Mali, 2012

At the outset,

I would like to pay well-deserved tribute to Chris

Stevens and his colleagues, who died in Benghazi for

the same ideals as those of our common Organization,

the United Nations.

Next, I wish to convey the warm congratulations

of the Malian delegation on the outstanding election

of the new President of the General Assembly. That

choice confirms the recognition, were such needed, of

his qualities as a skilled diplomat. It is also a tribute

to his country, Serbia, which maintains friendly and

cooperative relations with my country. The President

of the General Assembly can be assured of the Malian

delegation’s complete readiness to work with him for

the full success of his mandate.

In the same spirit, I express my great appreciation

to his distinguished predecessor, Ambassador Nassir

Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, for the excellent manner in which

he led the work of the previous session. I also take this

opportunity to pay warm tribute to Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon for his ongoing commitment to the ideals

of the Organization. The settlement of international disputes by

peaceful means, which the President proposed as the

central theme of the general debate, is timely, as it

is a part of Chapter VI of the Charter of the United

Nations, whose relevant provisions aim to limit hotbeds

of tension through negotiation, mediation, conciliation,

arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional

arrangements or agreements, or through other peaceful

means. The subject is quite current, in the light of

the many crises and conflicts that seriously threaten

international peace and security.

The settlement of disputes by peaceful means is

particularly important for my country, Mali, as it is a

country that is firmly attached to the ideals of peace

and stability. Despite that, today it is undergoing one

of the most difficult periods in its history. Its northern

part has been occupied by armed groups consisting

of fundamentalist terrorists, drug traffickers and

criminals of every other sort. The most fundamental

human rights are being violated continuously by a

horde of heartless and lawless vandals.

The Government of Mali has just requested the

International Criminal Court to consider those odious

acts, which are no more and no less than war crimes

and crimes against humanity. Whipping, amputation,

summary execution, rape, stoning and looting and

destruction of cultural and historical monuments and

sites are the daily lot of the afflicted and helpless people

of northern Mali.

That sad situation led the interim President of

the Republic of Mali to request, on 1 September, the

Economic Community of West African States for

assistance in recovering the occupied territories and

fighting terrorism. Similar requests have been made to

the Security Council through the Secretary-General,

as well as to the French Republic, the United States of

America, the African Union and the European Union.

However, I would like to firmly emphasize that a

lasting solution to the situation in the Sahel requires

stronger and more dynamic cooperation among the

States of the Sahel-Saharan region. In that vein, the

Government of Mali remains in favour of the convening

of a meeting of heads of State and Government of the

Sahel region, with the support of the United Nations

and other partners, in order to support and strengthen

capacities and the arrangement for coordinating

existing regional mechanisms. In the specific case of our common area, the

neighbouring countries of Algeria, Mali, Mauritania

and the Niger have set up mechanisms, such as the

joint operational military staff committee based in

Tamanrasset, Algeria, and others involving joint patrols

and the right of pursuit. But we must recognize that those

mechanisms need to be fully operational. In that regard,

I would like to call for the support of the international

community for their effective implementation.

My delegation would like to strongly emphasize

that the aggression and occupation in the northern part

of Mali is a major collateral consequence of the Libyan

crisis, as indicated in the report of the joint United

Nations/African Union mission to assess the impact of

the Libyan crisis in the Sahel region (see S/2012/42).

The Security Council considered that report in

January (see S/PV.6709).

The presence today of terrorist groups of various

nationalities on our soil and in the Sahel region is a

situation that should mobilize the entire international

community to take joint, rapid and effective action,

because that threat knows no bounds. Here I should

like to reiterate the determination of the Government of

Mali to continue the work that it has begun jointly with

other core countries in the framework of the combat

against terrorism, transnational organized crime and

irredentist, subversive forces in the Sahelo-Saharan

region.

In parallel with that approach, I should like to

reaffirm the commitment undertaken by the interim

President and the Government of Mali to negotiate

with our compatriots who are not terrorists. I have

said it before and I will say it again from this United

Nations rostrum: we in Mali are not afraid or ashamed

of negotiating, but we will not negotiate with terrorists.

We are not prepared to negotiate issues that call into

question the integrity of our territory and the secular

nature of the country.

The situation in northern Mali due to the occupation

has resulted in a deterioration in humanitarian

conditions, which were already precarious owing to

the f low of internally displaced persons and of people

seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. Because of

the crisis, more than 350,000 people have had to f lee

northern Mali, including 84,000 internally displaced

persons and more than 268,000 others who are refugees

in neighbouring countries. The crisis has also hampered

access to education for more than 560,000 school-age children, 300,000 of whom were in school before the

crisis began.

There has also been damage to educational facilities

and equipment. In addition, 85 per cent of all teachers

and 10,000 pupils have been displaced to the south, and

50,000 school-age children are now in neighbouring

countries. Furthermore, schools have been occupied by

flood-affected people in the south.

As the Assembly is aware, Mali is facing tremendous

humanitarian needs in terms of housing, food, health,

education and nutrition for refugees, displaced persons

and wage earners. During his stay in the region, the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stated

on 31 July 2012 that the crisis in Mali was “one of the

most neglected humanitarian situations in the world”.

He said that from an appeal for $153 million, his Office

had received only about $49 million to deal with that

humanitarian crisis.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian

Affairs, Ms. Valerie Amos noted during her visit to

Mali in August that $213 million was needed to deal

with the humanitarian crisis that is currently affecting

my country. That shows that the humanitarian situation

is continuing to deteriorate, thus increasing the cost of

intervention.

Here I would like to reiterate the gratitude of the

people and the Government of Mali to all brotherly

countries and all partners of goodwill for their

hospitality in hosting our compatriots and for their

generous contributions. I therefore call for a greater

mobilization by all of Mali’s partners and friends as

well as the coordination of aid for Mali nationals who

are displaced or refugees.

Our Government of National Unity was established

on 20 August 2012, with the fundamental mission of

quickly liberating the northern regions of the country

and of holding democratic, transparent, just and

credible elections. With a view to recovering territorial

integrity, we are calling for the adoption by the Security

Council of a resolution authorizing, under Chapter VII

of the Charter of the United Nations, intervention by

an international military force so as to help the Malian

army to retake and ensure the security of our national

territory.

The Government of Mali would like to see the

immediate arrival of such a force to support the defence

and security forces of Mali in carrying out their noble mission of recovering and maintaining our territorial

integrity and of protecting persons and property. The

people of Mali continue to hope that the members of

the Security Council will give due consideration to that

request.

I should therefore like to take this opportunity to

reiterate the gratitude of the people and the Government

of Mali to the Economic Community of West African

States, the African Union and to the United Nations for

their ongoing efforts to put a lasting end to the crisis in

Mali, which also threatens the stability of the subregion

and of Africa, and even beyond.

Our meetings are taking place at a time when

developing countries are facing many major challenges,

in particular the consequences of the economic and

financial crisis, the burden of external debt and a decline

in development assistance. There is therefore a need to

undertake a more in-depth dialogue on new strategies

aimed at mobilizing additional stable and predictable

resources so as to ensure financing for development

programmes and the achievement of the Millennium

Development Goals, in particular in the areas of health,

education, food security and the environment.

Climate change is one of the major challenges facing

the world. The very survival of our planet is threatened

by natural disasters caused by that phenomenon, which

is seriously affecting living conditions in countries of

the Sahel such as mine through, inter alia, the inexorable

advance of the desert; the silting of rivers, in particular

the river Niger; ecosystem deterioration; f loods; and

problematic precipitation patterns.

I should like to highlight the need to find appropriate

responses to this serious situation so as to avert tragic

repercussions for sustainable development in the most

vulnerable countries.

The United Nations has a pivotal role to play in the

building of a new world order that is based on justice,

solidarity and sustainable development. In order to

tackle current and future challenges, it is important

that the current mode of functioning of the United

Nations be reviewed so as to take into account the new

configuration of the world, which is fundamentally

different from that which prevailed at the time of its

founding. Such a review should, inter alia, make it

possible to correct the historical imbalance that results

in the continued exclusion of Africa from the limited

circle of the countries that are permanent members of

the Security Council.

To conclude, I hope that all present will agree

with me that the situation in Mali is a manifestation of

security problems in the Sahel and that it should be dealt

with comprehensively through the appropriate United

Nations mechanisms. It is therefore urgent to act, first

of all to put an end to the suffering of the people of Mali,

and secondly to prevent the development of a similar or

worse situation for other peoples in the Sahel, or even

the rest of the world.

It is also urgent to act because criminal and terrorist

activities in northern Mali and the security risks that

they pose for the entire subregion are in the long term a

serious threat to the rest of the world.

Finally, it is urgent to act so as to resume cooperation

with our bilateral and multilateral partners so as to

consolidate a republic based on secular and democratic

values.

Today my people are seriously affected. But

Malians have not lost hope, because they are convinced

of the support of other nations, whose leaders and

respresentatives are here. Malians in both the north and

the south legitimately await their active solidarity to

emerge from the crisis. My people are convinced that

their appeal for international solidarity will be heard

and followed up with appropriate measures. Malians

know that nations have the means. They look forward to

decisive and diligent action. At stake is the stability and

security of our subregion, of Africa and of the world.