COUNTRY SUMMARY

Mali is contaminated by improvised mines—or victim-activated improvised explosive devices (IEDs)—used by non-state-armed groups (NSAGs) and by explosive remnants of war (ERW). Since 2017, Mali has seen a significant rise in incidents due to improvised mines in the north (Kidal and Gao regions) and center (Ségou and Mopti regions) of the country.[1] In 2022, armed conflict spread in the south (Sikasso and Koulikoro regions), resulting in new contamination.[2]

Mali is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Cluster Munitions. Mali has reported no cluster munition remnants contamination. Insecurity has largely prevented survey, mapping, and active landmine clearance, with operators focusing on spot tasks.[3] The presence of mines/ERW has hindered humanitarian assistance and limited access to basic services.[4]

International operators implemented risk education in Mali with local partners in 2022, often combining these activities with victim assistance.[5] Access for mine/ERW survivors to victim assistance services continued to be disrupted due to ongoing armed conflict.[6]

ASSESSING THE IMPACT

Contamination

 Extent of contamination

 Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war; N/A=not applicable.

Landmine contamination

The extent of mine and ERW contamination in Mali is unknown. Mine contamination includes scattered vehicle- and victim-activated roadside IEDs, primarily targeting military forces but indiscriminately injuring and killing civilians. In 2009 and 2010, the presence of 80 “mined” areas in the regions of Kidal and Tombouctou, particularly along the roads between Abubaza and Tinza, was reported.[7] An upsurge in conflict in 2012 resulted in additional laying of IEDs, including improvised mines, in the north. [8] Since 2015, in central Mali, the Ségou and Mopti regions have been worst affected by the threat of IEDs, including improvised mines.[9] In 2022, contamination was reportedly present further south, in the regions of Sikasso, Koulikoro, and Mopti, particularly in the areas of Bankass, Bandiagara, and Djenné.[10]

NSAGs in Mali used command-detonated IEDs from 2017–2018 but have used pressure-plate IEDs increasingly since 2019.[11] Victim-activated tripwires have also been reported in relation to some devices.[12] UNMAS reported that victim-activated IEDs represented at least half of all IED incidents in Mali in 2019, and over 60% from January–October 2020.[13] In 2022, UNMAS reported that the proportion of civilian IED casualties had risen sharply, from 28% in 2021 to 43% in 2022. Mopti accounted for 38% of IED incidents and 62% of casualties in 2022.[14] 

IEDs and improvised mines impeded use of roads in central and northern Mali. Contamination continued to restrict access to land, education, healthcare, and other essential services.[15]

In 2019–2021, the United Nations (UN) reported on “indications of the transfer of components and methodologies for the usage of improvised explosive devices across borders and regions, especially in the Liptako-Gourma region,” bordering Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.[16]

Other types of contamination

Airstrikes, artillery attacks, and ongoing armed conflict have resulted in extensive unexploded ordnance (UXO) and abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO) in northern, central, and southern Mali, including grenades, mortars, rockets, shells, and aircraft bombs. In 2020–2022, air and drone strikes were conducted by the Malian Armed Forces and its allies, while NSAGs fired rockets and mortar shells, adding to contamination in Gao, Kidal, Koulikoro, Ménaka, Mopti, Ségou, Sikasso, and Timbuktu. The extent of ERW contamination in Mali is not known.

Casualties

From 2007–2022, the Monitor has recorded a total of 2,165 mine/ERW casualties in Mali (671 killed and 1,494 injured).

5-year casualties total: 2018–2022[17]

     Casualties in 2022[18]

Casualty demographics in 2022*

*For another 41 casualties, the age was unknown. Of these, one casualty was recorded as male.

     Casualties by civilian status in 2022

Casualties by device type in 2022

Note: APM=antipersonnel mines; AVM=antivehicle mines; CMR=cluster munition remnants; ERW=explosive remnants of war.

During 2022, a total of 182 casualties were recorded by the Monitor, including two deminers in the course of clearance work. Another two casualties were members of a military explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team which hit an improvised mine while travelling by vehicle.

COORDINATION

Summary table[19]

Note: SP-CNLP=Secrétariat permanent de lutte contre la prolifération des armes légères et de petit calibre (Permanent Secretariat to Counter the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons); GT-LAMH=Groupe de travail de lutte antimines humanitaire (Humanitarian Mine Action Working Group); IED=improvised explosive device.

*In the absence of national standards, operators followed the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS).

ADDRESSING THE IMPACT

Clearance

Management and coordination

Management and coordination overview

In May 2021, the Ministry of Security and Civil Protection formed the National Commission to Counter the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons, active under the Permanent Secretariat to Counter the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (Secrétariat permanent de lutte contre la prolifération des armes légères et de petit calibre, SP-CNLP). The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) provides capacity-building support.[20]

Mali’s Humanitarian Mine Action Working Group (Groupe de travail de lutte antimines humanitaire, GT-LAMH) serves as the coordination platform for mine action activities.[21] Its members include representatives of SP-CNLP, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Security and Civil Protection, along with international and national operators.[22]

In 2022, UNMAS provided EOD training and capacity-building support to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and the Malian Armed Forces.[23] UNMAS also formed a Counter-IED Working Group in 2022 to produce analysis and provide support to MINUSMA’s Counter-IED Steering Committee.[24] In 2021, UNMAS had established a regional mine action program covering Burkina Faso and Niger, in response to cross-border IED contamination in the Liptako-Gourma region.[25]

Strategies and policies

There was no specific national mine action strategy and policy in Mali. In 2022, the SP-CNLP reported to have developed a decree project to include officially mine action in its responsibilities.[26]

Information management

Mali has used the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) since 2019. It is coordinated by UNMAS and used by members of GT-LAMH.[27]

Clearance operators

Clearance operators in Mali in 2022 included EOD Engineers from the Malian Armed Forces, and MINUSMA teams specialized in neutralizing explosives and munitions.[28] Between 2013 and July 2023, UNMAS reported training 1,469 Malian Armed Forces personnel in EOD, and in IED threat mitigation.[29] 

From 2019–2021, Malian instructors trained by UNMAS and MINUSMA delivered more than 50 EOD courses to national security force personnel, “signaling an increasingly self-sufficient national capacity.”^[30]

Land release: antipersonnel landmines 

In Mali, contamination, including improvised mines and other IEDs, was destroyed by sappers during miliary operations. In 2022, Mali destroyed 45 antipersonnel mines and 82 improvised mines.[31] This represents an increase from 2021, when spot tasks resulted in the destruction of 16 improvised mines and 59 other IEDs.[32] In 2021, non-technical survey took place in Mali, but no data was provided on areas surveyed.[33]

UNMAS reported that between 2013 and July 2023, a total of 4.4km² of land was released.[34]

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 clearance deadline

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Mali was required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2009.[35] Mali has not requested an extension to its Article 5 clearance deadline.

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 clearance deadline

Mali is party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It has reported that it does not have any cluster munition remnants contamination on its territory.[36]

Land release: other ordnance

Mali reported that two antivehicle mines and four ERW were destroyed through spot tasks during 2022, compared to 37 in 2021 and 36 in 2020.[37]

Risk education

Management and coordination

Management and coordination overview

GT-LAMH coordinates risk education, including activities, data collection, capacity-building, and messaging.[38] UNMAS accredits risk education operators in Mali.[39] UNMAS also reported conducting quality control from field offices in Gao, Kidal, Mopti, Tessalit, and Timbuktu.[40]

Legislation and standards

UNMAS reported that operators conducted risk education in compliance with the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS).[41]

Information management

Mali uses IMSMA to collect data on risk education beneficiaries. IMSMA accident and victim data was used to prioritize risk education activities and tailor safety messages.[42]

Risk education operators

In 2022, five national non-governmental organizations (NGOs) carried out risk education, as well as three international operators: DanChurchAid (DCA), the Danish Refugee Council, and Mines Advisory Group (MAG). Activities were implemented in 19 of the 27 districts impacted by mines and ERW.[43] Risk education resources were reportedly insufficient to meet needs.[44]

DCA and MAG implemented risk education in Mali through national NGO partners.[45]

Beneficiary data

Beneficiary data in 2022[46]

Note: AAPPOR=Association d’appui pour les populations rurales du Mali (Association for support to Rural Populations in Mali); AMSS=Association malienne pour la survie au Sahel (Malian Association for Survival in the Sahel); ASDAP=Association de soutien au développement des activités des populations (Association to Support the Development of Populations’ Activities); DCA=DanChurchAid; MAG=Mines Advisory Group; N/R=not reported.

In 2022, SP-CNLP reported that a total of 73,432 beneficiaries were reached via interpersonal risk education, including 22,922 men (31%), 17,998 women (25%), 16,667 boys (23%), and 15,845 girls (21%).[47] MAG and DCA reported 24,316 and 65,880 beneficiaries respectively. DCA reported reaching 3,847 beneficiaries with disabilities in 2022.[48]

Target groups

People travelling along roads affected by improvised mines, particularly internally displaced persons (IDPs), were at risk. Transhumant pastoralists were also at risk due to contamination in their areas of movement. Men and teenage boys from rural communities were exposed to mines/ERW due to their economic activities, such as trade and agricultural work. Women and children were also affected during household tasks, and during activities such as searching for water and firewood, travelling along rivers and streams to wash clothes, or playing outside.[49]

Talibé children, moving from town to town in northern Mali, often engaged in risky activities such as collecting and selling scrap metal, and foraging for food.[50]

MAG included blacksmiths and metal collectors among its target groups, due to their potential exposure to mine/ERW risk during their work.[51]

Delivery methods

In 2022, interpersonal risk education was delivered by volunteers and community focal points. Risk education messages were also broadcast via television and local radio.[52]

DCA combined risk education with localized victim assistance activities. DCA also delivered emergency risk education in response to incidents, reaching survivors and witnesses.[53] 

MAG developed interactive radio programs to engage audiences. These broadcasts reportedly helped to counter misinformation about explosive devices circulating in communities.

In 2023, a specific chatbot feature was developed for WhatsApp users in Mali, teaching them to recognize explosive devices and encouraging the adoption of safer behavior.[54]

Victim assistance

Highlights from 2022

In 2022, operators reported 422 victim assistance beneficiaries in Mali, up significantly from 127 reported in 2021.[55] However, operators could not reach the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan target to reach 1,100 beneficiaries in Mali, due to a lack of capacity and resources.[56]

In July 2022, Humanity & Inclusion (HI) launched a physical rehabilitation and psychosocial support project, which aims to reach 130 mine/ERW survivors over a two-year period.[57]

Management and coordination 

Management and coordination overview 

There was no specific national victim assistance program in Mali. UNMAS coordinated victim assistance activities through GT-LAMH. The Malian Federation of Persons with Disabilities (Fédération malienne des associations de personnes handicapées, FEMAPH) is consulted on victim assistance projects.[58] 

The physical rehabilitation sector is overseen by the Ministry of Solidarity and Humanitarian Action and the Ministry of Health and Social Development, which coordinated activities with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and FEMAPH.[59]

Legislation and standards

Mine action operators followed IMAS 13.10 on Victim Assistance during their activities.[60]

Information management

Data was collected by operators on survivors, referrals, and access to services.[61]

Legal frameworks or policies on disability inclusion

In September 2021, Mali adopted a decree to implement 2018 legislation protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.[62] Yet in 2022, mine/ERW survivors continued to face challenges in accessing employment, education, buildings, and public transportation.[63]

Victim assistance providers

Several risk education providers have participated in the identification of mine/ERW survivors and referrals.[64] The Malian Red Cross was supported by the ICRC in 2022.[65]

Physical rehabilitation is provided by the National Center for Orthopedic Appliances (Centre National d’Appareillage Orthopédique, CNAOM) in Bamako, the Father Bernard Verspieren Rehabilitation Center in Bamako, and at the Regional Centers for Orthopedic Appliances and Functional Rehabilitation(Centres régionaux d’appareillage orthopédiques et de rééducation fonctionnelle, CRAORF) in Mopti, Gao, Timbuktu, Segou, and Kayes. CNAOM and the five regional centers provided prosthetics and socio-economic inclusion services, while covering transport and accommodation costs. Psychosocial support was limited to regional hospitals and referral centers.[66]

Needs assessment

Casualty data analysis showed higher mortality rates for civilians (64%) compared to military personnel (34%).[67] Operators reported that low survival rates for civilians highlighted gaps in the provision of first-aid and emergency healthcare services, especially in remote areas.[68]

Medical care and rehabilitation

In 2023, victim assistance operators provided capacity-building support to regional hospitals in immediate trauma care, and to community workers in first-aid, identification of emergency transport, and use of stretchers.[69] Of the victim assistance beneficiaries reported in 2022, only 46% were reported to have received initial emergency support after their mine/ERW incident. Referral health centers were available for the emergency care of survivors, while those in need of trauma care or specialized services were referred to regional hospitals. [70]

The ICRC provided first-aid and referrals training to the Malian Red Cross, and to community volunteers. It also supported regional hospitals in Gao, Kidal, and Mopti. The ICRC provided physical rehabilitation to 70 mine or ERW survivors in 2022, and supported five rehabilitation centers, including CNAOM, through the provision of equipment, supplies, and training.[71]

There were just 13 ortho-prosthetic specialists in Mali in 2022, and CNAOM launched a new training course in 2023 to increase national capacity.[72] Training of staff at community health centers was needed, to better identify patients with complications for early referral to CNAOM or one the regional centers.[73]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

In 2022, 67% of reported victim assistance beneficiaries received psychosocial support, while 26% received support for socio-economic reintegration.[74]

Regional hospitals supported by the ICRC in Gao, Kidal, and Mopti provided mental health and psychosocial support to those referred by the Malian Red Cross or other operators.[75] The ICRC partnered with disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) in 2022 to support educational, livelihood, and sports activities for mine/ERW survivors.[76]