MALI CONFLICT and AFTERMATH Compendium of Human Rights Watch Reporting, 2012-2017 WATCH
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HUMAN RIGHTS MALI CONFLICT AND AFTERMATH Compendium of Human Rights Watch Reporting, 2012-2017 WATCH Mali Conflict and Aftermath Compendium of Human Rights Watch Reporting 2012-2017 Copyright © 2017 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org Mali Conflict and Aftermath Compendium of Human Rights Watch Reporting, 2012-2017 Human Rights Watch extensively investigated the human rights situation in Mali during the 2012-2013 armed conflict, the accompanying political upheaval, and the southward spread of Islamist armed group activity from 2015 to 2017. This document contains much of Human Rights Watch’s reporting and analysis during that period. In our advocacy we called on all sides to abide by international humanitarian law—the laws of war—and urged Mali’s government to take concrete steps with the assistance of its international supporters to address the conditions that led to the crisis. Key among them are strengthening the rule of law, holding rights abusers to account, and addressing endemic corruption. Human Rights Watch’s work on Mali is also available on our website: http://www.hrw.org/africa/mali Map of Mali ....................................................................................................................... I 2017 Mali: Islamist Group Abuses, Banditry Surge January 18, 2017 – Press Release ............................................................................................. 2 World Report 2017: Mali – Events of 2016 January 2017 – Country Chapter .............................................................................................. 18 2016 Mali: ‘Red Berets’ Trial Marks Progress in Tackling Impunity November 29, 2016 – Statement ............................................................................................. 23 ICC: Clear Message on Attacking World’s Treasures September 27, 2016 – Statement ............................................................................................ 25 Confronting Mali’s New Jihadist Threat May 9, 2016 – Commentary (Op-Ed, New York Times) ............................................................. 26 Mali: Abuses Spread South February 19, 2016 – Press Release ......................................................................................... 29 World Report 2016: Mali – Events of 2015 January 2016 – Country Chapter .............................................................................................. 44 2015 Mali: Lawlessness, Abuses Imperil Population April 14, 2015 – Press Release ................................................................................................ 48 World Report 2015: Mali – Events of 2014 January 2015 – Country Chapter .............................................................................................. 61 2014 Mali: Justice Crucial to Peace Talks November 10, 2014 – Press Release ....................................................................................... 66 Mali: Establish Special Investigation Cell June 25, 2014 – Press Release ................................................................................................. 71 Letter to Justice Minister: On Creation of Special Investigative Cell June 25, 2014 – Letter ............................................................................................................. 73 Human Rights Watch Statement on Allegations of Grave Abuse in Kidal (Mali) May 19, 2014 – Statement....................................................................................................... 77 Mali: Give Malians Say in Truth Commission March 10, 2014 – Press Release .............................................................................................. 78 World Report 2014: Mali – Events of 2013 January 2014 – Country Chapter ............................................................................................. 80 2013 Mali: New Government at Crossroads September 3, 2013 – Press Release ........................................................................................ 84 Letter to President Keita: Addressing Human Rights Issues September 3, 2013 – Letter .................................................................................................... 86 HRW Statement on Completion of Presidential Elections August 12, 2013 – Statement .................................................................................................. 93 Mali: New Abuses by Tuareg Rebels, Soldiers June 7, 2013 – Press Release .................................................................................................. 94 Mali: Soldiers Torture Detainees in Léré March 26, 2013 – Press Release ............................................................................................. 99 Mali: Prosecute Soldiers for Abuses February 21, 2013 – Press Release ........................................................................................ 103 Mali: Malian Army, Islamist Groups Executed Prisoners February 1, 2013 – Press Release .......................................................................................... 108 Mali: Islamists Should Free Child Soldiers January 15, 2013 – Press Release .......................................................................................... 112 World Report 2013: Mali – Events of 2012 January 2013 – Country Chapter ............................................................................................. 115 2012 Mali: Rising Ethnic Tensions Threaten New Violence December 20, 2012 – Press Release ...................................................................................... 119 Testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Subcommittee on African Affairs December 5, 2012 – Statement ............................................................................................. 127 Mali: Islamist Armed Groups Spread Fear in North September 25, 2012 – Press Release ..................................................................................... 138 Mali: Security Forces ‘Disappear’ 20, Torture Others July 25, 2012 – Press Release ................................................................................................ 155 Mali: War Crimes by Northern Rebels April 30, 2012 – Press Release .............................................................................................. 161 Map of Mali © 2013 United Nations I HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | FEBRUARY 2017 Mali: Islamist Group Abuses, Banditry Surge Killings, Repression, Insecurity Imperil Civilians in North, Central Region January 18, 2017 – Press Release https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/01/18/mali-islamist-group-abuses-banditry-surge Soldiers attend to wounded and casualties in the aftermath of a suicide bomb attack in Gao, northern Mali, that left over 50 dead on January 18, 2017. The attack targeted a camp grouping soldiers, former rebels and pro-government militia tasked with leading the joint patrols established in the 2015 peace agreement. Al Mourabitoun, an affiliate of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), took responsibility for the attack. © 2017 STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images (Nairobi) – Islamist armed groups in northern and central Mali have executed numerous people and are increasingly imposing restrictions on village life, Human Rights Watch said today. The Malian government has largely been unable to protect vulnerable civilians in northern and central Mali, while security forces summarily executed at least 10 suspected Islamists and tortured many others during counterterrorism operations in 2016. In addition to abuses by the Islamist armed groups, civilians have suffered from bloody intercommunal clashes and surges in banditry. Despite a 2015 peace accord ending Mali’s 2012-2013 armed conflict, signatories have failed to implement many of its key provisions, notably the disarmament of thousands of combatants. United Nations peacekeeper fatalities MALI CONFLICT AND AFTERMATH 2 reached 29 in 2016, double those in 2015. “The human rights climate grew increasingly precarious over the past year, a result of execution-style killings and intimidation by Islamist armed groups, bloody intercommunal clashes, and surges in violent crime,” said Corinne Dufka, associate Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The government’s failure to assert control and curtail security force abuses has added to the deteriorating situation.” A 2013 French-led military intervention pushed back armed groups occupying Mali’s north, but lawlessness and abuses steadily increased from mid-2014, including by groups linked to Al- Qaeda. In 2015 and 2016, abuses worsened and increasingly spread to Mali’s central regions. Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 70 victims and witnesses to abuses in central and northern Mali in