Mali on the brink Insights from local peacebuilders on the causes of violent conflict and the prospects for peace July 2018 Martha de Jong-Lantink de Martha About this report
Lead Author Richard Reeve is Chief Executive of Oxford Research Group. He has researched peace and conflict issues in West Africa for over 15 years and published extensively on Mali and the Sahel- Sahara region.
Acknowledgments We thank Richard Reeve as the main author of this report, and are grateful for the contributions made by Dimitri Kotsiras. The Mali Peace Exchange Workshop was organised by Léo Vuillermoz, Dimitri Kotsiras and Ruairi Nolan from Peace Direct and Boubacar Thera, Nana Traoré, Yacouba Simbé and Aiché Diop from the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP). This report could not have been compiled without their assistance and thoughtful inputs, nor without the enthusiastic participation of all the Malian peacebuilders at the Peace Exchange Workshop. We would also like to thank Bridget Moix, Adrienne Monteath-van Dok, Claudia Elliot, Samuel Lobb, Celia Chambelland and Sarah Phillips for editorial support.
2 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink 3 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink Contents
Abbreviations 4
List of Figures 5
Executive Summary 6
1. Introduction 8
2. Methodology 12
3. A background to Mali’s conflict 14
4. Key challenges for peace in Mali 20 4.1 Absence of government and social services 22 4.2 Poor governance and justice 24 4.3 Poverty, unemployment and resource conflicts 26 4.4 Radical influences 28
5. Regional and gender perspectives on Mali’s situation 30
6. The role of Local Peacebuilders 34 6.1 The value of Local Peacebuilders 35 6.2 Challenges for Local Peacebuilders 35 6.3 Malian CSO’s and the State 37
7. Conclusions and recommendations 38
Participating organisations 42
3 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink Abbreviations
ACLED Armed Conflict Location and Event Data ISGS Islamic State in the Great Sahara
AJCET Association of Youth Against FAMa Malian Armed Forces Recruitment into Terrorism MINUSMA United Nations Multidimensional AQIM Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali
CSO Civil Society Organisation MNLA Azawad National Liberation Movement
DDR Disarmament, Demobilisation and NGO Non-Governmental Organisation Reintegration UN United Nations INGO International Non-Governmental Organisations WANEP West Africa Network for Peacebuilding
List of figures
Figure 1: Number of fatalities in armed conflict by region, 2010–2018. Source: ACLED Data.
Figure 2: Proportion of fatalities in armed conflict by geographical zone, 2009–2018. Source: ACLED Data
Figure 3: Turnout of voters in Malian national elections, 1992–2013. Source: African Elections Database
Figure 4: Peace and security concerns by geographical zone, May 2018. Source: Surveys completed before and after Mali Peace Exchange
Figure 5: Peace and security concerns by gender, May 2018. Source: Surveys completed before and after the Mali Peace Exchange
4 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink 5 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink Executive Summary
Mali is facing an escalating violent conflict that has spread from the peripheral Sahel regions in the far northwest to the centre of the country. In 2018, the country is faced with a situation where violence is more intense and widespread than during the widely publicised 2012–2013 crisis.
Mali is not experiencing a civil war in the This report presents the findings of Peace Direct’s conventional sense but a complex, multidimensional first Peace Exchange workshop in Bamako, a security crisis of interlinked micro-conflicts. practitioner led conflict analysis workshop, Communities are fragmenting into competing (subsequently referred to as ‘Peace Exchange’), armed factions and mass atrocities are becoming bringing together 20 representatives from commonplace. In 2013, international military grassroots peacebuilding organisations from across intervention took place, followed by a democratic Mali to discuss the drivers of violent conflict, transition. Yet, five years on, the presidential opportunities and challenges. It also draws on election due on 29 July, poses a short-term risk to results from a qualitative survey that was distributed political stability, as well as a long-term opportunity to participant organisations to share among their to rebuild the Malian state and society. respective local peacebuilding networks across Mali, as well as three in-depth interviews with Peace Direct began working in Mali in late 2017, participants from the Peace Exchange. In addition, in collaboration with the national office of the the report refers to quantitative data from the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP). Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project With over 500 member organisations across Database to present a bottom-up picture of the West Africa, WANEP is well placed to increase challenges Mali’s people and communities face in coordination between local civil society and women building a safe and dignified future. led organisations in the region. Peace Direct will be supporting WANEP in its aims to increase the sense of security and social cohesion among communities, through enhanced capacity and coordination of local civil society organisations.
5 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink The main findings Southerners on the other hand are worried about corruption and economic security. In terms of a Malian peacebuilders identified three primary, long- gender divide in the perception of challenges, the term drivers of violent conflict in Mali, namely: differences in views expressed by men and women did differ somewhat, with female respondents being • The limited presence of the state in almost all more likely to raise concerns about sexual and areas of the country, including administrative, gender-based violence and abuse by government police and justice institutions, as well as the agents or security forces. provision of basic social services like healthcare and education. The Peace Exchange concluded that given the fragmented, decentralised nature of violent conflict • The poor quality of governance and justice in Mali, there is great value in the work of grassroots experienced by Malians, not least corruption peacebuilding organisations. and impunity.
• Pervasive poverty, under-development and Four key strengths of local peacebuilders were unemployment, especially the impact this has identified: on young people. • Their local knowledge that functions as “the eyes and ears of the community”. In addition, dynamic drivers of violent conflict were identified by local peacebuilders, of which the main • Their local legitimacy as “the first victims” was the spread of radical ideologies. This is not of local violent conflict. merely a reference to radical Islamist movements, which have become more active in Central, as well • Their capacity for rapid response, often in the as Northern Mali this decade, but also to radical absence of any effective state presence. ethnically defined political and armed groups, such as the Azawad National Liberation Movement • Their cultural sensitivity, speaking the local (known as the MNLA). Other dynamic factors languages and understanding the traditional include the impact from violent conflicts elsewhere forms of authority and conflict resolution in Northern and Western Africa and its influence used locally. on arms and drugs trafficking, migration (in, through and out of Mali), as well tensions around elections. This said, the challenges facing local peacebuilders in Mali are significant. Most directly, they may be During the Peace Exchange it became clear that physically threatened or targeted by violent actors. perceptions of the main challenges facing Mali They also face resource challenges, including differ across Mali’s regions. Northerners and Central access to financial resources, lack of trained human Malians are more concerned about armed groups resources, logistical constraints and a lack of and ethnic conflict than Southerners, reflecting the information sharing from government and security former’s direct experience of violence. In addition, forces. Levels of distrust will need to be overcome Northerners are more likely to be concerned about between civil society and local politicians and new criminal impunity and economic insecurity, whereas connections will have to be established between Central Malians are concerned about ethnic tensions the national government, national security forces, and land conflict. international donors and local peacebuilding organisations to ensure relevant information sharing.
6 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink 7 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink Recommendations
As a result of the Peace Exchange, Mali’s local peacebuilders made the following recommendations towards building a more stable and peaceful Mali and how best to support local peacebuilding organisations in their vital work:
1. Recommendations for national actors 2. Recommendations for international actors • Prioritise civic education, focusing on • Look beyond military actions towards building developing a shared “spirit of peace”. a more resilient Malian society and state, that include responses from beyond the security • Create employment opportunities across Mali, sector, such as investment in infrastructure, especially for young people. education and healthcare.
• Accelerate the pace and scope of reintegration • Commit to support the consolidation of of ex-combatants, including the economic and a functional state presence across all the social dimensions. communes of Mali, upon which it can gradually build an extension of its state services. • Ensure the implementation of the ‘national countering violent extremism strategy’1 • Support peace and reconciliation as a national through supporting community-level initiatives. priority, not just in the North and/or between the North and South. • Create reliable and trusted mechanisms to enhance information sharing between the • Prioritise women, young people and grassroots national security forces, civil society and the organisations as fundamental constituents of local population. building a more peaceful Mali, the majority among a largely rural population, and the • Reinforce dialogue frameworks between the future potential of Mali. state and civil society organisations (CSOs) at the national, regional and communal levels. • Visit Mali’s regions and local CSOs to better understand local political, economic and social • As a minimum, uphold the legal levels contexts. of participation of women and youth in implementing the ‘Algiers peace agreement’.2 • Provide training and coaching to build the capacity of local peacebuilding organisations across Mali.
1 In January 2018, the Government of Mali adopted the National Policy on the Prevention and Combating of Violent Extremism and Terrorism and its plan of action. The policy is based on the principles of good governance, gender equality, the promotion of human rights and the protection of victims of terrorism, and will be implemented and monitored with the support of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office, and the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Mission (MINUSMA). 2 Signed in June 2015, the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali was the result of two years of the so-called Algiers Process, with Algeria playing a key role in peace negotiations. This agreement will hereon be referred to as the Algiers peace agreement.
7 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink 1. Introduction
Mali is not faced with a national civil war in the usual sense, but a series of loosely linked local conflicts. What began as largely localised conflict in the northern regions of Mali in 2011–2013 subsequently escalated to a nationwide conflict in 2015, with the current situation being a series of interlinked micro-conflicts involving local, national, regional and international actors.
8 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink 9 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink In spite of the increase and spread of tension and Given that Mali’s current crisis is characterised significant security threats, steps have been made to by multiple conflicts and diverse experiences of bring peace and reconciliation to Mali. In June 2015 security, it is not surprising that local peacebuilders the ‘Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali’ record rather different perceptions of peace and was signed, following two years of the so-called security according to their location. To this end, Algiers Process, a period of negotiation between Section 3 provides an overview of how perceptions the Malian government and armed groups intended of challenges to peace and security in Mali vary by to bring about peace and stability in the country. gender and by geographical zone. Since the agreement was signed, further progress has been made in establishing a National Policy on As well as providing a platform for participants to the Prevention and Combating of Violent Extremism share the challenges they face and their perceptions and Terrorism, which was adopted in 2018. of the country’s situation, the Peace Exchange was an important opportunity to bring together To explore these dynamics, Peace Direct, in peacebuilders from across the country to exchange collaboration with its partner the West African local solutions to building peace in their communities. Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), brought Civil society organisations, in their ability to together 20 local peacebuilders in a ‘Peace Exchange’ identify the context-specific drivers of violence, Workshop in May 2018 in Bamako. This report have significant potential to create the spaces and explores the violent conflicts faced by Mali through the solutions to lead to grassroots change and the voices of local peacebuilders present at the Peace lasting peace. Section 4 looks at the value of local Exchange. During the Peace Exchange, participants peacebuilders, as well as the challenges they face and assessed both the risks of conflict in Mali, and the the strategies they have developed to respond to and local capacities that exist to build peace. These prevent violent conflict. discussions form the basis of the analysis and recommendations developed in this report, and Recognising the unique advantages that local which are outlined in the executive summary. peacebuilding organisations enjoy, as well as the very significant challenges that they face in Section 1 of the report provides a background Mali, the final section of the report puts forward overview of the conflicts in Mali, including noting a number of specific recommendations for the main areas experiencing tension, and the national and international actors towards building external influences that have contributed to the peace and stability. Investing in education and spread and escalation of violence. training, prioritising young people and women, and reinforcing dialogue between the state and Section 2 outlines the key challenges for peace in civil society were all seen as priorities to enhance Mali, as identified by local Malian peacebuilders, prospects for peace in Mali, and to best support taking into consideration the social, environmental local peacebuilding organisations in their vital work. and economic obstacles that hinder building peace and stability in the country.
9 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink Mali Key Facts
Mali is a landlocked Population stands at GDP per capita Human country in the Sahel in Mali development index region in West 18,541,980 (HDI) is 0.442, Africa, made up of $824.5 leaving it in Average GDP per 9 regions capita in Sub-Saharan 175th place Africa among the countries published $1,553.8
According to 2017 figures from the World Bank
10 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink 11 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink 11 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink Rugwiza
2. Methodology
Participants of the Peace Exchange in Bamako, Mali. May 2018
12 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink 13 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink This report is based on the discussions that took place during the Peace Exchange workshop organised by Peace Direct with its partner the West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) in Bamako between 8–10 May 2018.
The workshop brought together 20 Malian Case studies presented here are based on additional representatives from 18 grassroots civil society semi-structured interviews conducted at the end organisations, who work in Bamako and seven of of the Peace Exchange by the author and Peace Mali’s nine regions.3 The purposeful selection of Direct staff with Peace Exchange participants, participating organisations was based on previous to provide further insight into the work of local civil society research and mapping of peacebuilding peacebuilders in Mali. The analysis in this report was activities conducted by Peace Direct, WANEP and produced from a compilation of perspectives from Tic Sult to ensure a broad range of organisation local peacebuilders on the issues discussed during and ranged from women’s organisations, think the Peace Exchange, and the main arguments were tanks, community mediators etc. Gender was also reached by consensus throughout the discussion. taken into account and half of the participants were Consent was given verbally by participants, who male and half female. For three days a facilitated were willing for their insights, comments and photos discussion took place on local peace building needs, to be included in the findings of this report. A full opportunities and challenges. list of participating Malian civil society organisations can be found on page 36. Additional materials were obtained from a qualitative survey completed by 39 peacebuilders The contents of this report are the responsibility working in the Bamako and Gao, Kayes, Koulikoro, of Peace Direct. The text in this report should not Mopti, Ségou and Tombouctou regions. The findings be taken to represent the views of any individual of the surveys, which were completed before and participant or Malian organisation. after the Peace Exchange, served to validate the outcome of the discussions that took place. These provided information about the perspectives and perceptions of civil society activists on the challenges and conditions faced at a local level. The sample is not large enough, nor randomly sampled, to provide a representative picture of Malian civil society perspectives. Rather, it gives an indication of the attitudes and priorities of local practitioners across 7 out of 9 regions in the country.
3 It was not possible to bring in anyone from Kidal or Ménaka regions, due to a lack of response to our open call for applications for the Peace Exchange. One more region, Taoudénit, was legally constituted in 2016 but has not yet been functionally separated from Tombouctou region and was therefore treated as one in the same in this report.
13 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink Fred Marie Fred
3. A background to Mali’s conflict
Violent conflict in Mali is multi-dimensional and is significantly more complex than most media outlets have reported to date. The conflict is escalating significantly in terms of number of violent incidents, fatalities and geographic spread. According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project’s (ACLED) figures from June 2018, 2017 recorded 949 fatalities and 2018 has already seen 750 fatalities in the first half of this year, which are higher than any time in Mali’s modern history.
14 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink 15 Peace Direct | Mali on the brink Fred Marie Fred • What began as a violent conflict within the towards greater violence since the crisis of northern regions in 2011–2013, spread to a 2012, and since 2017 a worrying trend of mass nationwide conflict in 2015. For example, since atrocities is emerging. 2016, over 45% of fatalities have been outside the northern region. To understand the detailed nature of the violent conflict it is worth elaborating on some of the more • The violent conflict in Mali is characterised commonly articulated events of the Malian conflict. by a series of localised, sometimes interlinked This chapter draws on the views of participants micro-conflicts, involving multiple local, national, in the Peace Exchange, as well as data from the regional and international actors, as opposed to ACLED database, and the author’s own research and one conflict affecting the country. analysis since 2012, and sets out the main different conflicts that have and are taking part in Mali. • Many of these localised conflicts pre-date the crisis of 2012–2013, yet there is a marked trend
Figure 1. Number of fatalities in armed conflict, by region, 2010–2018