AS DELIVERED
Thank you, Mr. President. The United States voted in favor of this resolution to extend MINUSMA’s crucial support to the people of Mali for another year.
We are grateful to France for its collegial engagement as the penholder on this important resolution. However, we regret that two Council members abstained and stood in the way of the Security Council’s unanimous adoption of today’s renewal of the mandate for MINUSMA – a mission that has enjoyed unanimous adoption every year since its establishment in 2013.
We believe it was important to vote for this renewal so that the Malian transition government has a renewed opportunity to work with MINUSMA to fully implement the Algiers Accord, hold free and fair elections, and protect civilians. We hope to see the Malian transition government and ECOWAS reach agreement on a robust monitoring mechanism with tangible benchmarks for the remainder of the transition.
We also voted in favor of this resolution because it strongly condemns the alarming increase in violations and abuses against civilians and again calls for all parties to cease committing or abetting any violation or abuse. This includes terrorist armed groups, the Malian armed forces, and the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group.
Through this important vote, the Council has renewed MINUSMA’s critical mandate to monitor, investigate, and publicly report on the human rights situation in Mali and to protect civilians from further attacks. The resolution sends a clear message that MINUSMA’s freedom of movement must be respected in order for it to do its job.
Along these lines, we supported this mandate renewal because the resolution also calls on the transition government to respect the Status of Forces Agreement and end restrictions on MINUSMA’s flights and movements. I would like to underscore the need for Malian authorities to immediately grant access to the reported massacre site and mass graves in Moura, and all other such sites of reported attacks against civilians.
Importantly, this resolution clearly puts a check on all support provided by MINUSMA to the Malian defense and security forces. MINUSMA’s support must comply with the UN Human Rights Due Diligence Policy across all phases of operations, ensuring that the recipients comply with the Status of Forces Agreement and human rights and international humanitarian law.
Thank you.
Source: https://usun.usmission.gov/explanation-of-vote-on-the-renewal-of-the-mandate-for-the-un-multidimensional-integrated-stabilization-mission-in-mali-minusma-3/
