Zinhle+Essamuah+-+SOCHUM+Mali

Name: Zinhle Country: Mali Committee: SOCHUM High School: Arundel High School Date: January 27, 2012


 * Mali: The Rights of Refugees**

On the continent of Africa, where civil wars are prevalent and the credibility of regimes is minimal, when a refugee seeks shelter, it is rare to find a country able to support that persons needs. The country of Mali for example, does not have the resources or infrastructure to adequately support its own people. So, we, the country of Mali ask the U.N, for the support needed to provide for our own people, and to support the rights of the new influx of refugees entering our land.

Until recently, Mali has not had a significant number of refugees to protect. Mali began as a country of emigration, not immigration. Between 1995 to 2000 the net migration rate per 1,000 persons was -5.7 percent. Immigration was minimal, as a 2007 census showed that 98.5 percent of the population living in Mali were nationals. These statistics clarify why the government does not and has not made protecting the rights of refugees a priority. A developing country such as Mali must address its basic needs of its people-sanitation, the economy, healthcare-before prioritizing the rights of refugees. Still, due to our country’s deeply entrenched African traditions of hospitality, Mali’s immigration policy is not very restrictive. In support of regional integration the country has come to bilateral agreements on settlement and free movement with countries in the Sahel region, making passage through Mali even more attractive. However, the feelings of welcome that once permeated through Mali were challenged and changed with the 2011 Arab Spring. The series of revolutions brought not only misplaced peoples, but vivacious and at times, violent refugees. Enthralled with the revolutions that have occurred in other North African and Middle Eastern countries, these refugees have infiltrated Mali and other Sahel states. Our very own president, Amadou Toumani Toure declared that the, “Arab Spring will bring a burning summer for the region.” The entire Sahel region is facing destabilization and we are pleading for support.

Though Western countries have persuaded themselves to believe that the overthrowing of dictators has been widely supported in this region, I must inform the West that in fact, this belief is false. In our very own capital of Mali, demonstrators have expressed support for the late President Muammar Gaddafi of Libya. By many he is remembered as the Arab leader who sustained more than 3,000 Islamic schools and mosques and financially supported many African countries, including Mali. If the U.N would like Mali to better support its refugees, we must first ask for better financial support from the U.N, and other Western countries. Mali does not have the means to provide for its refugees. What is more, Mali does not have the ability to suppress the rising feelings of opposition towards the West, that its people and refugees have been expressing. To solve these problems we need directed financial support, and enforced international consequences for those violating basic human rights.

In asking for, “directed financial support” Mali is not asking for a blank check, but for money given to organizations in Mali that the U.N knows to be credible. Through keeping the leaders of Mali accountable through enforced consequences, we hope the rights of refugees will be protected, and the violence triggered by displaced refugees, will cease. Too often Western nations and organizations, the U.N included, believe direct intervention is the only solution. It is not. Open discussion and insightful revelations are all necessary to create solutions, that the country of Mali looks forward to finding at the U.N Conference. Even as the media coverage of the Arab Spring subsides, let us not forget the thousands of refugees who, everyday, continue to search for their basic rights, throughout the world.

Name: Zinhle Country: Mali Committee: SOCHUM High School: Arundel High School Date: January 27, 2012


 * Mali: Drug Control**

In recent years Africa’s role in the infamous international drug trade has become prevalent, and a prime issue. The continent has acted as a transit region and production center - making it a top target for drug control.

In the African country of Mali, though penalties for possession, use, and trafficking of illegal drugs are severe, drug trafficking remains. In 2008 the wreckage of a Boeing cargo plane was discovered and suspected to have carried a cocaine shipment from Latin America, highlighting Mali’s previously unnoticed role as one of the main gateways to West Africa for drug traffickers. Mali is situated at the crossroads of numerous smuggling routes for drugs, arms, cigarettes, irregular migrants and even victims of human trafficking. The President of Mali, Amadou Toumani Touré, linked revenues from drug trafficking to terrorism in a December 2009 meeting with the head of the US military’s Africa command. This meeting acted as a strong reminder that African governments are still struggling against a lack of resources to respond to the proclaimed, “war on drugs”.

It is unquestionable that Mali needs continuous support, both military and financial, to combat this war. In a country as impoverished as Mali, people look for any source of revenue, illegal drugs included, to survive. That attitude of desperation is what Mali needs the U.N to end. Provide employment opportunities for residents of Mali, so that they do not resort to the black market as a source of income. When the drug trafficking is controlled within the borders of Mali, the U.N will also see vast improvements throughout the rest of the Sahel region. Opiate production, primarily occuring in Northern African countries such as Mali, would cease to thrive. The exchange of methamphetamines, found near the Sahel region, would stop. Cocaine, being trafficked from South America to the Western coast of Africa, would lose its appeal.

The continent of Africa, containing most of the worlds developing nations, is one of the most vulnerable areas in the world in regard to drug trafficking. Let us not wait for a violent, “war on drugs” to emerge, but instead, let us find realistic and strong solutions to this ever-growing problem.