By April 2014, just over 137,000 people continued to be internally displaced. Upon their return they face numerous obstacles to securing a durable solution to their displacement. Threats to peace and stability remain, particularly in rural areas, undermining sustainable returns while causing new and secondary displacement, the scale of which remains unassessed.
Mali now urgently requires a shift to facilitating durable solutions while continuing to address ongoing humanitarian needs but donor investment, in an overall underfunded response, has focused on infrastructure in the north. This risks distracting attention from the early recovery needs of affected populations and to the neglect of psychosocial care, access to justice and comprehensive reconciliation. Mali ratified the Kampala Convention in December 2012, but has taken no steps towards implementation.