Addressing Organized Crime in Mali: A Path Towards Peacebuilding and Security

Prioritizing Organized Crime

Organized crime poses a significant threat to peacebuilding and security efforts in Mali. The international community and the Malian government must prioritize addressing this issue to prevent further instability and hinder reconstruction efforts.

State’s Commitment

For the state to effectively tackle organized crime, it is essential to make a commitment to address corruption and structural dynamics surrounding it. This includes putting in place or activating mechanisms such as:

• Pole Judiciaire Specialise: A specialized judicial pole that can handle cases related to organized crime
• Organised Crime Section: A dedicated section within the law enforcement agency that focuses on investigating and prosecuting organized crime

International Community’s Role

The international community can play a significant role in supporting Mali’s efforts to address organized crime. This includes:

• Including Organized Crime as a Priority Theme: Prioritizing organized crime in programming activities, especially governance and stabilization support
• Building Capacity for Civil Society: Supporting civil society in building capacity on addressing organized crime

Deeper Analysis

Both the Malian government and international actors must invest in thorough political economy and conflict analysis to understand the root causes of organized crime. This involves:

• Capacity Building for Academia and Local Researchers: Building the capacity of academia and local researchers to engage in research and analyze findings from surveys
• Generating Local Analysis: Using local analysis to inform responses to organized crime

Community-Based Approaches

Exploring community-based approaches is crucial for ensuring that responses are context-specific, sensitive, and based on a sound understanding of root causes and particular dynamics at the local level.

State-Citizen Relationships

Strengthening state-citizen relationships can be achieved through:

• Commitment from the State: A commitment from the state to address organized crime
• Improved Civilian Oversight Mechanisms: Improved civilian oversight mechanisms to hold the government accountable

Civil Society’s Role

Civil society has a critical role in bringing the issue into the public debate, promoting more debates, professional media coverage, better research, and collaboration with academia to generate local analysis that can be used to tackle organized crime effectively.

Public Awareness

Organized crime needs to be discussed in the public space to raise awareness and ensure ownership of its definition and responses by local populations.

Capacity Building for Local Researchers

There is a need for improved capacity building for local researchers to engage in research on organized crime, which can lead to more effective and sustainable solutions.

Addressing Corruption

Addressing corruption is crucial for effectively tackling organized crime. The state must commit to addressing corruption and structural dynamics surrounding it to ensure that efforts to tackle organized crime are successful.

Ultimately, a comprehensive approach that involves both the Malian government and international actors, as well as civil society, is necessary to effectively address organized crime in Mali.