Mali

Working environment     

• Despite the signature of a peace and reconciliation agreement in June 2015, direct confrontations between armed groups persisted as well as intra-communal fighting, hindering the repatriation of Malian refugees during the year. Nevertheless, UNHCR monitored and facilitated the spontaneous return of 3,500 Malians. 
• The threat of terrorist attacks increased, targeting supporters of the peace process, including the signatory parties, civilians, civil servants and the international presences in the central and northern regions.
• The security situation remained extremely volatile, and humanitarian access to the northern regions continued to be limited.

Population trends  

• Some 480 Central African and Syrian asylum-seekers were granted refugee status in 2015. The number of asylum applications decreased by 30 per cent when compared to 2014.
• About 45 per cent of internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned to their areas of origin, but there remained approximately 62,000 IDPs at the end of 2015.
• Some 3,500 spontaneous returns to Mali were registered. 

Achievements and impact    

• The Government of Mali completed the domestic procedure to accede to the conventions on statelessness but has not yet deposited the instruments with the United Nations.
• In January 2015, Mali, Burkina Faso and UNHCR signed a tripartite agreement for the voluntary repatriation of Malian refugees. 
• In 2014, judicial authorities pronounced some 7,800 supplementary judgments for Mauritanian refugees born in Mali who had no birth documents. In 2015, an equal number of birth certificates were issued on the basis of these supplementary judgments. 

Unmet needs

• Due to financial constraints, the implementation of projects promoting peaceful coexistence and self-reliance was adversely affected. Nearly 13,000 Malian IDP returnees deemed vulnerable did not receive cash assistance. Approximately 220 houses could not be rehabilitated, and 6 schools were not constructed in areas of return.

Working environment

The Mali crisis has caused internal displacement and cross-border movements into Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger since 2012. Following the presidential and legislative elections in October 2013, thousands of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) spontaneously returned home, with support from UNHCR, which opened of­fices in Gao, Mopti and Timbuktu.

Renewed clashes in May 2014 between Malian government forces and insurgents have affected the intention of some Malian refugees to return home. UNHCR will continue to coordinate protection and shelter and non-food item assistance for IDPs and returnees in 2015. Protection monitoring and social cohesion interventions will be established in areas of return.

The crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR) has caused the unexpected arrival of more than 200 Central African asylum-seekers, of whom almost 190 were recognized by the Government of Mali as refugees.

Needs and strategies

In 2014, the situation in the north of the country remained generally uncertain and conditions did not permit mass repatriation. Nonetheless, many Malian refugees have decided to return home; therefore, in 2015, UNHCR will focus on the voluntary repatriation and reintegration of approximately 42,000 Malian refugees. Based on assessment activities in return areas, UNHCR and its partners will provide tailor-made assistance to returning families to guarantee them access to their socio-economic rights, and will work with other UN agencies to ­find durable solutions for returnees and IDPs.

In line with the UN Secretary-General’s Policy Committee Decision on Durable Solutions, UNHCR will lead efforts to establish and implement the return strategy, in close cooperation with the Government and other stakeholders. The Of­fice will support community-based and peaceful-coexistence interventions, and work with partners to build the Government’s capacity on protection.

UNHCR will continue to protect refugees in both urban and rural areas, and will assist them to increase their self-reliance. Following a government decision to facilitate the local integration of Mauritanian refugees, UNHCR will provide refugees willing to locally integrate with social, economic and legal support.