Mali: WACSI Offers Advice on How to End Crisis

The West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) has urged the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to involve every national actor in its mediation efforts in Mali.

Development Diaries understands that Malian President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, has faced nationwide protests over a disputed legislative election, the worsening Covid-19 outbreak, and insurgency.

In its efforts to resolve the crisis, ECOWAS advised Keita to form a unity government with his opponents. However, the opposition rejected that plan as it wants the president, whose tenure expires in 2023, to step down.

Reacting to the crisis, civil society organisations in West Africa, under the auspices of WACSI, held a Policy Dialogue Series on a Zoom platform where they openly discussed the face-off between the government of Keïta and the opposition, M5-RFP coalition, and its potential threat to Malian democracy, and the overall peace and stability of West Africa.

Tagged ‘Amplifying Civil Society Voices in Mali to Foster Solidarity and Promote Peace, Security, and Democracy in West Africa’, participants – including members of international non-governmental organisations, development partners, think tanks, media representatives – also advised ECOWAS to consider adding to its team of Mediation Mission to Mali, respected civil society actors strategically selected across the region to represent the interest of Malian civil society constituents and the people of Mali without prejudice of any kind.

The participants observed that the current political tension does not only threaten the peace, security, and democracy of Mali, it has the potential to worsen the insecurity situation in the Sahel region and ultimately destabilise the ECOWAS region if not resolved expeditiously.

In a statement issued by WACSI, the participants said, ‘ECOWAS should ensure that all relevant national actors are engaged in the mediation process, including the government of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, M5-RFP – comprising the Coordination of Movements of Associations and Sympathisers of Imam Mahmoud Dicko (CMAS), the Front for the Safeguarding of Democracy (FSD) and Espoir Mali Koura (EMK), who also have the support of Mohamed Ould Cheiknè Hamaullah, the Chérif de Nioro du Sahel – civil society groups,  including women associations and youth networks, and the opposition party.

‘Refrain from focusing its attention and proposed resolutions on the immediate cause of the current political crisis (that is the dispute over legislative election results), but should adopt a holistic approach which looks at the root causes including lingering socio-political crisis, economic hardship (exacerbated by Covid-19 pandemic in the last months), bad governance and perceived corruption, human rights violation, shrinking civic space and worsening security situation, among others and consider in its mediation plan and process daily consultations with wider civil society constituents and other key sectors including the business sector and academia, in bid to understand the people’s position, pains, and prognosis to the current political impasse’.

They asked the civil society in Mali to collaborate and actively participate in the dialogues and negotiations processes instituted by the government, and other consultations set up by the ECOWAS Mediation Mission.

Source: West Africa Civil Society Institute

Photo source: Benoit Rivard

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