Delivered by Permanent Representative Sven Jürgenson
Thank you, Mr. President,
Allow me to thank SRSG Annadif for his informative briefing and express Estonia’s continued support to the activities of MINUSMA and to the work of the Special Representative. I would also like to welcome the Foreign Minister of Mali to the meeting today.
While there have been some encouraging developments in the implementation of the Mali Peace Agreement since the Security Council’s last discussion in January, we remain extremely concerned about the deteriorating security situation in Mali. Moreover, the growing global pandemic of the COVID-19 that has also reached Mali threatens to add more strain on the already fragile healthcare, governance and security systems. Estonia wholeheartedly supports the Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire in order to combat the coronavirus pandemic and help save lives.
Even though the COVID-19 fear played its part on the relatively low voter turnout in the first round of the legislative elections on March 29, the overall security situation still affects the voters the most. The growing number of violent attacks against both civilians as well as military outposts in the centre and North of Mali continues to be a serious concern. Attacks such as this Monday’s one to a military base in the northern town of Bamba that left at least 25 Malian soldiers dead must be condemned in strongest terms. The effective state presence and full ownership of Mali and the neighbouring states in the counter-terrorist efforts is of key importance. Estonia fully supports the efforts of G5 Sahel Joint Force and continues with its contribution to the Barkhane operation and the Takuba Task Force.
We are encouraged by the positive steps taken in the implementation of the Mali Peace agreement, especially the redeployment of the reconstituted units of the Mali armed forces to the North and the resumption of the meetings of the Agreement Monitoring Committee. However, further steps need to be taken in the political process, including concrete steps on increasing the full, effective and meaningful participation of women and youth. We note positively that the government held a high-level workshop on the participation of women in the decision making process in the end of January and encourage all the participants to take steps to implement the recommendations that the workshop made.
It is important to address the root causes of the conflict and engage the local communities through a comprehensive approach. An essential aspect of this approach is addressing the grave violations and abuses of human rights and hold accountable all perpetrators of such crimes regardless of their status. Allowing the culture of impunity to thrive will only breed more violence.
I thank you!
