Mali: Switzerland concerned about human rights and war crimes
Mali has seen violence between military and islamist groups for years; here, Chadian troops pictured in the country 2013.
Keystone / Jerome Delay
Switzerland has called for an “impartial, independent and effective” investigation into allegations that human rights and international law were violated during a March 2022 military mission in Mali.
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Suiza, preocupada por los derechos humanos en Malí
Switzerland is “deeply concerned” about reports of violations and abuses involving the civilian population in the West African country, the foreign ministry wrote on Thursday.
A reportExternal link published last week by the UN Human Rights Office found “strong indications” that the Malian army, along with fighters from other countries, killed most of the over 500 victims of an operation in 2022 in Moura (central Mali).
Speaking of “disturbing findings”, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk also said that “summary executions, rape and torture during armed conflict amount to war crimes and could, depending on the circumstances, amount to crimes against humanity”.
The military operation in question happened over five days in March 2022. Malian authorities said it was an anti-terrorist campaign against an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group known as Katiba Macina. They have denied any wrongdoing by the military.
Mali’s transitional government was overthrown by a coup in 2021. The new military government initially promised elections in February 2022, before cancelling them. It has since said it would hold a constitutional referendum in mid-June to pave the way for democratic elections.
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