Mali’s government has ordered the UN peacekeeping mission’s human rights chief to leave the country by Tuesday, declaring him persona non grata in the latest sign of tensions between Mali’s leaders and the international community.
A government statement Sunday criticized Guillaume Ngefa-Atondoko Andali for choosing someone who represented Malian civil society at a UN Security Council briefing. The communique accused the human rights director of “destabilizing and subversive actions.” Andali’s expulsion announced Sunday comes as Mali’s government faces growing questions about its human rights record and its relationship with the Russian military contractor the Wagner Group.
Last week, independent human rights experts working with the UN called for an investigation of possible abuses, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed by Mali’s government forces and Wagner mercenaries.
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