Press Statement of the 513th meeting of the Peace and Security Council on the situation in Mali

By African Union Commission (AUC)
Click for Full Image Size

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, July 6, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 513th meeting held on 3 June 2015, was briefed by the Commission on the situation in Mali. Council also took note of the statements made by the representatives of Mali, as well as of France, Spain and the United States of America, as members of the UN Security Council, the UN Secretariat and the European Union (EU).

Council recalled its previous communiqués and press statements on the situation in Mali, and reaffirmed its commitment to the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty as well as to the secular nature and the republican form of the Malian State.

Council welcomed the signing, in Bamako, on 15 May 2015, of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali. In this regard, Council reiterated its full support to the Agreement and the AU's commitment, as Guarantor of the Agreement, to assume all the related responsibilities and to effectively support the timely implementation of the commitments contained therein.

Council took note of the initialing of the Agreement by the Coordination of the Azawad Movements (CMA) on 14 May 2015. Council also took note of the consultations initiated by the Mediation, in Algiers, on 25 May 2015, to complete the process for the signing of the Agreement, as soon as possible.

Council, once again, urgently appealed to the CMA to sign, without further delay, the Agreement, in the interest of the people it claims to represent. Council reaffirmed the AU's determination to take measures, including sanctions, as may be demanded by the situation, against all groups or individuals whose actions constitute an obstacle to the implementation of the Agreement. Council urged the international community as a whole, especially the UN, to support the Agreement, including through the adoption by the Security Council of appropriate measures against those who undermine peace efforts in Mali.

Council paid tribute, once again, to Algeria, Chef de file of the Mediation, and to the other members of the Mediation Team (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, Niger, the Economic Community of West African States - ECOWAS, the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation -OIC, the AU and the EU) and other concerned international actors, for their invaluable and continued contribution to the Algiers Process.

Council strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Mali and reiterated its serious concern about the security situation obtaining on the ground, particularly the increase in terrorist attacks in northern Mali against the civilian population, the Malian army and the international forces, in particular the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Council expressed the AU's deep gratitude to the Troop Contributing Countries to MINUSMA for the huge sacrifices made, and renewed its support to MINUSMA and the AU's readiness to contribute to its strengthening, with a view to enabling it to better contribute to the search for peace, security and stability in Mali.

Council welcomed the Conclusions of the 47th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government on Mali, which, among others, called for the effective and full implementation of the Algiers Agreement and envisaged the imposition, through the appropriate channels, of targeted sanctions against those who hinder the implementation of the Agreement or who try to block the peace process in Mali.

Council, in conformity with communiqué PSC/PR/COMM/2.(CDXCVI) adopted at its 496th meeting held on 27 April 2015, requested the Commission to keep it regularly informed of the evolution of the situation in Mali.