{"id":762,"date":"2022-08-09T08:30:23","date_gmt":"2022-08-09T08:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/?p=762"},"modified":"2022-08-09T08:30:23","modified_gmt":"2022-08-09T08:30:23","slug":"mali-rights-reforms-crucial-for-civilian-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/2022\/08\/09\/mali-rights-reforms-crucial-for-civilian-rule\/","title":{"rendered":"Mali: Rights Reforms Crucial for Civilian Rule"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mali authorities should act to uphold fundamental freedoms and the rule of law during the new\u00a0two-year timetable<\/a>\u00a0for transitioning to civilian rule, Human Rights Watch said today. They should promote respect for freedom of expression and the media, ensure due process rights for criminal suspects, and end torture and enforced disappearances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On July 3, 2022, the regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) lifted economic and financial sanctions, imposed in January, after Mali\u2019s transitional government agreed to a new timeline for elections and other reforms by March 2024. The ECOWAS mechanism set up to monitor adherence to the timetable should include benchmarks<\/a> on improved respect and protection of human rights, Human Rights Watch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMali\u2019s leaders have taken steps toward civilian rule, but achieving a democratic society means ensuring respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,\u201d said Jehanne Henry, senior Africa adviser at Human Rights Watch. \u201cThe authorities should foster open dialogue that allows journalists, commentators, and human rights activists to speak out without fear of reprisals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human Rights Watch researchers visited Bamako, Mali\u2019s capital, between June 29 and July 8, and met with 3 current and former detainees, detainees\u2019 family members, 3 lawyers, and 25 media professionals, civil society activists, political party members, and analysts. Authorities responded to Human Rights Watch\u2019s request for comments by letter on August 6, reaffirming their commitment to protecting human rights as enshrined in international and Malian law, but failed to address specific findings of violations described below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mali\u2019s transitional government took over following a military-led coup in August 2020 against then-President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. In May 2021, military leaders consolidated power through a second coup, installing Col. Assimi Go\u00efta as interim president. Since then, the media, civil society groups, lawyers<\/a>, and analysts have reported increasing repression by the transitional government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Violence has surged across Mali during this period. Attacks by armed Islamist groups and government-led counterterrorism operations have resulted in the killing of several hundred civilians since the beginning of 2022. This coincides with the departure of French and other Western forces supporting the government\u2019s military efforts, and the reported arrival<\/a> of Russian forces from the Wagner Group<\/a> \u2013 a military security contractor with apparent links to Russia\u2019s government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The transitional government has increasingly restricted the United Nations peacekeeping mission, the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali. It has barred the peacekeepers from areas where government forces were implicated in abusive operations, such as the town of Moura, where Human Rights Watch documented<\/a> serious abuses in March by the Malian army and foreign soldiers identified as Russian fighters. In June, Malian authorities rejected<\/a> the UN Security Council\u2019s call to allow the mission access to all areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mali authorities should act to uphold fundamental freedoms and the rule of law during the new\u00a0two-year timetable\u00a0for transitioning to civilian rule, Human Rights Watch said today. They should promote respect for freedom of expression and the media, ensure due process rights for criminal suspects, and end torture and enforced disappearances. On July 3, 2022, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=762"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":763,"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762\/revisions\/763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}