Photo: Chris Simpson/IRIN. Old rivalries in the desert
Source: IRIN
Read this article in: عربي
Thousands of northerners who experienced human rights abuses during the
occupation of Mali’s north are struggling to find redress amidst
concerns that a climate of impunity is continuing and the government’s
control in many areas of the north is at best shaky.
People in the north were exposed to forced disappearances, torture,
summary executions and sexual abuse, with most of the offences committed
after March 2012 when Islamist extremists occupied large parts of
territory.
Investigations begin, but hesitantly
“Investigations into crimes committed during the occupation and its
aftermath have just started,” said Guillaume Ngefa, head of the human
rights division within MINUSMA, the UN’s Multidimensional Integrated
Stabilisation Mission in Mali. “While judges and prosecutors are stalled
by an instable security situation in the north many victims have not
been given adequate legal assistance or access to the judiciary,” Ngefa
continued.
The arrival of occupying forces in March 2012 triggered the exodus of
thousands of people fleeing south or into neighbouring countries. Those
who remained were subjected to a harsh form of Sharia, or Islamic law.
Punishment for crimes like theft and adultery included arbitrary
detentions, whippings, amputations and even death. Women were
particularly targeted, facing beatings and arrests for not wearing a
veil. The armed groups also enrolled children as fighters.
The legacy of occupation
When President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita came into office in September
2013, he promised to address crimes committed during the occupation and
to put an end to a long culture of impunity.
But there is a huge backlog of cases to deal with. “We have documented
more than 500 cases of violations in the north since the conflict
started in January 2012”, said Saloum Traoré, head of Amnesty
International (AI) in Mali. AI, the Malian Association for Human Rights
(AMDH) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have between them registered
hundreds of cases of sexual abuse, amputations and summary executions.
The caseload includes the executions of over 150 Malian government
soldiers at Aguelhoc, allegedly by the separatist National Movement for
the Liberation of Azawad, (MNLA), in collaboration with its then ally,
Ansar Dine, in January 2012. The MNLA has fiercely denied any
involvement in the Aguelhok. But the MNLA’s forces are also accused of
acts of sexual violence and recruiting children into armed groups.
Drissa Traoré, a legal officer in the AMDH’s Bamako officer referred to
50 cases of rape allegedly committed by the MNLA. Senior Islamists,
including Islamist police chief in Gao, Aliou Mahamatou Touré, and his
counterpart in Timbuktu ,Houka Houka have been the object of complaints.
South of the occupied areas, AI and AMDH point to cases reported from
villages in the Mopti area, which hosted large communities of displaced
northerners.
Legal machinery still not in place
While the government and specifically its Ministry of Defense
acknowledges that crimes committed during the conflict need to be
addressed, exactly how and when this will happen is not yet clear.
Several families of victims have sought justice for the loss of or
injury to family members, a majority with the help of local lawyers.
More than 30 families have filed complaints and missing person reports
with the police and gendarmerie, as well as written letters to
prosecutors detailing crimes, according to AMDH.
But the legal mechanics are complicated. Observers highlight
deficiencies in the Malian legal system, which lacks sufficient numbers
of judges, prosecutors and forensic experts, and is hampered by
logistical and financial constraints. Cases often need testimony from
witnesses delivered to official investigators, but this is not easy to
obtain at present.
“Continued clashes and insecurity make it difficult for judges and
forensic experts to travel to the north to conduct investigations”,
Guillaume Ngefa said. Security conditions remain difficult. The north is
stabilized by a UN peacekeeping force and around 1,000 French troops,
though attacks still occur in many of the northern areas where the
abuses occurred. On October 3, nine UN peacekeepers were killed and
three wounded in a roadside bomb in Kidal. This brought the number of UN
peacekeepers in Mali killed since MINUSMA took over from the African
Union force AFISMA in July last year to 30.
Where are the courts?
Mali’s Justice Ministry has deployed mobile information clinics in the
north to gather victim testimony and provide some level of victim
support. In principle, cases reported will be referred directly to
courts in the north for prosecution, but those courts are not yet up and
running. When AMDH prepared cases against members of the Islamic police
in Gao and Timbuktu, witnesses had to go south to Bamako, which hosts
the court assigned to handle crimes committed in the north.
Support to those seeking justice is available from several international
and national NGOs involved in pursuing human rights violations. But
there is little funding for follow up action and the bringing of court
cases. Legal costs are prohibitively high for most Malians. It often
falls to individuals to track cases with the local authorities.
Soldiers face questions too
Concerns on human rights violations are not confined to the north and
the alleged perpetrators are not exclusively jihadist and separatist
fighters. In November 2013 AMDH filed its first case representing 23
victims of violations allegedly committed by the Malian armed forces
following a military coup in the capital Bamako in March 2012 which saw
rival army factions pitted against each other.
HRW has collected testimonies implicating Malian soldiers in serious
abuses. The Malian authorities have promised to take action where
appropriate. But Corinne Dufka, senior West Africa researcher with HRW,
warned that only a few cases had led to further investigations, and none
of those allegedly responsible for exactions brought to justice.
AMDH President Moctar Mariko warned of instances where civilians had
either disappeared or been taken by the Malian armed forces. “Questions
by family members as to the whereabouts of their relatives were ignored
or left unanswered. Others were afraid to even ask,” Mariko said.
Alou Namfe, a government prosecutor assigned to handle crimes committed
during the occupation of the north criticised the inaction shown by both
the courts and the gendarmerie in grappling with offences. “Judicial
officers requesting the gendarmerie to investigate certain
conflict-related crimes have been ignored and complaints filed with the
courts so far have not been acted upon,” Namfe warned.
Arrest does not mean prosecution
However, some action has been taken, albeit with mixed results.
According to figures from the Malian authorities, since January 2013 at
least 495 men believed to be members of the armed groups have been
arrested; but up to 300 of the same men have since been released. In
some cases, investigators were unable to confirm their identity or
affiliation with the fighting factions. Others were release in prisoner
exchanges between the armed groups and the Bamako government. Former
Timbuktu police boss Houka Houka was amongst those let go. There are
reports of many other involved in the Islamist occupation simply leaving
the country.
Alou Namfe is frustrated by the lack of justice. “There are cases where
witnesses and victims have testified and the prosecutor has opened a
case, and still the offender is released,” Namfe pointed out.
Guillaume Ngefa saw hope for change. “The problem of impunity dates back
to the independence from France over 60 years ago”, Ngefa explained.
“Previous peace agreements have struggled to look into the question of
human rights; in some cases the offenders were never tried. This time I
believe there is a political will to deal with crimes committed during
the armed conflict.”
Moctar Mariko said the guilty should not evade justice. “We are worried
that the big fish, the commanders responsible for these actions, will be
released while others remain in jail.” Mariko stressed the courts had a
job to do. “Prisoners should not be released before the judiciary has
had time to finish their investigations.”
The north remains vulnerable
There is concern too about a new chapter of violence in the
north. Complaints of human rights violations and the systematic
victimisation of Tuareg and Arabs helped fuel the rebellion that broke
out in January 2012. Human rights activists warn that the actions of
small groups of Jihadists, staging attacks and ambushes in the north,
will lead to new waves of reprisals from the Malian military, with
Tuaregs and Arabs again targeted indiscriminately. On 24 September a
group of Tuareg men were detained by members of AQMI, al-Qaeda in the
Islamic Maghreb, in the region of Kidal. The men were accused of being
informers to the French forces. A couple of days later villagers found
the head of one of the men at a stall in the local market.
“In many cases… the population and the justice know where the offenders
are but are reluctant to give them up, especially if they are from the
same ethnic group. If there is no justice, others might seek revenge,”
said Mariko.