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Mali
The Republic of Mali signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo on 3 December 2008. In March 2009, Mali confirmed to the CMC that the ratification process was underway and expected to be completed shortly.[1]
Mali is not believed to have ever used, produced, or transferred cluster munitions. In December 2007, Mali announced that 10 years earlier it had destroyed all of its stockpiles of cluster munitions.[2]
Mali participated in the last two of the four international conferences to develop the convention text, in Vienna in December 2007 and Wellington in February 2008.
In Wellington, Mali forcefully stated its position in favor of a “total ban” on cluster munitions and urged other states to act: “What else do we need to challenge our conscience and call us to act to put an end to the suffering and remove the barriers to the economic and social development of victims? More victims? Certainly not!”[3]
Mali attended the Livingstone regional conference in March/April 2008, and endorsed the Livingstone Declaration, calling for a comprehensive treaty with a prohibition that should be “total and immediate.”[4] Mali also advocated for a provision placing special obligations on past users of cluster munitions.[5]
During the formal negotiations in Dublin in May 2008, Mali opposed efforts to weaken the draft treaty text, including the notion of a transition period that would allow the continued use of cluster munitions. Mali took the view that any definition of cluster munition should be linked to the harmful effects for the civilian population. Mali stated that the very purpose of the convention could be undermined by efforts to placate the concerns of some states regarding “interoperability” (joint military operations with states not party).[6]
During the Kampala regional conference in September 2008, Mali announced it would sign the convention in December and, in the interim, begin working on its ratification.[7] On 27 October 2008, the West African Journalists for Security and Development Network organized a joint press conference with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and other officials, followed by a workshop to discuss signature and ratification of the convention.[8]
Upon signing the convention in Oslo, Mali announced its commitment to ratify in the forthcoming session of its Parliament and called on all states to double their efforts to ensure rapid entry into force and effective implementation of the convention.[9]
Mali is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but has not ratified Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War. Mali has not participated actively in the CCW discussions on cluster munitions in recent years.
[1] Email from Marion Libertucci, Advocacy Officer, Handicap International, 20 March 2009.
[2] Statement of Mali, Vienna Conference on Cluster Munitions, 5 December 2007. Notes by CMC/WILPF.
[3] Statement by Amb. Boubacar Gouru, Director of Juridical Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wellington Conference on Cluster Munitions, 22 February 2008.
[4] Livingstone Declaration, Livingstone Conference on Cluster Munitions, 1 April 2008.
[5] CMC, “Report on the Livingstone Conference on Cluster Munitions, 31 March–1 April 2008,” www.stopclustermunitions.org.
[6] Statement of Mali, Committee of the Whole on Article 1, Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions, 27 May 2008. Notes by Landmine Action.
[7] In the Parliamentary Forum following the conference, Hon. Abdou Abdoulale Sidibe, Member of Parliament, stated that all parliamentarians and the President of the National Assembly had signed the CMC’s People’s Treaty and were committed to ensuring Mali would ratify the convention as quickly as possible. CMC campaigners in Mali collected over 100 signatures from Members of Parliament for the People’s Treaty in August 2008. CMC, “Report on the Kampala Conference on the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” 30 September 2008, www.stopclustermunitions.org.
[8] Participants included the Minister of Foreign Affairs, President of the Parliament, President of the National Security Commission and campaigners from the West African Journalists for Security and Development Network, Handicap International Mali and Amnesty International Mali. Email from Marion Libertucci, Handicap International, 8 April 2009.
[9] Statement by Amb. Sidiki Lamine Sow, Permanent Mission of Mali to the UN in Geneva, Convention on Cluster Munitions Signing Conference, Oslo, 4 December 2008.