Abdoulaye Maïga, Mali’s Prime Minister and Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, drew attention to an alliance between his country, Burkina Faso, and Niger who have joined forces in a Pan-African spirit, to fight imperialistic forces and armed groups, who are attacking the foundations of their States with “dark-age thinking” and foreign State sponsors.  The three countries of this Sahel alliance are working closely together “in a spirit of collaboration and complementarity never seen before”, he said, to defeat the scourge of terrorism and “fight our common enemies”.  “Unlike some States who open safe passage corridors on their territories for terrorists”, the founders of this alliance are making their countries safer and preventing this threat from spreading to other African countries following the withdrawal of international forces.

Though it seems far away, the war in Ukraine and the terrorism in Sahel are connected, he said, adding that the Ukrainian regime has become one of the main suppliers of kamikaze drones to terrorists. Requesting Western States to stop supplying weapons to that country, he said the French regime, “nostalgic for the colonial era”, has been supporting the Ukrainian regime.  Mali has requested a Security Council meeting so it can provide irrefutable proof of France’s support for terrorist activities, but this has not happened yet.  The resources of the Sahel should benefit the people of the Sahel, he stressed, and the alliance’s Governments have launched homegrown development initiatives, and strategic investments in infrastructure and agricultural diversification.

On human rights, he said the alliance counties are committed to humanism but strongly opposed to the weaponization of human rights to interfere with national sovereignty.  The three States withdrew from the Rome Statute recently and will prioritize “home-grown justice mechanisms”, he said, adding that some international partners have flexible morals, depending on their vested interests. Stressing the need for a reformed UN, he said that Africa has, for more than 20 years, been demanding more representation on the Security Council.  The Organization must be able to guarantee respect for international law, he added, also calling for robust implementation mechanisms for the outcomes of international conferences.

Africa’s development concerns should be taken seriously — it is the continent of the future, but its resources are being pillaged, and it confronts heavy debt burdens and climate change.  Due to his country’s Pan-Africanism and its geographical proximity with Algeria, Mali has always taken a constructive approach with that neighbour. However, this has not been returned, he said condemning a recent cowardly attack that targeted Malian forces.  Regarding the destruction of a Malian drone by the Algerian junta on the pretext that it violated Algeria’s airspace, he said this accusation defies the laws of physics, since the drone was found on his country’s territory. Mali will reciprocate every attack, every insult, he said.