Mali, 2025

area. The General Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr Abdullahi Maiga, Prime Minister, Head of Government and Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation of the Republic of Mali. I request protocol to please escort His Excellency, who I invite to address the Assembly. President of the General Assembly, Heads of State and the Government, United Nations Secretary General, Ladies and Gentlemen, As I begin my statement, I have the honour to extend to you the cordial greetings and the message from the Founding Fathers of the Alliance of Sahel States, Their Excellencies, Army General Esimi Goyta, President of Transition, Head of State of Mali and the President of the Alliance of Sahel States, Captain Ibrahim Traore, President of Burkina Faso, Head of State and Army General Abdurrahman Tiani, President of the Republic of Niger and Head of State. I would also like to share with you the warm congratulations from the dignified people of the Alliance of Sahel States, determined more than ever to free themselves from the yoke of imperialism and enjoy their right to self-determination in a Pan-African spirit. As we wish you every success in your election to preside over this 80th session of General Assembly, Madam President, the Alliance of Sahel States would also like to congratulate your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Philemon Yang from the Republic of Cameroon and congratulate him on his exemplary leadership of the work of the 79th session. Finally, I wish to reiterate to our Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, reiterate our appreciation of the efforts that he continues to undertake to achieve the noble objectives of our shared organisation. Ladies and gentlemen, the topic chosen for this 80th session of the General Assembly, Better Together, Eighty Years and More for Peace, Development and Human Rights, is of particular importance for the Member States of the AAS Confederation. Yes, peace, mutual assistance, development and the preservation of human rights remain the main objectives, indeed the raison d'etre of the United Nations. These key objectives have never been so sorely tested in the world and in Sahel in particular because essentially of armed groups with dark age thinking, weaponised and supported by foreign state sponsors. The Member States of the Alliance of Sahel States are on the front line of the fight against terrorism, which is both a real threat to international peace and security, but also and above all a grave attack on the very foundations of our states. Led by our heads of state, our security and defence forces of the three countries of the Sahel Alliance are working closely together in a spirit of collaboration and complementarity that has never been seen before. We are driven by a common commitment to pool our efforts to tackle the scourge of terrorism. This new momentum, which is built around strengthening operational capacity of our security and defence forces through far-reaching recruitment, suitable training and appropriate provision of equipment, is seeing encouraging results every day on the ground. This confirms the relevance indeed of our sovereign decision to work together to fight our common enemies. Unlike some states who open safe passage corridors onto their territory for terrorists so they can attack other countries to use their territory as a rear base, the founders of the Alliance, through again this Pan-African spirit and concerned as they are to preserve the interests of their people, decided to make their countries more safe, trying to stop this threat spreading to other African countries and indeed around the world, doing a real public service for security in the region and the world. There is no shadow of a doubt that through their sacrifice the valiant security and defence forces are contributing to the security of other regions, particularly countries on the West African coast. We take this opportunity to pay tribute to the memory of the civilian military victims of insecurity in the Sahel. The sovereign approach that's been implemented is part of a vision born by the heads of state of the Alliance of Sahel State, which is dedicated to safety and security of our states following the withdrawal of international forces. Against all the odds and far from scuttling our plans, our country showed ingenuity and was able to benefit from the historic geographic characteristics and the resilience of their people who, despite more than a decade of security and humanitarian crisis, continue to show exceptional strength and patriotic engagement. Overall, three countries were able to provide a coordinated, home-grown response to this war that was imposed on us. Here I wish to reiterate the determination of the Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States to become a Pan-African regional power, to continue and step up our actions, to put a stop to terrorism once and for all in our shared home. We are also determined to consolidate the authority of the state to protect our people and their property and ensure our own prosperity. The Alliance of Sahel States reiterates strongly its condemnation of the open, blatant, sometimes public support of foreign state sponsors who, for imperialist reasons, are destabilising our entity on the one hand, providing advice to terrorist groups as well as logistical support, arms and ammunition, and on the other hand providing political support to them, providing them with rear bases located in some neighbouring countries in violation of all international rules. Ladies and gentlemen, though it may seem far away, the war in Ukraine and terrorism in the Sahel are connected. Let us remind you that following the terrorist attack against the Malian Security Defence Forces patrol on the 24th to 26th of July 2024 in Tenzawaten in the region of Kidal, Mali denounced this incident, by the way, in its statement on 2024 here in this room, and we condemn the attitude shown by Ukrainian officials who publicly affirmed their participation in this terrorist attack. This outrageous conduct which we thought was simply that the Ukrainian officials unfortunately confused the international stage with a theatre stage. One year later, the situation has worsened and the Ukrainian regime has become one of the main suppliers of kamikaze drones to terrorist groups around the world. In this context, some Western states should stop supplying arms to Ukraine because they risk contributing to the promotion of international terrorism. For others, including the French regime, who is nostalgic for the colonial era and concerned by the loss of influence in the Sahel, support for the Ukrainian regime is a manoeuvre that is consistent, which aims to occupy the attention of the international community, focusing the attention on the war in Ukraine, at the same time sponsoring terrorist groups who are growing in number in the Sahel. Loyal as we are to the principles of the United Nations Charter, on the 15th of August 2022, Mali seized the Security Council to ask for a meeting of the Council so that my country could provide irrefutable proof of France's support for terrorist activities. So far, this request has not been followed up on, whereas their sabotage continues on various levels. It is time to act so that those responsible for this violence be identified and brought to justice and resolutions be translated into concrete commitments, and the Sahelian spell should be safe once and for all, and the resources of the Sahel should benefit the people of the Sahel. International institutions, mainly the UN chiefly, were created after the Second World War to protect people against violence and destruction and silent genocides. It is high time that the global conscience wakes up and that international organisations take their share of the responsibility and provide a real response to the distress cries of oppressed people who are clamouring for their sovereignty. The Alliance of Sahel States reiterates its commitment to cooperate with all states, regional organisations, international organisations and any partners that respect our sovereignty, our sovereign political choices, our security priorities, our priorities in terms of countering terrorism, our priorities for socio-economic development. This should be part of a win-win partnership so that our people's aspirations can be met. Ladies and gentlemen, in addition to our efforts to secure our countries and see peace return, the governments of the Alliance of Sahel States are working to implement a comprehensive and integrated strategy. This includes political measures, economic and social development measures, as well as work on justice and reconciliation. In choosing to be audacious in our sovereignty, the Alliance's bodies have launched disruptive initiatives focused on homegrown development. Here, there is a clear path so that we can ourselves provide the added value that is crucial for our economies, all the while preserving the dignity of our people. This choice, which we own fully, shows how unwavering we are in our wish to be masters of our own fate. In the same vein, we have included in our national priorities strategic investment policy in different priority fields, such as infrastructure, energy, industrialisation and the diversification of our economy. As part of this work, we created the Alliance Bank for Investment and Development, which carries out various different projects across the Alliance. The Alliance of Sahel States has, as one of its development ambitions, some clear advantages, a vast territory and 75 million inhabitants. The majority of these inhabitants are young people. In addition, we have a strong, committed and active diaspora. We also have fertile lands, a lot of water, energy resources, reservoirs and mining resources, which are amongst the richest in the world. The third dimension of the theme for this UN General Assembly session is human rights. The Alliance of Sahel States reaffirmed its commitment to respect international law. Human rights law is an international humanitarian law respected, and make sure that they are respected in line with our history that goes back millennia of humanism and our national and international commitments. However, we remain strongly opposed to the weaponisation of human rights for political purposes or in order to destabilise our national institutions or indeed entire independent and sovereign states. This concern as we are to preserve the sovereignty and dignity of our people, the heads of state of our alliance withdrew with immediate effect from the statute of Rome of the International Criminal Court on the 22nd of September 2025. With this withdrawal, we are seeking to prioritise as of now home-grown justice mechanisms in line with our social values and mechanisms that are in the interest of our peoples. We also denounce the double standards that we have seen by some international players whose morals are flexible depending on their interests. They like to give lessons, teach others lessons, but they are not themselves the best example for respect of human rights. We call on our partners to prioritise dialogue and cooperation which remain the best tools for promoting human rights around the world. Ladies and gentlemen, at a time when we are marking the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, we must state that our multilateral framework, as embodied by the UN, is being sorely tested in an international context that is notably polarised, where we are seeing a return of nationalism, protectionism, inward-looking attitudes and struggles for power. Despite this reality of the time, and also aware that the main three objectives of the United Nations Charter are peace, development and human rights, all of these remain relevant. To meet these objectives, we firstly need a UN that has been reformed, renewed and adapted to the demands of the day. This is an essential criteria to make it more legitimate on an international scale and ensure that its decisions can be effectively implemented. Here I wish to recall strongly that Africa has, for more than 20 years now, been demanding reforms in order to repair historic injustice that it has suffered, particularly in terms of its representation at the Security Council. Here I wish to reiterate the total support of the Alliance of Sahel States to the common African position on this issue, as set out in the Ezzouini Consensus and the CERT Declaration, so that Africa can have two permanent seats at the Security Council and five non-permanent seats. Secondly, we need a United Nations that can guarantee the respect for international law for all. We are concerned to see flagrant violations of international law around the world with complete impunity. At this 80th anniversary of the UN, for us, Member States, this provides us with the opportunity to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the multilateral framework that is based on the law and not on force. Thirdly, we need robust follow-up and implementation mechanisms for the outcomes of international conferences. One thing is clear here. Since 1945, when the UN was created, we have held dozens of international conferences, and the commitments from these international conferences have barely been implemented and have not benefited the people that we represent here. The situation must change. This is why we advocate for the envisaged reforms to be implemented and tackle this problem, so that our respective nations can benefit from the dividends of the commitments made at the United Nations. On our side, the Alliance of Sahel States is ready to make its contribution to undertake the necessary reform for the multilateral framework of the United Nations. In terms of current global governance, it is ever clearer that the UN is not adapted, that it is not able to address the current challenges and future challenges. Global governance needs to be reformed, and economic and financial institutions need to be reviewed too. They should take into account financing security in the fight against homegrown crises. Innovative mechanisms, for example, like in BRICS, provide a constructive alternative that respects the interests of emerging and developing countries, while African initiatives of developing financing that the Sahel pays particular attention to could break the vicious circle of dependence and over-indebtedness. In the same lines, Africa's development concerns should be taken into account too. Africa is presented as a continent of the future, with a rich youth, but alas, it is also facing a heavy burden of external debt. Its resources are being pillaged, there is unequal trade and there is a negative transfer of resources, and also there are problems posed by climate change. These are to name but a few of the challenges it faces. Ladies and gentlemen, on a national front, Mali, in its quest for peace and sustainable stability and in line with aspirations of our people, as expressed in the Inter-Malian Dialogue for Peace and Reconciliation, adopted a Charter for National Peace and Reconciliation. This was following an inclusive and participative process that focused on dialogue and cooperation in Malian society and Malians of all social professional strata and as well as the diaspora. This Charter embodies our determination to strengthen national ownership of the peace process in Mali. It is based on our own reality, our traditional values, our home-grown mechanisms for dispute resolution. The aim is to focus on a shared and promising future. On 22nd July 2025, when the Charter was officially signed, His Excellency the Army General Acemo Goita, President of the Transition Head of State of Mali, in his speech focused on the historic importance of this event, and I quote, he said, this ceremony is even more unique because it carries a collective dream, that of a hope of lasting peace, social cohesion, indeed reconciliation within our dear homeland. Now, in terms of regional concerns, I must mention the destruction of a drone by the Malian Armed Forces on the 1st of April 2025 by the Algerian junta. Mali strongly condemns this aggression and has turned to the International Court of Justice to address this. Since independence on the 22nd of September 1960, Mali has spared no effort to support decolonisation across the African continent. Here, we actively supported Algeria in its war for liberation from the French colonisers. Given this political position and faith that we have always maintained for Pan-Africanism, in addition we have geographical proximity between the two countries, we have a border that is 1300 kilometres long, Mali has always looked kindly upon our brotherly neighbours in Algeria. In return for this constructive approach in Mali, we'd like to underscore three situations that are incongruous and incomprehensible, and I have marked relations recently between our countries. Firstly, the cowardly, fearless attack that targeted the Malian Armed Forces in Tinsawante, a few kilometres from the Algerian border. Curiously, the Algerian junta didn't see anything, they hadn't heard anything, even though this terrorist act was planned on Algerian territory. This is strange for a country that was designated as an AU champion for counter-terrorism, and in recent years has become a champion of the promotion of terrorism and exporter of terrorists. Two. As announced, the Algerian junta shot down a Malian drone-bought throne from Malian taxpayers on the false reason for violation of their airspace. Mali is concerned by the idea that the Algerian junta put forward defying the laws of physics, and whereby this object was shot down in its air, it would be capable to travel from where it fell, 22 kilometres, and then be found on Malian territory. Indeed, it's important to underscore that the debris of the Malian drone was found on Malian territory, thus validating our own arguments. On the 4th of September, 2025, the Malian government informed that they had submitted an investigation at the International Course of Justice against Algeria concerning the destruction of this drone. In a communiqué from the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the 19th of September, 2025, we were perplexed to learn that there was an allegation whereby this investigation request from Mali was motivated by the press conference of the Algerian Foreign Affairs Minister on the 3rd of September, 2025, during which he denied that Mali had submitted a request to the International Course of Justice. We would like to share with the Minister that the request submitted by Mali on the 4th of September has never meant that it was automatically registered by the International Court of Justice. Mali would recall that the aim of diplomacy is to defend your country's interests, and in presupposing that the Malian complaint was launched by this press conference, the maniacs of Algeria show that their vision of diplomacy is to push other states to prosecute their country and international fora, thus scoring an impressive own goal, as we call in Mali, yabe, concerning, I would say. In passing, Mali is paying a vibrant tribute to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Algerian Junta. Indeed, lies corrupt everything. They've lost their version of, the Algerian version of the destruction of Mali and Joan has lost all credibility, and then, surprised by how events turned out, the Algerian Junta refused to give their consent to the jurisdiction of the ICJ, following the drone destruction case, thus fearing being publicly unveiled as an aggressor and supportive of international terrorism. With these three points in mind, Mali recommended to the Algerian Junta to share this quote from Amadou Hamtabar, who in life, in the teachings of Thierno Boca, wisdom of Bandigara, said, some truths may seem unlikely to us, simply because our understanding is not able to grasp them. We would like to invite them to get to know Mali and the values embodied by Mali-Dinra. Thus, faced with attacks and faced with adversary, we will not be simply spectators, for every shot fired against us, we will reciprocate. For every insult, we will reciprocate. On the other hand, it is strongly recommended to the Algerian Junta to organise in Tintzawatin in Algeria, their international annual festival, on the artifice of human intelligence. From this rostrum, we call on the Algerian Junta to stop supporting international terrorism and to resolutely engage in the promotion of peace and security, with a constructive mindset, respecting the sovereignty of states, I would repeat. From this rostrum, we call on the Algerian Junta to cease their support for international terrorism and resolutely engage in the promotion of peace and security, in a constructive spirit, respecting the sovereignty of states. Once more and for the last time, from this rostrum, we call on the Algerian Junta to stop, to resolutely involve themselves, engage in promotion of peace and security in a constructive spirit, respecting the sovereignty of states. A word to the wise. What a shame. President, ladies and gentlemen. Here, I would like to share the view of a citizen, the raised fist of the dawn of our sovereignty, shared by the people of the Alliance of Sahel States. Our alliance is made up of fighting nations, a land of resistance. What we're facing is not simply a domestic conflict, it's a hybrid war supported by imperialist interests, where enemies of peace often wear suits and ties. If the UN continues to feign ignorance, it will stop being the summit of the world and it will be simply the passive arm of global injustice. As we say this here, the Alliance of Sahel States is not afraid. We will not give up. We will resist still, and we will continue to do so. However, the Alliance of Sahel States is giving the UN a historic opportunity to take the side of truth, to recognize that the people of the Alliance are being victims of aggression, a choice to support the Alliance, which is fighting for themselves, but also for Africa, for the stability of a continent, and therefore indirectly for the stability of the entire world. History will be our judge. It will judge those who arm the forces of evil. It will judge those who looked away. It will judge those who forgot that justice is the only path towards lasting peace. The Alliance of Sahel States is not asking for alimony. It's asking for conscience raising. To conclude, I'd like to reiterate here the commitment of the Alliance of Sahel States to the values, purposes, and principles of the UN Charter. Thus, the Alliance of Sahel States would say that we cannot be better together unless we work collectively for multilateralism with a human face, multilateralism based on dialogue, the law, cooperation, and solidarity between peoples, one that promotes peace and development, one that respects the sovereignty of states. However, we must not continue to do the same thing over the years to come and hope for different results. There is an urgent need for reform within our existing multilateral framework, the framework that is embodied by our shared organization. The 80th anniversary of the UN provides us with this historic opportunity to adapt the organization to the realities of the time, one that can effectively respond to current and future challenges. The Alliance of Sahel States remains ready to play its part, its full part in the quest for collective responses to save future generations from the scourge of war, to ensure harmonious development for all, and to promote and protect human rights. God bless the Alliance of Sahel States and may he save our people from the dark age and destructive forces of the world. May God bless Mali and spare Malians from dark age forces and those who seek to destroy the world. God bless Africa and let it save Africans from dark age forces and those that seek to destroy the world. And may God bless the world and preserve humanity from dark age forces and those who seek to destroy the world. Thank you very much for your kind attention. On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the Prime Minister, Head of Government, and Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization of the Republic of Mali.