Mali asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) last week to investigate alleged war crimes committed in the nation's north, a move that drew praise from rights groups.
"The referral of these crimes by government of Mali to the ICC is an important action towards both the authors and the victims of most serious crimes, in order to ensure that these crimes immediately cease and that they do not remain unpunished," said Souhayr Belhassen, president of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH).
Together with the Malian Association for Human Rights (AMDH), the FIDH had earlier detailed a series of abuses by armed groups in northern Mali in a joint report published July 12th.
The report's authors expressed their grave concerns "about the on-going abuses in northern Mali that could constitute crimes against humanity" and urged the international community "to intensify its efforts to reinstate legitimate institutions in Bamako and speed up the process of political transition, which is the only way to stop international crimes perpetrated with total impunity against civilians in northern Mali".