UN Security Council calls for release of Mali's civilian leaders

The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday reaffirmed its support to the civilian-led transition in Mali and called for "the safe, immediate and unconditional release of all officials" detained by the military.

In a presidential statement, the top UN body "strongly condemned the arrest of the transitional President of the Republic, Prime Minister and other officials by elements of the Defence and Security forces in Mali on 24 May 2021".

The statement, approved by the 15-member Security Council after private consultations on the matter Wednesday, also urged "the Defence and Security forces elements to return to their barracks without delay".

It called for the "immediate resumption" of the civilian-led transition in Mali, "leading to elections and constitutional order within the established 18-month timeline, in accordance with the transition charter".

Council members called "on all Malian stakeholders to prioritize building trust, engaging in dialogue and to be willing to compromise to achieve these objective". They "affirmed that imposing a change of transitional leadership by force, including through forced resignations, is unacceptable".

The Security Council "noted with concern the risk of negative impact of these developments on ongoing efforts to counter terrorism, implement the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, and stabilize the Centre of Mali".

They reiterated their strong support to the African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States' (ECOWAS) mediation efforts in Mali and called on all Malian parties "to continue cooperating fully with the efforts of all partners to ensure the resumption of the civilian-led transition."