation of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali and to the full realization of the Political Transition
(i) To exercise the SRSG’s good offices, confidence-building, facilitation of dialogue and mediation at the national and local levels, in order to support dialogue with and among all stakeholders towards reconciliation and social cohesion, to encourage and support the full implementation of the Agreement, notably by heading the Secretariat of the CSA, and to support the full realization of the Political Transition;
(ii) To support the implementation of the political and institutional reforms provided by the Agreement, especially in its Part II, notably to support the Government’s efforts for the effective restoration and extension of State authority and rule of law throughout the territory, including through supporting the effective functioning of interim administrations in the North of Mali under the conditions set out in the Agreement;
(iii) To support the implementation of the defence and security measures of the Agreement, especially its Part III and Annex 2, notably:
– to support, monitor and supervise the ceasefire, including through the continued implementation of control measures on movement and armament of signatory armed groups, including in designated weapon-free areas, and to report to the Security Council on violations of it,
– to support the cantonment, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of armed groups, including through the integration of elements of the signatory armed groups in the MDSF as an interim measure, and the continued implementation of a community violence reduction program, within the framework of an inclusive and consensual reform of the security sector, taking into account the particular needs of women and children, and persons belonging to marginalised groups such as people with disabilities, and without prejudice to the anticipated plans of the demobilization, disarmament and reintegration and integration commissions,
– to support the establishment by all relevant Malian parties of a comprehensive plan for the redeployment of the reformed and reconstituted MDSF in the North of Mali, including with a view to them assuming responsibility for security, and to support such redeployment including through operational, logistical and transportation support during coordinated and joint operations, planning, strengthened information sharing, and medical evacuation, within existing resources, without prejudice to the basic principles of peacekeeping,
– to ensure coherence of international efforts, in close collaboration with other bilateral partners, donors and international organizations, including the European Union, engaged in these fields, to rebuild the Malian security sector, within the framework set out by the Agreement;
(iv) To support the implementation of the reconciliation and justice measures of the Agreement, especially in its Part V, including to support the operations of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission and the follow-up of the recommendations of the International Commission of Inquiry, and to help ensuring the effectiveness of justice and corrections officials as well as Malian judicial institutions, particularly regarding the detention, investigation and prosecution of individuals suspected of, and sentencing of those found responsible for terrorism-related crimes, mass atrocities and transnational organized crime activities (including trafficking in persons, arms, drugs and natural resources, and the smuggling of migrants);
(v) To encourage and support the full implementation of the Agreement by the Malian parties, and all relevant non-signatory actors, including by promoting the meaningful participation of civil society, including women’s organizations, women peacebuilders, and youth organizations and youth peacebuilders, and helping the Government of Mali to raise awareness on the content and the objectives of the Agreement;
(vi) To assist the Malian authorities, together with the UNCT, in the holding of free and fair elections, conducted in a peaceful environment and a transparent and inclusive manner, including regional, local, legislative and presidential elections, and, as appropriate, of a constitutional referendum, consistent with the electoral calendar, with presidential elections scheduled for 27 February 2022, and with the full, equal and meaningful participation of women, and inclusion of youth, refugees and internally displaced persons, including through the provision of technical assistance and security arrangements to achieve sustainable peace;
(b) Support to stabilization and restoration of State authority in the Centre
(i) To support Malian authorities in agreeing on and implementing a comprehensive politically-led strategy to protect civilians, reduce intercommunal violence, and re-establish State presence, State authority and basic social services in Central Mali, and meeting the priority measures set-out in paragraph 15 above;
(ii) To facilitate the return of State presence, State authority and basic social services in the Centre, ensuring strengthened coordination between the civilian and military components of the mission, and with local and regional communities, groups and military and civilian authorities, and to support the redeployment of the MDSF there, including through continued operational, logistical and transportation support during coordinated and joint operations, on the basis of clear, coherent and dynamic planning, strengthened information and intelligence sharing and medical evacuation, within existing resources;
(iii) To support Malian authorities in ensuring that those responsible for violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law are held accountable and brought to justice without delay;
(c) Protection of civilians
(i) To protect, without prejudice to the primary responsibility of the Malian authorities, civilians under threat of physical violence;
(ii) In support of the Malian authorities, to take active steps to anticipate, deter and effectively respond to threats to the civilian population, notably in the North and Center of Mali, through a comprehensive and integrated approach, and, in this regard:
– to promote understanding of and strengthen mission-wide early warning and response mechanisms and to systematically record and analyse MINUSMA’s rate of response,
– to strengthen community engagement and protection mechanisms, including interaction with civilians, community outreach, reconciliation, mediation, support to the resolution of local and intercommunal conflicts and public information,
– to take mobile, flexible, robust and proactive steps to protect civilians, including through the set-up of a Mobile Task Force, prioritizing the deployment of ground and air assets, as available, in areas where civilians are most at risk, while expecting Malian authorities to assume their responsibilities in the respective areas,
– to mitigate the risk to civilians before, during and after any military or police operation, including by tracking, preventing, minimizing, and addressing civilian harm resulting from the mission’s operations,
– to prevent the return of active armed elements to key population centres and other areas where civilians are at risk, engaging in direct operations pursuant only to serious and credible threats;
(iii) To provide specific protection and assistance for women and children affected by armed conflict, including through Protection Advisors, Child Protection Advisors, Women Protection Advisors and civilian and uniformed Gender Advisors and focal points, as well as consultations with women’s organizations, and address the needs of victims and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in armed conflict;
(d) Promotion and protection of human rights
(i) To assist the Malian authorities in their efforts to promote and protect human rights, in particular in the areas of justice and reconciliation, including to support, as feasible and appropriate, the efforts of the Malian authorities, without prejudice to their responsibilities, to bring to justice without undue delay those responsible for serious violations or abuses of human rights or violations of international humanitarian law, in particular war crimes and crimes against humanity in Mali, taking into account the referral by the transitional authorities of Mali of the situation in their country since January 2012 to the ICC;
(ii) To improve efforts to monitor, document, conduct fact-finding missions, help investigate and report publicly and regularly to the Security Council, on violations of international humanitarian law and on violations and abuses of human rights, including all forms of sexual and gender-based violence, trafficking in persons, and violations and abuses committed against women and children throughout Mali and to contribute to efforts to prevent such violations and abuses including by liaising with relevant partners, as appropriate;
(e) Humanitarian assistance
In support of the Malian authorities, to contribute to the creation of a secure environment for the safe civilian-led delivery of humanitarian assistance, consistent with humanitarian principles, and the voluntary, safe and dignified return, local integration or resettlement of internally displaced persons and refugees in close coordination with humanitarian actors, including relevant UN agencies;
Other tasksOther tasks
31. Further authorizes MINUSMA, without impeding on its capacity to implement its priority tasks, to use its existing capacities to assist in implementing the following other tasks in a streamlined and sequenced manner, bearing in mind that priority and secondary tasks are mutually reinforcing:
(a) Quick impact projects
To contribute to the creation of a secure environment for quick impact projects in direct support to the implementation of the Agreement in the North or in response to specific needs in the Centre on the basis of strong conflict analysis;
(b) Cooperation with Sanctions Committees
To assist and exchange information with the Sanctions Committee and the Panel of experts established pursuant to resolution 2374 (2017) as well as to assist in raising awareness on their role and their mandate;
To assist the 1267/1989/2253 ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee and the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team established by resolution 1526 (2004), including by passing information relevant to the implementation of the measures in paragraph 1 of resolution 2368 (2017);
(c) Weapons and ammunition management
To assist the Malian authorities with the removal and destruction of mines and other explosive devices and weapons and ammunition management, within existing resources;
Other security presences in Mali and the Sahel regionOther security presences in Mali and the Sahel region
32. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure adequate coordination, exchange of information and, when applicable, support, within their respective mandates and through existing mechanisms, between MINUSMA, the MDSF, the FC-G5S, the French Forces and the European Union missions in Mali as well as coordination with European partners, including Task Force Takuba, and further requests MINUSMA to convene regular meetings of the Instance de Coordination au Mali as the main platform for such coordination, exchange of information and support and to also use this platform to assist Mali in getting an encompassing view of the actions undertaken by these security presences, within existing resources;
33. Stresses that security responses to the threats faced by Mali can only be effective if conducted in full compliance with international law, and while taking feasible precautions to minimize the risk of harm to civilians in all areas of operations, and calls upon all non-United Nations security forces receiving support from MINUSMA to continue cooperating with the United Nations and the relevant monitoring and reporting mechanisms in implementing the Human Rights Due Diligence Policy on United Nations support to non-United Nations security forces (HRDDP);
Malian Defence and Security ForcesMalian Defence and Security Forces
34. Urges MINUSMA and the Government of Mali to redouble their efforts towards ensuring a swift, full and effective implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on support to the redeployment of MDSF;
35. Encourages bilateral and multilateral partners to continue their support to accelerate the redeployment of the MDSF to the Centre and, once reformed and reconstituted, to the North of Mali, particularly by providing relevant equipment and training, in coordination with the Government of Mali and MINUSMA and within the framework of the Agreement;
36. Expresses serious concerns about repeated allegations of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law by MDSF in the conduct of counterterrorism operations, takes positive note of the measures announced by the Government of Mali in response to these allegations, and urges the Government of Mali to effectively implement these measures, notably by carrying out transparent, credible and timely investigations and holding accountable those responsible, especially as it relates to the allegations documented by the MINUSMA Human Rights Division;
37. Calls upon the Government of Mali to implement all recommendations made by MINUSMA in the framework of the HRDDP, and encourages international partners to insist on respect for international human rights law, international humanitarian law and accountability as a necessary condition when partnering with the MDSF or other armed actors;
Force conjointe du G5 SahelForce conjointe du G5 Sahel
38. Welcomes the increased autonomy of the G5 Sahel Executive Secretariat and of the FC-G5S as steps towards self-sufficiency, encourages G5 Sahel States to ensure that the FC-G5S continues to scale up its level of operation in order to demonstrate increased tangible operational results, further welcomes the launch of the Civilian Casualties Identification, Tracking and Analysis Cell (MISAD) by the FC-G5S, as part of its implementation of the compliance framework referred to in resolution 2391 (2017), encourages support to the G5 Sahel programmes, including its police component and Specialized Investigative Units;
39. Expresses its support for support provided by MINUSMA to the FC-G5S, as per the conditions set out in resolutions 2391 (2017) and 2531 (2020), and in the technical agreement between the United Nations, the European Union and the G5 Sahel, through MEDEVAC and CASEVAC, access to life support consumables, and use of engineering plant equipment, material and enabling units, without affecting MINUSMA’s capacity to implement its mandate and strategic priorities referenced in paragraph 21;
40. Stresses that operational and logistical support from MINUSMA, as per the conditions set by resolution 2391 (2017), is a temporary but vital measure which has the potential to allow the FC-G5S, given its current level of capacities, to enhance its ability to deliver on its mandate, calls on the FC-G5S to continue developing its own capacity to support itself, encourages a more robust examination of alternative support to the FC-G5S with detailed and operational options of this support, including through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms and organisations, other than MINUSMA and with consideration of all appropriate funding options, and requests the Secretary-General to include these as well as an assessment of the implementation of paragraph 13 of resolution 2391 (2017), including on the HRDDP, in a report to be issued no later than 30 September 2021, without prejudice to any future Security Council decision;
41. Requests the Secretary-General to enhance exchange of information between MINUSMA and the G5 Sahel States, through provision of relevant intelligence;
42. Recalls that adherence to the compliance framework referred to in resolution 2391 (2017) is essential in ensuring the required trust among the populations, and thus the effectiveness and legitimacy of the FC-G5S, and underlines the need for the continued support of UN OHCHR to the compliance framework's full operationalization;
French forcesFrench forces
43. Authorizes French forces, within the limits of their capacities and areas of deployment, to use all necessary means until the end of MINUSMA’s mandate as authorized in this resolution, to intervene in support of elements of MINUSMA when under imminent and serious threat upon request of the Secretary-General, and requests France to report to the Council on the implementation of this mandate in Mali and to coordinate its reporting with the reporting by the Secretary-General referred to in paragraph 61 below;
European Union contributionEuropean Union contribution
44. Encourages the European Union, notably its Special Representative for the Sahel and its EUTM Mali and EUCAP Sahel Mali missions, to continue its efforts to support Malian authorities in Security Sector Reform and reestablishment of State authority and presence throughout the Malian territory, further encourages close coordination of these efforts with MINUSMA, and requests the Secretary-General to enhance cooperation between MINUSMA and EUTM Mali and EUCAP Sahel missions, including by developing further complementarity between the missions and by exploring modalities for potential mutual support;
Capacities of MINUSMA, safety and security of MINUSMA’s personnelCapacities of MINUSMA, safety and security of MINUSMA’s personnel
45. Stresses the importance to provide MINUSMA with the necessary capacities to fulfill its mandate in a complex security environment that includes asymmetric threats to its personnel and requests the Secretary-General, Member States, and the Government of Mali to take all appropriate measures to ensure the best level possible of safety and security of MINUSMA’s personnel, in line with resolution 2518 (2020), and principles to guide the COVID-19 vaccination of uniformed personnel in-theatre and prior to deployment in line with UN guidelines and best practices to improve safety of peacekeepers, recalling as well the Action Plan on improving safety and security related to the report on “Improving Security of United Nations Peacekeepers”;
46. Recognizes that the effective implementation of peacekeeping mandates is the responsibility of all stakeholders and is contingent upon several critical factors, including well-defined, realistic, and achievable mandates, political will, leadership, performance and accountability at all levels, adequate resources, policy, planning, and operational guidelines, and training and equipment, urges Member States to provide troops and police that have adequate capabilities, including regarding language skills, predeployment and, where appropriate, in situ training, and equipment, including enablers, specific to the operating environment, requests troop and police contributing countries to implement relevant provisions of resolution 2538 (2020) notes the potential adverse effects on mandate implementation of national caveats which have not been declared and accepted by the Secretary General prior to deployment, highlights that lack of effective command and control, refusal to obey orders, failure to respond to attacks on civilians, declining to participate in or undertake patrols may adversely affect the shared responsibility for effective mandate implementation, and calls on Members State to declare all national caveats, provide troops and police with the minimum of declared caveats, and to fully and effectively implement the provisions of the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) signed with the United Nations;
47. Requests the Secretary-General to implement the following capacities and existing obligations in the planning and conduct of MINUSMA’s operations:
– to implement peacekeeping performance requirements under resolutions 2378 (2017) and 2436 (2018),
– to improve MINUSMA’s intelligence and analysis capacities, including surveillance and monitoring capacities, within the limits of its mandate,
– to provide training, knowledge and equipment to counter explosive devices, including enhanced support to troop and police contributing countries to deploy the environment specific mine-protected vehicles needed under the current Force requirements,
– to improve logistics in mission, in particular by taking all necessary measures to secure MINUSMA’s logistical supply routes, including through the continued deployment of combat convoy battalions and the use of modern technology such as multiple sensors, intelligence fusion and unmanned aerial systems, as well as by exploring potential alternative logistical supply routes,
– to enhance camps protection, including through the urgent deployment, where needed, of appropriate technology systems, such as indirect fire attack, early warning devices, and ground alert radars,
– to implement more effective casualty and medical evacuation procedures, including the Standard Operating Procedure on Decentralized Casualty Evacuation, as well as deploying enhanced medical evacuation capacities,
– to take active and effective measures to improve the planning and functioning of MINUSMA’s safety and security facilities and arrangements,
– to secure long-term rotation schemes for critical capabilities as well as exploring innovative options to promote partnerships between equipment, troop- and police-contributing countries;
– to strengthen the implementation of mission-wide early warning and response, as part of a coordinated approach to information gathering, incident tracking and analysis, monitoring, verification, early warning and dissemination, and response mechanisms;
–- to ensure that any of its support to other security presences mentioned in paragraph 32 above is provided in strict compliance with the HRDDP;
– to strengthen its sexual and gender-based violence prevention and response activities in line with resolution 2467 (2019);
– to implement resolution 1325 (2000) and all resolutions addressing women, peace, and security, including by seeking to increase the number of women in MINUSMA in line with resolution 2538 (2020), taking fully into account gender considerations as a cross-cutting issue throughout its mandate;
– to take fully into account child protection as a cross-cutting issue;
– to implement youth, peace and security under resolution 2250 (2015), 2419 (2018) and 2535 (2020);
– to implement the United Nations zero-tolerance policy on serious misconduct, sexual exploitation and abuse, and sexual harassment, and all actions under resolution 2272 (2016), and to report to the Security Council if such cases of misconduct occur;
48. Strongly condemns all attacks against MINUSMA peacekeepers and other United Nations and associated personnel, underlines that these attacks may constitute war crimes under international law, stresses that those responsible for these acts should be held accountable, calls on the Government of Mali to take all possible measures to swiftly investigate, arrest, prosecute and bring to justice the perpetrators of such acts, with a view to prevent impunity from encouraging future violence against peacekeepers, calls upon MINUSMA to provide support to the Government of Mali to this end, requests the Secretary-General to regularly include in its reports information on the efforts of Mali in that regard, and further requests the Secretary-General to ensure troop contributing countries receive sufficient information relevant to up-to-date tactics, techniques, and procedures in reducing troop casualties in an asymmetric environment before deploying to Mali;
49. Calls upon Member States, especially those in the region, to ensure the free, unhindered and expeditious movement to and from Mali of all personnel, as well as equipment, provisions, supplies and other goods, which are for the exclusive and official use of MINUSMA, in order to facilitate the timely and cost-effective delivery of the logistical supply of MINUSMA;
Obligations under international law, human rights law and related aspectsObligations under international law, human rights law and related aspects
50. Urges the Malian authorities to reinforce efforts to strengthen accountability and ensure that all those responsible for crimes involving violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, including those involving sexual and gender based violence, and human trafficking, are held accountable and brought to justice without undue delay, that progress and conclusions of investigations and trials are effectively communicated, and that all victims and survivors of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations have access to justice, and notes, in this regard, the Malian authorities’ continued cooperation with the ICC, in accordance with Mali’s obligations under the Rome Statute, in matters that are within its jurisdiction;
51. Urges all parties to comply with obligations under international humanitarian law to respect and protect all civilians, including humanitarian personnel and civilian objects, as well as all medical personnel and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical duties, their means of transport and equipment, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities, and take all required steps to allow and facilitate the full, safe, immediate and unimpeded access of humanitarian actors for the delivery of humanitarian assistance to all people in need, while respecting the humanitarian principles and applicable international law;
52. Reaffirms its past resolutions on the Protection of civilians in armed conflicts including resolution 1894 (2009), Children and armed conflicts, Women, peace and security, and Youth, peace and security, calls upon all military forces operating in Mali to take them into account and to abide by international humanitarian law, international human rights law and refugee law, as applicable, and recalls the importance of training in this regard;
53. Welcomes the adoption by the Malian authorities of a third action plan to implement resolution 1325 (2000), requests MINUSMA to assist the Malian authorities in ensuring the full, equal and meaningful participation, involvement and representation of women at all levels in the implementation of the Agreement, including the security sector reform and DDR processes, as well as in reconciliation, Political Transition and electoral processes, and calls on the Malian parties to address the need for extra protection for women and children in vulnerable situations as a cross-cutting issue;
54. Urges all parties to implement the conclusions on Children And Armed Conflict in Mali adopted by the Security Council working group on 17 December 2020 and to immediately release, without preconditions, all children from their ranks, hand them over to relevant civilian child protection actors, end and prevent further recruitment and use of children, and to ensure that the protection of children’s rights is taken into account in the implementation of the Agreement, in DDR processes and in security sector reform, encourages the Government of Mali to continue its efforts to strengthen the legal framework on child protection, including through adherence to its obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, the finalization of the revisions of the Child Protection Code, the implementation of commitments it made in endorsing the Safe Schools Declaration and a mapping of schools that have been closed, targeted or threatened, and urges all armed groups to establish and implement action plans to end and prevent all six grave violations against children, as identified by the Secretary-General, including the recruitment and use of children and sexual violence against children;
55. Urges all parties to prevent and eliminate sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations, encourages the implementation of the Joint Communiqué on sexual and gender-based violence signed by the United Nations and the Government of Mali in March 2019, further encourages Malian authorities to continue to take steps towards the enactment of the draft law on prevention, prosecution and response to gender-based violence, calls upon the Plateforme armed group to implement the commitments contained in its Communiqué sur la prévention des violences sexuelles liées au conflit au Mali of June 2016 and upon the Coordination armed group to make similar commitments, and requests MINUSMA to support efforts in this regard, including supporting the provision of medical, sexual and reproductive health, psychosocial, mental health, legal and socioeconomic services to all survivors of sexual violence;
56. Urges troop- and police-contributing countries to continue taking appropriate action to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse, including vetting, predeployment and in-mission awareness training, to ensure full accountability in cases of such conduct involving their personnel, including through timely investigations of all allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse, to repatriate units when there is credible evidence of widespread or systemic sexual exploitation and abuse by those units, and to report to the United Nations fully and promptly on actions undertaken;
57. Calls on Member States and international and regional organizations to respond swiftly to the significant food and humanitarian crisis in Mali through increased contributions;
Environmental issuesEnvironmental issues
58. Requests MINUSMA to consider the environmental impacts of its operations when fulfilling its mandated tasks and, in this context, to manage them as appropriate and in accordance with applicable and relevant General Assembly resolutions and United Nations rules and regulations;
Small arms, light weapons and explosive ordnance threat mitigationSmall arms, light weapons and explosive ordnance threat mitigation
59. Calls upon the Malian authorities to address the issue of the proliferation and illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons, including by ensuring the safe and effective management, storage and security of their stockpiles and ammunitions in accordance with the ECOWAS Convention on small arms and light weapons, their ammunition and other related materials, the United Nations Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons and with resolution 2220 (2015);
60. Calls upon the Malian authorities to strengthen cooperation with the United Nations, regional and sub-regional organizations, civil society, and private sector in order to give the most appropriate response to explosive ordnance threat;
ReportsReports by the Secretaryby the Secretary--GeneralGeneral
61. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council every three months after the adoption of this resolution on the implementation of this resolution, focusing on:
(i) progress in achieving the priority measures referenced in paragraphs 4 and 15, and whether and how the mission’s activities have contributed toward achieving the mission’s strategic priorities referenced in paragraph 21 and priority tasks referenced in paragraph 30,
(ii) coordination, exchange of information and, when applicable, mutual operational and logistical support, between MINUSMA, the MDSF, the FC-G5S, the French Forces and the European partners, including Task Force Takuba, and the European Union missions in Mali,
(iii) measures to improve external communication of the mission;
62. Further requests the Secretary-General, addressing perspectives from all relevant actors, including the SRSG, in consultation with the Force Commander, to provide every six months the Security Council with a letter exclusively and thoroughly focusing on mission-wide performance and challenges by providing information on:
(i) progress in mission operations, security challenges, and coordination between security actors, including discussions in the Instance de Coordination au Mali,
(ii) overall performance, including implementation of the Adaptation Plan, roll out of the Integrated Peacekeeping Performance and Accountability Framework (IPPAF) and the Comprehensive Planning Performance Assessment System (CPPAS), the improvement and the performance of the Casualty Evacuation System, rotations of uniformed personnel, on the basis of the methodology referred to in paragraph 47, including information on undeclared caveats, declining to participate in or undertake patrols and their impact on the mission, and how the reported cases of under-performance are addressed,
(iii) integration of all mission’s components, including an update on the implementation of the integrated strategic framework referred to in paragraph 26 above, encouraging that this framework also includes a transition plan in line with the SG’s roadmap of 25 March 2021 with a view to handing over relevant tasks in the long-term, in a phased, coordinated and deliberate manner, to Malian authorities, the UNCT and other UN entities based on their mandates and comparative advantages as well as on a mapping of capabilities and gaps, and a resource mobilization strategy that involves the full range of multilateral and bilateral partners;
63. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.
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