CRSV: Mali

This case note documents the occurrence of sexual violence in violent conflict. It contains explicit mentions of different forms of sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.

Background of the Conflict

The Mali War is an ongoing armed conflict that began in January 2012 between Northern and Southern Mali. The conflict began on January 16, 2012, when insurgent groups began resisting the Malian government, demanding either complete independence or greater autonomy for Northern Mali, a region they called Azawad (Morgan, 2012). The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, one of the organizations within the insurgency and backed by Islamist group Ansar Dine, sought to build an independent homeland for the Tuareg people in Northern Mali (Pujol-Mazzini, 2019). They took control of the region in April 2012. Meanwhile, the then President of Mali, Amadou Toumani Toure, was ousted in a coup d’etat on account of how he handled the crisis. The National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State took control and suspended the Constitution of Mali.

This resulted in instability, which caused for three of the largest cities in the north, Kidal, Gao, and Timbuktu, to be overrun by rebels. Following this, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad called off its offensive after capturing Douentza, saying that it had achieved its goals, and then announced the independence of northern Mali – Azawad – from the rest of the country. Once the Malian military was driven out, Ansar Dine and other Islamist groups began to impose strict Shariah Law, and this sparked infighting between the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad and Ansar Dine (Pujol-Mazzini, 2019). By July, National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad lost control of Azawad to the Islamists.

Relying on military support from France and other African Union states, the Mali government fought to retake the north. With time, the Mali government retook the North (Morgan, 2012). Tuareg rebels continued to fight the Islamists and the Malian government. In 2013, a peace agreement was signed, but shortly after, the Tuareg rebels withdrew from the agreement saying that the government had not respected its commitments to the peace agreement. In 2015, another ceasefire agreement was signed, but low-intensity fighting continues. In 2020, Mali experienced an escalation in the conflict (UN, 2020).

Prevalence of Sexual Violence

The armed conflict created an environment for significant human rights violations, including various forms of conflict-related sexual violence. Amnesty International (2012) noted that the MNLA and Ansar Dine were running riot in the north of Mali, and documented instances of gang rape. It noted that women and girls in Menaka and Gao were especially vulnerable. There were also reports of sexual violence and rape being committed by government and military forces. Women and girls were kidnapped and subject to sexual slavery in the north (Amnesty International, 2012).

The prevalence of sexual violence was exacerbated by the proliferation of illicit small arms and the surge in intercommunal violence, as well as large-scale displacement (UN, 2020). The UN found that perpetrators included a variety of violent extremist groups and the Malian Defence and Security Forces. By 2020, Humanitarian service providers registered 1020 cases of sexual violence affecting 510 women, 489 girls, 15 boys, and 6 men (UN, 2020). A case before the International Criminal Court, intended to prosecute a member of Ansar Eddine for his role in implementing a policy of forced marriage, large-scale rape, and sexual slavery in Timbuktu, ended in his acquittal (UN, 2020).

Basis of the Use of Sexual Violence

The use of sexual violence appears to be both, part of a strategic approach as well as opportunistic. It appears that sexual violence and rape were used as a means to intimidate and humiliate populations and to force them into compliance each time large swathes of territory that was subject to a fight for control. Reports also show that sexual slavery and forced marriages were carried out as part of a deliberate strategy that also included the conscription of child soldiers. Further, sexual violence and rape were also carried out as a deliberate tool for persecution, particularly to target individuals with actual or perceived affiliation with a persecuted political, ethnic, or religious minority. It has also been used to enable forced displacement. Against the larger background of conflict, the breakdown of the security sector also resulted in a large number of opportunistic instances of sexual violence, and limited reportage.

References

Amnesty International (2012). Mali’s worst human rights situation in 50 years.  http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/mali-s-worst-human-rights-situation-50-years-2012-05-15

Morgan, A. (2012).  The Causes of the Uprising in Northern Mali. https://thinkafricapress.com/mali/causes-uprising-northern-mali-tuareg

Pujol-Mazzini, A. (2019). How Mali Is Pursuing Justice for a War That Never Really Ended. https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/WPR_How_Mali_Is_Pursuing_Justice_for_a_War_That_Never_Really_Ended.pdf

United Nations (2020). Sexual Violence in Conflict: Mali. https://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/countries/mali/#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20Mali%20experienced%20political,the%20northern%20and%20central%20regions.&text=The%20Malian%20Defence%20and%20Security%20Forces%20were%20also%20implicated