After the expulsion of the MINUSMA spokesperson in July, it is the turn of the director of the human rights division. Guillaume Ngefa-Atondoko Andali was declared persona non grata in Mali on Sunday February 05, 2023.
“Consequently, the concerned person will have to leave the national territory within 48 hours”, we read on the document signed by the spokesman of the transitional government, Col. Abdoulaye Maiga.
“This measure follows the destabilizing and subversive actions of Mr. ANDALI, in flagrant violation of the principles and obligations that must be observed by United Nations officials and any diplomat accredited to Mali, in accordance with the relevant international conventions”, specifies the document.
In their explanations, the Malian authorities indicate that during the various sessions of the United Nations Security Council on Mali, “the actions of Mr. ANDALI consisted in selecting usurpers assuming the title of representative of the company Malian civil society, ignoring the national authorities and institutions”.
“In addition to the selection of these individuals recruited to make specious presentations, the Government emphasizes that Mr. ANDALI has never succeeded in proving the objective criteria which enabled him to identify the representatives of civil society that he used. The partiality of Mr. ANDALI was even more evident during the last review of the United Nations Security Council on Mali”, insists Bamako.
MINUSMA was created in 2013 to try to stabilize Mali in the face of the growing threat from terrorist fighters. Its mission also included protecting civilians, contributing to peace efforts and defending human rights. But the security situation continued to deteriorate in the West African country.
The military regime has reportedly repeatedly blocked MINUSMA’s attempts to investigate growing reports of human rights abuses by the armed forces and the Russian Wagner Group.