On 12 November, 2022, the Malian junta led by Assimi Goïta announced that it will ban the activities of all non-governmental organizations that are French-funded or -supported. The statement was made on national television on Monday evening, in which the ruling government stated that the decision would have immediate effect and that the ban would apply to any non-governmental organization receiving “material or technical support from France”.
Africa News, ‘Mali bans NGOs funded or supported by France’ Africa News (22 November 2022) <www.africanews.com/2022/11/22/mali-bans-ngos-funded-or-supported-by-france/> accessed 25 November 2022.
ORTM, ‘Communiqué N042 du gouvernement de la transition’ (Facebook, 21 November 2022) <https://fb.watch/h1YggGPD6u/> accessed 25 November 2022.
apply to any non-governmental organization receiving “material or technical support from France”.
The decision by the Malian junta is in response to an announcement of the French decision to suspend its official development assistance. The decision has not been made official by France, but became public by media reports suggesting the suspension. According to news anchor Le Monde, and other news websites, the news was revealed in a letter by Coordination Sud, an international solidarity cooperative of French non-governmental organizations carrying out emergency humanitarian and development aid, environmental protection, and human rights protection. Their letter addressed to Emmanuel Macron denounced the French President’s decision, and reiterated the importance of development aid in Mali, for the President’s decision includes the suspension of funding for development aid provided by non-governmental organizations that are members of Coordination Sud.
In its letter to French President Emmanuel Macron, Coordination Sud provides an insight into the detrimental effects of the suspension on the Malian population. Accordingly, the decision will have many consequences, as it will “lead to the cessation of essential, even vital, activities carried out by Malian and international civil society organizations for the benefit of populations in situations of great fragility or poverty”. According to Coordination Sud, the cessation of such activities will lead to even more vulnerability of those populations in terms of violence and the influence of the parties in conflict.
Baba Ahmed, ‘Mali bans aid groups receiving funds from France’ Stars and Stripes (Bamako 22 November 2022) <www.stripes.com/theaters/africa/2022-11-22/mali-bans-aid-groups-receiving-funds-france-8150629.html> accessed 25 November 2022.
Morgane Le Cam, ‘France halts development aid to Mali amid growing isolation for Bamako’ Le Monde (18 November 2022) <www.lemonde.fr/en/le-monde-africa/article/2022/11/18/mali-france-halts-development-aid-amid-growing-isolation-of-bamako_6004707_124.html> accessed 25 November 2022.
Coordination Sud, ‘Notre Association’ (Coordination Sud) <www.coordinationsud.org/coordination-sud-2/> accessed 25 November 2022.
Elvire Ahonon, ‘Suspension de l’aide publique à destination du Mali: Une coordination d’ONG francaises écrit à Macron’ Afrik Soir (22 November 2022) <https://afriksoir.net/suspension-aide-publique-destination-mali-coordination-ong-francais-ecrit-macron/> accessed 25 November 2022.
The Mali conflict is incredibly complex, and can impossibly be explained fully within the boundaries of this article. The instability in the country is multifaceted and widespread, and dates back to 2012, when a military coup d’état took place. In April 2013, the United Nations established the Multidimensional Integrated Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), which aimed to help stabilize the country. However, stability has not returned, and in the past few years, the country has been facing increasing numbers of terrorist attacks. According to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) earlier this year, 7.5 million people in Mali are in need of humanitarian assistance.
France has been involved in the conflict through their deployment of troops to Mali in 2013. However, the relationship between Mali and France, Mali’s former colonial power, has deteriorated. Particularly since the coup d’état that took place in Mali in 2020, the relations between the two countries suffered due to disagreements concerning Mali’s plans to restore civilian rule. France’s presence and involvement in the country have been met with opposition by the Malian population, which led to anti-French protests attended by thousands of Malian earlier this year.Tensions between the Malian junta and France already led France to decide to pull its troops out of the cou
entry earlier this year, and has now thus resulted in the decision to suspend its development assistance. The French foreign ministry has said that the decision was made
Congressional Research Service, ‘Crisis in Mali’ (23 May 2022) <https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/IF10116.pdf> accessed 25 November 2022.
United Nations Peacekeeping, ‘MINUSMA Fact Sheet’ <https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/mission/minusma> accessed 25 November 2022.
Louise Dewast, ‘How West Africa is under threat from Islamist militants’ BBC News (13 January 2020) <www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-51061229> accessed 25 November 2022; BBC News, ‘Why are French troops leaving Mali, and what will it mean for the region?’ BBC News (26 April 2022) <www.bbc.com/news/world-60419799> accessed 25 November 2022.
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, ‘Mali: UN Humanitarian Chief draws attention to the deteriorating humanitarian situation and need for more support’ (Bamako 31 May 2022) <https://reliefweb.int/report/mali/mali-un-humanitarian-chief-draws-attention-deteriorating-humanitarian-situation-and-need-more-support> accessed 25 November 2022.
BBC News (n 14).
Aljazeera, ‘How Mali’s military fell out with its French ally’ Aljazeera (5 May 2022) <www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/5/how-malis-military-fell-out-with-its-french-ally> accessed 25 November 2022.
Paul Lorgerie, ‘Thousands take to the streets of Bamako in anti-French protest’ Reuters (Bamako 5 February 2022) <www.reuters.com/world/africa/thousands-take-streets-bamako-anti-french-protest-2022-02-04/> accessed 25 November 2022.
BBC News (n 14).
Fatma Esma Arslan, ‘France halts development assistance to Mali’ AA News (Dakar 17 November 2022) <www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/france-halts-development-assistance-to-mali/2741611> accessed 25 November 2022.
“given the attitude of Mali’s junta leader, allied with the Russian mercenaries of Wagner”. In turn, Mali’s junta thus decided to ban all activities by French-funded non-governmental organizations, including humanitarian groups. In a statement concerning the decision, Malian interim Prime Minister Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga spoke about “fanciful allegations” by the French, and implied that the allegations about the country’s use of Russian paramilitaries were intended to “deceive and manipulate national and international public opinion for the purpose of destabilizing and isolating Mali”.
Mali’s decision to ban French-funded non-governmental organizations is thus a direct response to France’s decision to suspend its development assistance. It seems that the deterioration of the relationship between Mali and its former colonial power has resulted in the further and further cutting of ties between the two countries. The actual implications of the decisions on both sides are unknown, but it is likely to impact the security and human rights of the Malian population one way or another.
