Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/we-dont-want-isolate-mali-eu-envoy-says-despite-sanctions-plan-2022-01-18/
The EU says they do not wish to isolate Mali and would like to begin talks despite the intentions of sanctioning the country for their failure to hold elections. Mali was faced with sanctions in early January by the ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, after the current militarily government that took over in 2020 did not uphold their commitment to hosting elections and stated they will remain in power for another four years. The EU says it will soon follow the actions of the ECOWAS and impose similar sanctions. Despite these actions from the EU, the EU’s Special Representative to the Sahel has said that the EU wishes to continue talks and remediation because they believe that Mali has the capability to overcome this setback and regain confidence from the EU in their government. The current sanctions have alienized Mali from financial markets and proven detrimental to their economic success. Protests have ensued in the nation as the sanctions are causing the already struggling country to suffer. ECOWAS has stated that they will consider the gradual release of their control on Mali if the current militarial government proposes a plan for return to formal order.
Stability has been foreign to the Mali since a 2012 coup when a Tuareg rebellion in Northern mali was taken over by Islamist extremists. Despite multiple efforts of Western powers to facilitate peace in the nation including thousands of troops from France and other European states, and UN peacekeepers, Mali has found itself in a constant state of conflict, corruption, and poverty. The reorganization and reallocation of power internally in the country’s government could help the country’s struggling credibility and economic power and solve some of the internal divisions. Although it definitely wouldn’t fix everything and might not have an immediate impact on the country, it would create a precedent for a stable and functional government that would strengthen the authority of Mali’s government and stabilize internal order and hierarchy. The economic and political sanctions imposed by the ECOWAS have already greatly affected the country’s success and with support from the EU these sanctions could be a step in the right direction for governmental remediation in Mali. And with the EU’s verbal attempt at not completely abandoning the country, Mali can find hope in the future of their country with the support of the EU.
Despite the unrest in Mali starting in 2012, the regime change in 2020 has directly caused the exacerbation of this conflict and the imposition of sanctions to redirect the government into holding organized elections. Once again, regime changes have proven to cause unrest. The sanctions imposed on Mali by the ECOWAS shows how, on the regional level, it is crucial for regional powers to take control of maintaining order and how liberally, international institutions can enforce and foster cooperation among regionally connected states and take action on preserving harmony and protecting the people of the region. The UN also serves as an international institution that is extremely powerful in the sense that it has the support of the most powerful countries in the world. This makes the economic and political sanctions along with the claims and opinions of UN officials all the more credible and powerful.