As central Mali sinks deeper into an unending cycle of violence, the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) has broken its silence following the attacks on Ningari and Sarédina. Its statement casts a stark light on the structural weaknesses of the transitional government’s security approach.
The pattern has become tragically familiar: villages overrun, unarmed civilians executed, homes set ablaze, and then the inevitable flood of official statements expressing shock and sympathy. The latest horrors in the Bandiagara area, specifically in Ningari and Sarédina, expose a grim truth that official rhetoric tries to hide: despite confident claims about the growing strength of the Malian armed forces (FAMa), the day-to-day safety of citizens remains a glaring failure.
The mirage of territorial control and the abandonment of civilians
The CNDH’s statement, signed by interim president Me Aissata Founè Tembely, serves as a blunt wake-up call to the authorities in Bamako. By stressing that protecting people and their property is the state’s ‘primary sovereign duty,’ the CNDH effectively highlights the administrative and military shortcomings on the ground.
In the Dogon country, the security vacuum created by the absence or ineffectiveness of continuous state presence leaves residents at the mercy of terrorist armed groups. While public discourse focuses on national sovereignty and managing the narrative, the fundamental social contract between the state and its citizens in the central region has been broken. Sovereignty cannot be measured by the firmness of speeches in Bamako, but by the real ability to protect the life of a farmer or trader in Ningari.
Institutionalized impunity and the rhetoric of fruitless investigations
As with every tragedy, the CNDH calls for ‘independent and impartial’ investigations to bring the perpetrators to justice. But how credible are these calls when the judicial system remains paralyzed in conflict zones?
The steady stream of massacres without any significant trial to assign responsibility fuels a corrosive sense of impunity. Without concrete prosecutions, demands for investigations start to feel like a bureaucratic ritual meant to fill an institutional void. This absent justice destroys people’s trust in the state and inevitably pushes communities toward self-defense groups or opportunistic alliances, further fracturing the social fabric.
The all-military trap and violations of humanitarian law
By urging the FAMa to strictly adhere to International Humanitarian Law (IHL), the CNDH also warns of the dangers of a purely military strategy without safeguards. In their pursuit of terrorist groups, security forces and their auxiliaries are frequently accused by civil society of indiscriminate attacks and abuses against local populations.
This approach, which prioritizes body counts and media-friendly operations over lasting community security, backfires. Each mistake or summary execution becomes a powerful recruiting tool for extremist groups. The CNDH’s reminder that counterterrorism efforts cannot ignore human rights is a clear warning: a military victory won at the expense of justice is merely an illusion that plants the seeds of future unrest.
The CNDH’s message is unambiguous. If the transitional authorities continue to favor political posturing and security-focused communication over genuine, impartial, and judicial protection of their citizens, Mali risks losing far more than territory—it risks losing the very legitimacy of its state.
