Topic: 2025 – Situation in Mali
Country: Sierra Leone
Delegate Name: Daniel Hernanz Tello
A commercial hub since as early as 300 CE and the birthplace of several cultures, the country of Mali has a long, extremely rich and complicated history. Mali is the homeplace of many diverse peoples who have been united by the colonial force that shaped its borders, which has led to the perilous situation the state faces today. Differences between North and South Mali have always shaped the conflicts happening there. Since 2012, a military conflict between the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and various jihadist groups associated with Al-Queda, and the Mali government, based in the southern region, who are allied with the French, has spurred. The MNLA is an organization that was born after the collapse of the Libyan dictator Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, when Tuareg soldiers brought military arsenal to northern Mali, a region they claim autonomy over, known as Azawad. Although the Mali government was able to regain its control over Azawad, thanks to the French military help, the country still faced political instability, continuing to this day. After two military coups in 2020 and 2021, then a transitional government and a junta started moving for a cooperative approach, which has led to instability within the Mali government, and to French military troops withdrawing from the region in 2022. Since then, there has been an increasing rise of violence, with many jihadist groups such as the JNIM acquiring more control, a possible cooperation with private military contractors, and the forced withdrawal of the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), which had been aiding in the stabilization of the government and the humanitarian crisis since 2014, making it so civilians have no protection from the tensions between the separatist groups and the government. The situation is escalating quickly and the effects are becoming exponentially more disastrous.
Sierra Leone and Mali share a history of overcoming colonialism and have both been allies in their shared region. Sierra Leone was a country founded by the coalition between former American slaves and the native people of the region. Due to this similarity in clash of cultures that it shares with Mali, the delegation strongly empathizes with the difficulties Malians face. However, Sierra Leone believes that it can be an example of resolution and post-colonial recovery to base Mali off of. It was only roughly 25 years ago that Sierra Leone ended its civil war and stabilized its government. Since then, although the country has and continues to struggle, being one of the lowest ranked in terms of development, it has experienced political stability and peace. Mali was also a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which Sierra Leone currently presides over, up until January 2025, as it left due to the increased tension inside the country. Along with the remaining members of ECOWAS, Sierra Leone has continuously encouraged dialogue with Mali, which is becoming increasingly difficult as tensions rise in the area. The delegation of Sierra Leone has supported resolutions 2100 and 2164 in the Security Council, establishing MINUSMA and allowing it to protect civilians, both of which have shown to be unsuccessful in the past few years.
As a result, Sierra Leone believes it is imperative that the members of the Security Council move for a more local solution. It is evident that having other countries’ militaries, such as France, and U.N. involvement alone have not helped in the long term. Sierra Leone urges all countries to support a collaboration with the African Union (AU), ECOWAS and the U.N., in order to set up a stable structure that supports the process of recovery Mali and the Malians need. A mission to help the government stabilize itself will only be successful if Mali’s closest allies and neighbors, which are also the ones being affected by this the most on the international scale, are collaborating on it. This is why Sierra Leone encourages peacekeepers and other missions being sent only if it is with the collaboration of the AU and ECOWAS this time, as it is imperative that aid is sent in a diplomatic, democratic, and safe way.
Works Cited:
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“Wagner’s next Targets in Africa: Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ivory Coast.” American Enterprise Institute – AEI, www.aei.org/op-eds/wagners-next-targets-in-africa-liberia-sierra-leone-and-ivory-coast/.
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