Attachments
By Brown University, Security Assistance Monitor and InterAction
Summary
The August 2020 coup in Mali triggered restrictions under section 7008 of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020 and similar provisions, greatly limiting U.S. security assistance to Mali. Only limited assistance continues. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to evaluate historical U.S. and international security assistance to Mali and understand its relationship to Mali’s deteriorating security situation. The U.S. provides significantly more humanitarian assistance than security assistance for Mali. In fact, it has been a minor supplier of arms and security assistance training to the country compared to other donors. For example, in 2020, the U.S. provided $146 million in humanitarian and health assistance as compared to $16.56 million in peace and security assistance. The Biden administration’s recent declaration that U.S. strategy in the Sahel is moving away from a counterterrorism focus toward addressing root causes suggests that there are serious questions about the effectiveness of the previous counterterrorism approach.
The Malian Defense and Security Forces (MDSF) and its allies are complicit in human rights and international humanitarian law (IHL) violations and abuses, including perpetrating civilian massacres, enforced disappearances, summary executions, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and violence against children.
The Goïta Government’s employment of the Russian mercenary company, the Wagner Group, appears to have correspondingly escalated cases of civilian harm. This, along with the dismal record of holding its armed forces and allied forces accountable to IHL and human rights violations and abuses suggests there is little political will on the part of the government to protect civilians. This suggests that U.S. training on IHL appears to have had little impact at the operational level, suggesting it may not be the most effective training tactic.
About the Factsheet
This factsheet is a collaboration between Brown University’s Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies (CHRHS), the Security Assistance Monitor (SAM) at the Center for International Policy, and InterAction.
It provides an overview of key facts, data points, and analysis related to the U.S. partnership with Mali in the context of ongoing civilian protection and humanitarian assistance concerns in the country.
It is the third in a series of factsheets examining protection of civilian issues in geographies where the U.S. is a significant external security partner, following a first report published in December 2021 on Ethiopia and a second report published in May 2022 on Nigeria. The series aims to generate awareness of U.S. policies and practices on security cooperation and document their effectiveness in promoting civilian protection. Moreover, it is intended to help inform NGO advocacy and policy engagement strategies seeking to strengthen the protection of civilians, enhance humanitarian access, and minimize civilian suffering in contexts of U.S. security partnerships. In examining political and security developments in Mali, this paper focuses mainly on the policies and practices of the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa), the U.S. relationship with this actor, and leverage the U.S. may exert through this relationship to address civilian harm concerns in country.
The collaborators on this project have endeavored to provide data-driven and fact-based information on the nature of U.S. security cooperation with Mali and current civilian harm trends in the country. The information presented does not necessarily represent the institutional views of the contributing organizations.
The recommendations in this factsheet reflect the assessments of InterAction and CHRHS contributors.
Information collected for this factsheet stems from open-source information, including U.S. government and NGO reports, as well as interviews with experts, including U.S. policy specialists, international and field-based NGOs, and local experts. Unless specifically cited, figures in this report are drawn from the Security Assistance Monitor databases.
Drawing on the insights and recommendations of NGO colleagues and experts working on Mali and U.S. security cooperation policy and practice, the following contributors developed this product:
• Alexandria Nylen, Civil-Military Program Coordinator, Brown University CHRHS • Nate Marx, Research Fellow, Center for International Policy • Hifzah Malik, Program Associate, Protection, InterAction • Archibald Henry, Former Policy Coordinator, Protection, InterAction • Fiona Campbell, Student Researcher, Brown University CHRHS • Marzia Giambertoni, Student Researcher, Brown University CHRHS CHRHS, SAM, and InterAction would like to thank all the individuals and organizations who contributed to and provided guidance for this factsheet, including InterAction staff, members, and partners.