Topic: 2025 – Situation in Mali
Country: France
Delegate Name: Elizabeth Zaremski
Country: France
Delegate: Elizabeth Zaremski
School: Williamston High School
Committee: Security Council
Topic: Situation in Mali
The situation in Mali has persisted for over a decade. As of August 2023, over 8.8 million people in Mali require assistance, while about 575,000 have been forced out of their homes, and a combined number of 580,000 people internally and externally displaced. While these atrocities happen, the government of Mali has requested that the UN Security Council withdraw the peacekeepers in Mali. These mounting abuses occur due to an unstable and volatile political climate. In June, a referendum amended their constitution to give more power to their president, granting the president the power to hire and fire the Prime Minister and cabinet officials. Some military officials say this amendment is to help the country come back to a more civilian rule, but only 39% of eligible voters cast a ballot, while some regions don’t hold the referendum at all. This makes many question the amendment’s fairness and eligibility. This transition, along with the abuses caused by the Wagner Group, intensified tensions between Mali’s international partners. This continues to politically isolate Mali. During 2023, an Islamic armed group, allied with the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and Al-Qaeda, pursued many illegal attacks on hundreds of civilians, as well as killing government personnel. Malian and United Foreign Tankers, seemingly associated with the Russia-connected Wagner Group, were implicated in a great number of nefarious killings of civilians, mainly along large counterterrorism movements in central Mali. Any reporters or civil activists who go to Mali have been threatened, harassed, and intimidated, causing many disappearances of these reporters.
France’s attempts in Mali to ease tensions have been best described as failures. France was peacefully welcomed into Mali in January of 2013 to stop the jihadist terrorist groups that were making military advancements towards the Malian capital. However, following two coups, a large fallout with the military, and the later arrival of the Russian ‘Wagner’ mercenary group, French forces left Mali. The withdrawal of these troops significantly negatively affected both France and Mali. France’s military use in Mali not only worsened the political climate but also made the option of getting a political outcome significantly harder. The initial group sent to Mali by France, code-named “Serval”, aimed to seize enemy towers, but failed as the plan fell through when enemy troops just fled. Next, France took a more community-centered approach, putting military troops into cities and villages. This, unfortunately, made communities the center of the war. When these terrorist groups dispersed, France didn’t back down. They implemented a new, more ambitious operation named Barkhane. This operation targeted violent Islamic groups across the areas in and around Mali. This successfully helped lessen the threat of these groups, but over time, it only worsened the political climate in Mali.
France has now pulled their groups out of Mali in an attempt to lessen their effect on the Malian political climate. France will continue to keep troops out of Mali, but is willing to provide financial aid if called upon to. France also encourages other countries to pursue a policy of supporting the people of Mali and sending humanitarian or financial aid. France plans to work with all countries in the United Nations Security Council to help bring peace to Mali and its surrounding area.
Works Cited
“Al Hassan Case.” | International Criminal Court, https://www.icc-cpi.int/mali/al-hassan. Accessed 5 November 2025.
Chafer, Tony. “France’s Strategic Failure in Mali: A Postcolonial Disutility of Force?” RUSI, 7 February 2024, https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/frances-strategic-failure-mali-postcolonial-disutility-force. Accessed 12 November 2025.
Hassan, Tirana. “World Report 2024: Mali.” Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/mali. Accessed 5 November 2025.
“Mali | International Criminal Court.” | International Criminal Court, https://www.icc-cpi.int/mali. Accessed 5 November 2025.
“Why France Failed in Mali.” War on the Rocks, 21 February 2022, https://warontherocks.com/2022/02/why-france-failed-in-mali/. Accessed 5 November 2025.
