After years of conflict, homes have been looted and destroyed, and many thousands have simply fallen into serious disrepair as residents fled to safer places in the south or in nearby countries.
NRCs Secretary General, Jan Egeland is in Mali to meet the local staff who lost two colleges in an explosion in May and to see NRC’s assistance to people who are trying to rebuild their lives after years of conflict. NRC is worried that conflicts elsewhere overshadow the deep crisis in war-torn northrn Mali. “Today, I met a group of extremely vulnerable widows that have nothing to build a safe future for their children here in Timbuktu. There will be no stability of Mali if the needs of ordinary people are not addressed,” says Egeland, in Timbuktu.
With ongoing violence and displacement, persistent banditry and the increasing use of landmines and improvised explosive devices on major transport routes, it is becoming more difficult and dangerous for humanitarian actors to deliver assistance to the people who need it.
Yesterday, the UN Security Council met to discuss the future of MINUSMA, the UN stabilization mission in Mali. The mission has a mandate to support the return of government control and services to the north, and to use “all necessary means” to protect civilians under threat, but resources are scarce and the needs are immense. “The UN mission needs to have the capacity to ensure that civilians are protected,” said Egeland. “For many Malians, the role of the peacekeepers is not clear. Better communication and collaboration with communities, and solid political support for protection capacities and for the protection of civilians strategy is needed at the highest levels.”
In a briefing paper released today, the Norwegian Refugee Council, which has operations for displaced Malians and vulnerable local people in North and Central Mali as well as in Burkina Faso, asks the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary General and MINUSMA senior leadership to;
Prioritize the deployment of Community Liaison Assistants to improve communication and increase mission awareness of protection needs; Appoint a Senior Harm Mitigation Adviser and develop a civilian casualty tracking capacity, and Strengthen staffing and support for the MINUSMA Protection of Civilian (PoC) unit.
“We are worried that international aid groups and donors are forgetting us here in Mali” community leaders told Egeland in Timbuktu. “We know the situation is bad in other places of the world as well, but this conflict has left us with nothing. Our people are struggling to rebuild their homes and their lives. We need your help.” The Norwegian Refugee Council is providing food, shelter, education, legal assistance and referral information for Malian people.
For more information and interviews please contact: Erin Weir – erin.weir@nrc.no – +223 75 99 75 22