Mali Asks For Economic Sanctions To Be Lifted

On February 7th, the current administration of Mali’s government released a statement urging the West African Economic and Monetary Union to lift sanctions placed on its economic activity. These sanctions include suspension of all commercial and financial transactions except for food products, pharmaceutical products, medical supplies and equipment, materials for the control of COVID-19, petroleum products, and electricity, as well as the freezing of Malian assets in the Economic Community of West African States’ central banks, and the suspension of all financial assistance and transactions from the ECOWAS. 

Mali’s governmental structure has been in a precarious state since it gained independence in 1958. Since then, it has experienced five government coups, including two in the last nine months. The most recent coup was led by former Malian Vice President and military leader, Assimi Goïta in May of 2021. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta was removed from power and new elections are to be held this year. The instability of leadership in Mali has led neighboring countries to become reluctant to trade and interact with Mali, and in order to push them toward stabilizing and solidifying their governmental leadership and structure, they have placed strict sanctions on economic activity. Since the most recent military coup, Mali has defaulted on more than $31 million of bond payments, according to its finance ministry and the West African debt management agency. The sanctions have hit Mali’s economy hard and made it difficult for them to relieve their debts.

El-Ghassim Wane, special representative of the secretary-general and head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali told the UN security council in January that, “a protracted impasse will make it much harder to find a consensual way out, while increasing hardship for the population and further weakening State capacity, with far-reaching consequences for Mali and its neighbors,” and believes that the sanctions are unacceptable. While the efforts to incentivize the military leaders and aggressive groups to quit further destabilizing the governmental structure of the country, Wane doesn’t feel that it’s really beneficial or productive. In fact, Mali is ranked 175th out of 188 countries on the United Nations Development Programme’s 2016 Human Development Index, and nearly 45% of its population lives below the national poverty line. While there is an incentive for more wealthy leaders to stabilize the government and push back on continued violence and conflict, the citizens of Mali will suffer greatly due to these economic sanctions and will worsen the poverty situation. 

The people of Mali are not only suffering from the consequences of these economic sanctions but are also feeling the effects of their chance at a real republic being taken away from them. Originally, elections to select a new president were supposed to be held on February 27, 2022. Following the latest takeover, these civil elections have been pushed to 2026. It is vital that these elections happen, and that they are kept fair and are not tampered with or corrupted. Rather than placing economic sanctions on an already suffering population, neighboring countries, as well as France who has been deeply involved with Mali the last few years, should look towards more diplomatic approaches and strategies that incentivize Mali’s leaders to carry on with the original election date and grant the residents of Mali the democracy they deserve.

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