In Mali, the decision by the Minister of Territorial Administration to dissolve a student association marks the latest move in a government campaign to curtail the freedom of association.
The minister asserted that the Association des Élèves et Étudiants du Mali (AEEM) was responsible for “violence and clashes” in schools and universities. He also noted that in 2017 and 2018, security forces had arrested some of its members who were found with weapons, narcotics, and large, unexplained sums of money.
The AEEM is the fourth organization to be disbanded in less than four months. On March 6, authorities dissolved the Coordination des Mouvements, Associations et Sympathisants de l’Imam Mahmoud Dicko. This group, which advocated for presidential elections to restore civilian democratic rule, was accused of being a force for “destabilization” and a “threat to public security.” Previously, on February 28, the political organization Kaoural Renouveau was dissolved for allegedly making “defamatory and subversive remarks” about the military junta. And on December 20, the authorities disbanded the Observatoire pour les élections et la bonne gouvernance, a civil society group that monitored elections, accusing its president of making “statements likely to disturb public order.”
Since the 2021 military coup, the Malian junta has intensified its repression of peaceful dissent, the political opposition, and the media, progressively shrinking the country’s civic space. On March 4, authorities forcibly disappeared gendarmerie colonel Alpha Yaya Sangaré, who had recently published a book detailing abuses committed by the Malian armed forces.
Mali’s National Human Rights Commission recently issued a statement expressing alarm about “serious threats to the exercise of certain civic and political rights, notably the freedom of association. It is outraged by the systemic trend of dissolving and/or suspending political parties and/or associations.” Seif Magango, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, voiced similar concerns this week.
As Mali approaches its third year under an unelected government, the need for a free and secure civic and political space—where people can organize, express their views, and protest—is more critical than ever. The authorities should immediately reinstate the dissolved organizations and commit to upholding fundamental rights and freedoms.
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