Mali: Information on the Mali Criminal Code; whether it is an offence to sexually assault a woman who is not one's wife pursuant to a civil marriage; whether it is illegal to perform female circumcision; whether it is illegal to perform female circumcision without the female's consent, and the penalties for all the above
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 January 1995 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | MLI19400.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Mali: Information on the Mali Criminal Code; whether it is an offence to sexually assault a woman who is not one's wife pursuant to a civil marriage; whether it is illegal to perform female circumcision; whether it is illegal to perform female circumcision without the female's consent, and the penalties for all the above, 1 January 1995, MLI19400.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab8a28.html [accessed 2 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Information on the Mali Criminal Code is currently unavailable to the DIRB in Ottawa. For information concerning the legality of female circumcision in Mali, please refer to page 176 of Country Reports 1993, which is currently available at Regional Documentation Centres. The source mentions that there is no law banning female circumcision in Mali, although the government has been making efforts to eradicate the practice. For details, please refer to the document cited above.
World Encyclopedia of Police Forces and Penal Systems provides figures for crimes committed in Mali in 1984 (1989, 516). This source does not directly answer the question as to whether it is an offence to sexually assault a woman who is not one's wife pursuant to a civil marriage. Nonetheless, the source produces figures for "sex offences, including rape" in Mali for the year in question (ibid.).
For additional information on female circumcision in Mali, please refer to Responses to Information Requests MLI19401.E dated 12 January 1995 and MLI19402 dated 10 January 1995. These documents are currently available at Regional Documentation Centres.
This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993. 1994. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
Kurian, George Thomas. 1989. World Encyclopedia of Police Forces and Penal Systems. New York: Facts on File.
Attachment
Kurian, George Thomas. 1989. World Encyclopedia of Police Forces and Penal Systems. New York: Facts on File, p. 516.
Additional Sources Consulted
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada library, Ottawa.
Department of Justice library, Ottawa.
Embassy of Mali, Ottawa.
Embassy of Mali, Washington, DC.
National Library of Canada, Ottawa.
McGill University, Faculty of Law library, Montreal.
Osgoode Hall Law School library, Toronto.
Supreme Court of Canada library, Ottawa.
Université de Laval, bibliothèque de la Faculté de droit, Ste-Foy, Québec.
Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), bibliothèque de la Faculté de droit.
University of Ottawa Law library.
Oral Sources.
