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Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey
Feltman
presents the Secretary-General’s report on Mali to UNSC.
[PHOTO: UNifeed]
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New York: The top UN political official, Jeffrey Feltman has told the Security Council that a military operation may be required
as a last resort to deal with terrorist and criminal elements in northern Mali,
but priority must be on supporting the national authorities to restore
constitutional order and reach a political settlement to the ongoing crisis.
Briefing the Security Council on Mali, where the security
situation in the North has continued to deteriorate, Feltman said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's position
was clear: "He shares the urgency about the horrendous crisis facing Mali
and he believes, at the same time, that the international response must be
multi-dimensional and well conceived."
In his latest report to the Council on the situation in
Mali, Ban stated that inaction by the international community may prolong the
suffering of those in the north who are living under the "brutal yoke of
the extremists" and are seeing their cultural heritage being destroyed.
His report recommends that the "strategic operational
framework", a document prepared by the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS), provides "a good
basis" for the Council to authorize the Chapter VII mission. The AU/
ECOWAS framework supports the deployment of an African-led International Support
Mission in Mali (AFISMA), comprising 3,300 military personnel.
At the same time, the report stresses the need for
additional planning before the actual deployment of any such force.
The Secretary-General has proposed benchmarks for the
possible commencement of military operations. They include the demonstrated
operational readiness of the international and Malian forces, positive
developments in the peace process, and the effective training of both forces'
personnel on their obligations under international human rights, humanitarian
and refugee law.
Following Feltman's briefing, Minister of Foreign Affairs
and African Integration of Mali, Traore Rokiatou Guikine, expressed hope for a
prompt Security Council action that would allow the immediate deployment of the
international force to address the suffering of the population in the north and
the threat of terrorism. "There is an urgent need to act," said the
Malian official, "to prevent Mali from becoming a breeding ground for
terrorism and organised crime."
However, the report raises questions about how the
international and Malian forces would be led, sustained, trained, equipped and
financed.
Addressing the issue on how the operation would be financed,
the African Union Permanent Observer to the United Nations, Antonio Tete
outlined the AU proposal to establish a UN support package, which would be
funded through assessed contributions. Furthermore, he called for a dedicated
trust fund to be established, which could provide support to the Malian defense
and security forces.
"Mali is at a crossroads. Time is of essence. We need
to act fast and to send a clear and strong message on the resolve of
international community and its support to the African-led efforts", he
said.
Mali has been dealing with a range of security, political
and humanitarian problems since the start of the year. Fighting between
Government forces and Tuareg rebels broke out in the country's north in
January. Since then, radical Islamists have seized control of the north, where
they have imposed an extremist version of Muslim Sharia law as well as
restrictions that target women in particular.
The renewed clashes in the north, as well as the
proliferation of armed groups in the region, drought and political instability
in the wake of a military coup d'état in March have uprooted hundreds of
thousands of civilians this year. Over
412,000 people have been forced to flee the north, and an estimated five
million people have been affected by the conflict.
The Secretary-General intends to establish a full-time UN
political presence in the Malian capital, Bamako that will be responsible for
interacting with key stakeholders and report to both the Special Representative
for West Africa, Said Djinnit, and his Special Envoy for the Sahel, Romano
Prodi. -UNifeed